How to Be Happy: The Happy Mama Movement.

Welcome to 2014!

After many hours weeks of thought and planning, I’ve decided that this will be my joy year.

Look at me, ignore the tweenager, he knows nothing.

The year I will focus entirely on being happier.  And slightly more awesome.

Not because I’m specifically unhappy, or in desperate need of any awesome upping.  More just because I could probably stand to be like at least 50% happier than I am right now, I’ve found that complaining is ten thousand times easier than being joyful and I like a good challenge, and adding to my awesome is never a bad thing, right?!

But my true inspiration in this journey is, like so many other things in my life, The Dudes.

I’ve been in the mommying game for a minute now.  I gave up a career for mothering.  I’ve stayed out of the work force and focused instead on perfecting my room mother/team mom/car pool driving/hip hop dancing in my kitchen game full time all while continuing to repay the massive student loans for the degree I don’t use.

Big time sacrificing going on over here people.  But, like every good mom martyr knows, sometimes sacrifice is totally worth it.

And it makes you appreciate things you may have otherwise taken for granted.  Or, it makes you apathetic and cynical and tired and like 15 to 20 pounds overweight.

Either way, here’s what I know: Motherhood is a joyful thing.

Sure there are days when you want to hide in your garage with a bag of Recesses’ peanut butter cups and a bottle of wine so your kids, your husband, and your dog can’t find you.  And, of course there are late, puke-covered nights where you seriously question the meaning of life (yours specifically) while your husband sleeps through it all and you imagine yourself causing him bodily harm while you pace the floor and worry yourself crazy over your sick baby.

But, there are beautiful moments too.

Happy, smiley, heart touching, joyful, unbelievably precious, gorgeously beautiful moments that make you eternally grateful for the God that sent you to that Orange County university with the stupid mascot you swore you’d never, ever go to so that you could meet the perfectly imperfect man who went half on a few babies with you.

I want to focus on those moments.  Find joy in them and other things that make me happy dance in my kitchen.

I’m done celebrating my mediocre mothering (I’m not saying it’s gonna get better, just that I’m not going to talk about it constantly like it’s actually the best thing ever that I ruined the magic of the tooth fairy by not getting my kid’s tooth for three nights straight).  I’m over being the scary-bad-kitchen-inept-homework-hating-laundry-loser mom who shuns PTA and skips teacher conferences, proud to pieces of her endless shortcomings and wants everyone to know it (even though I imagine those comings will continue to be plentiful and ridiculously short).

Instead I want to be more conscious of what I celebrate.  I want to model positivity and the pursuit of happiness to The Dudes, so they know it’s a worthwhile pursuit, and that they were a part of my journey.  The impetus even.

I’m sure there will still be down days.

Whiny I-hate-life-and-my-fat-belly-and-kids-who-punch-each-other-in-the-neck-for-no-good-reason days.

Frustrating days where I am covered with candy wrappers and fleece are totally gonna happen.  Probably forever.  And, that’s cool.  Totally cool.

But, I don’t want those to be the days that define me, and my motherhood, and my life with my Dudes.

So, I’m starting a movement America; the Happy Mama Movement.*

Join me on my fantastic voyage.  I promise Coolio won’t be involved.

*I will be writing about my happy mama moments here each week and I would love it if you all would join me by sharing your happy mama moments in the comments, joining me on your own blog (I will totally Tweet and Pin and share your joy with my world), or on Instagram by tagging your photos #happymamas.