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I also wanted to share with you a few things I've come across that have really got me thinking. First off my cute blogging friend Alison posted this a day or two ago. (I'd link back to her but she's private.) She has been reading a book called: A Mother's Book of Secrets by Linda Eyre and her daughter, Shawni Eyre Pothier

"It's true that as a mother there is always a never-ending list of things to accomplish. Pay the bills. Check. Do the dishes. Check. Make dinner. Check. Do the shopping. Check. But are we successful if we didn't notice the look on our child's face when he learned to 'pump' on the swing by himself? Is it success if we got lunch done and put the kids down for naps in fifteen minutes' time so we could finish catching up on 'important projects' if we forgot to help the kids finish the puzzle we promised we would? Sometimes success is when we don't get through the to-do list but instead stop long enough to notice the little things. To savor moments. Not only to notice the delight in our children's eyes, but to help create it.

In her book Surrendering to Motherhood, author Iris Krasnow writes that the most important advice she could give mothers is to Be There. She says: '...Being There isn't about money or even about staying home full-time. It's about an emotional and spiritual shift, of succumbing to Being Where You Are When You Are, and Being There as much as possible. It's about crouching on the floor and getting delirious over the praying mantis your son just caught instead of perusing a fax [or filling the dishwasher] while he is yelling for your attention and you distractedly say over your shoulder: 'Oh, honey, isn't that a pretty bug.'"

'It's about being attuned enough to notice when your kid's eyes shine so you can make your eyes shine back.'

“I want my kids to see my eyes shine when I play with them. I want to enjoy their play as much as they do. I want to 'crouch down on the floor and get delirious' over the seemingly simple things that delight them. I want to be theirs while I can."

Don't you just LOVE that?! I printed it out and taped it to my bathroom mirror. Thanks Alison!

Hope you all have a PERFECT Monday!