Image: Tina Phillips / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

When you become a parent, be prepared to do ALL that stuff you said you would never do. Have you ever said you wouldn't go up to your child's school looking crazy? Well guess what! Sometimes you can't help it because your kids have driven you crazy. You don't look like that on purpose. Hell in some cases, you might not know you look crazy until the school secretary stares at you with a wide-eyed look. True story, my oldest left something at home and I had to take it to her. The lady at the desk looked at me with this crazy expression...I was drying my hair when my daughter called and  forgot to remove the wrapping strips from my hair.

Remember saying, "I will never say or do the things my parents said" before you had children? Guess what your favorite words are now..."Because I said so!" "I'm the mama and you're the child!" "Sass me again and the police will have to pull me off you!" "This gun is loaded!" Well, maybe I'm the only one that says the last two. My point is, history repeats itself repeatedly.

If you are successful, you will raise children you are happy to claim. If you are really successful, you will raise children other people want to claim. I look at my children every day and wonder how they made it so far with me as a mother. Then I look at my mother and realize it's because she lost her mind raising me.

The key is to find a happy medium. Say "no" to drugs, but "yes" to alcohol and naps as much as possible. If you put the alcohol in your coffee, no one will know. Learn to take naps standing up, sitting down and while talking to other people. Keep them brief because children can wreak a lot of havoc during a nap. Above all, accept your mistakes and remember you're only human.