Does motherhood have you like, “how can I love my kids so much but still want to poke myself in the eye?”

We get it.  As I’m about to embark on a weekend long trip with my girlfriends from college, I’m definitely wavering between missing their sweet snugly bodies and wanted to poke myself in the eye as they complain every 45 seconds before I leave.

One hallmark of our girls’ weekends is a quote board.  As we mentally revert back to our 20 year old selves, we find ourselves saying things that, in the moment, we feel are so hilarious, that we’ve started writing them down on a piece of poster board.  We then laugh about them on our final review of the weekend on Sunday, then in the years that follow, trying to remember the what’s or the why’s of the ridiculousness.

But how many of our kids’ ridiculousness gets forgotten in the stressful moments of work, parenting and life survival?  Just yesterday my son walked in to my room and called out (waving his hands in the air), “what! what!” that had me in fits of giggles.  The time my daughter, when asked if she had peed in her diaper the night before, said, “let’s just call it a not”.  Those hilarious moments that are only remembered because of pure luck (and now saved for posterity here).

Here’s my tip (and one I’ll need to start doing myself).  Create a family quote board.  As simple and as easy as a piece of poster board hanging on a hallway.  And when your kids say something hilarious or sweet that makes you love them so much, RUN and write it on the quote board.  And in those moments when you want to poke yourself in the eye.  Stand in front of it.  Meditatively chant some of the funny.

Now maybe you’ll only want to poke yourself in the arm.

You are welcome.

How do you recover from those “poke yourself in the eye” moments?  How do you hold on to those “love them so much” moments?  Tell us by commenting below or continuing the conversation on the Bleeping Motherhood Facebook page.