Thirty good deeds to celebrate turning 30 #30for30

Yesterday was my 30th birthday. And I was lucky enough to have my daughter all day! I had seen a blog post via Pinterest about a woman who performed 38 good deeds to celebrate turning 38, which also gave me a lot of great ideas. So I decided a few weeks ago it would be a great way to spend my 30th birthday!

And, boy, did it keep us busy! It also meant a crazy number of times I had to get L. out of her car seat and into her stroller and then back into the car seat, which was exhausting! Aside from waking up sore from all the running around I did, I feel I got quite a good workout in my arms from the car seat shuffle.

But that's not all I felt ... even after the first good deed, I start getting this feeling like I was a superhero. My boyfriend had gotten me a crown that I wore pretty much all day. Of course, because I had a crown, we had to make sure L. had her crown. But, of course, she ended up asking for mine anyway.

Here's what we did:

We hold these truths ...

Here's my own Declaration of Independence.

• I will not strive to impress anyone with my mothering skills.
• I will not succumb to Mom Guilt.
• I will focus my energy on raising a compassionate and confident daughter.
• I will not attempt to fall into the categories of "mommy blogger," "helicopter mom," "bad mommy," "hypochondriac mom," "organic," "overprotective," "divorced and bitter," "tiger mom," "woe-is-me," "martyr mom" or "Mommy Dearest."
• I will not think of my daughter in terms of categories such as "Terrible 2s," "a tantrum just waiting to happen" or "too ____ for her own good." Or, even worse, "a typical ___ year old." Because she will prove me wrong. Every time.
• I will OWN my messy ponytail, applesauced jeans and shirt with the juice stain from holding a sippy cup in my mouth and having the lid pop off while changing a diaper!
• I will be as honest with my daughter as I can.
• I will read parenting advice, but not obsessively. I will listen to my instincts, but continue to look for guidance.
• I will only give parenting advice when asked. I will not volunteer advice to other moms just because something worked wonders for us. (Aside from this blog, which is a take-it-if-you-want, not-written-in-stone type.)
• At the end of a "bad" day, I will remember that tomorrow is a brand new day. My daughter is too young to hold a grudge. And, if I can help it, she will not hold onto hurt and let it eat at her, like Mommy took almost 30 years to find out.
• I will use my weaknesses to help make my daughter stronger.
• I will use my strengths to make her nearly invincible.
• I will not apologize for toys strewn about or dishes left in the sink or a cat or two covered with sticky fur from even stickier hands.
• I will be thankful for every minute with my daughter, even if that thankfulness comes in hindsight.
• I will not blame my ex-husband for anything in my life. In fact, without him, I wouldn't have the most precious daughter in the entire world. We will both try to the best of our ability to co-parent successfully. Our little girl deserves it. We owe it to ourselves.

Without proof or argument, I am, by my own definition, a SUPERMOM.