What is your favorite thing about being a mom or dad?

Well...MY story is kinda complicated.

I'm 21 years old...my boyfriend is 27. He has a 10 year old son & an 8 year old daughter. They're mother was found dead in her car from gun shot wounds to her side in March of this year.

I've been with my boyfriend since April of 2006. I lived with him then...i moved out, we broke up...we got back together, I moved in with him @ his mother's house, and now we've gotten our own house.

He has full custody of his children.

I am not their mother. I did not birth them, nor did I get 2 enjoy them while they were babies.

However, I have taken on full responsibility AS their mother. I love their father...and from day one, I have loved them. Even when their mother was alive & calling his phone 24/7 making threats cuz she "knew" he had a woman over there...I loved them every chance I got 2 be around them. For Christmas last year, I went out & purchased things that I thought they'd like, even though I barely seen them. And now that I am playing that role on a daily basis...I have grown to know so much, and experience so many different feelings. So, here goes:

I wake up @ 5:30 every morning so that I can get myself ready 4 work & then wake them up @ a descent hour so that they can get ready & then their father can get ready & we can all be gone by 7:10 so that I make it to work on time. I don't mind because it feels good to be able to prepare things so that they can get to school & i can be at work.

When I come home from work, I begin preparing dinner and assist their father with helping them with their homework. This is sometimes VERY frustrating, as the kids will knit-pick w/eachother when they get tired.

Once I have finished serving their food and everybody is done eating, I clean up the kitchen & make sure the kids get their baths. I do his daughter's hair for the next morning to eliminate a task, and I make sure the kids are in bed by 9 o'clock.

On Fridays, I quiz them on their way to school so that they can pass their spelling test.

On Saturdays & Sundays, I wake up 2 cook breakfast, and I enjoy the rest of the day. We watch tv, we laugh, we read, we play, we joke, we talk...his daughter calls me "Mommy", and although I know i can NEVER replace their mother, I melt at the thought of knowing I come in pretty dam close.

I don't mind being their Step-Mother. I love making it known that they can come to me for anything. I love it when they confide in me...I love it when they get hurt & come crying to me. I love it when it's time to leave or go to sleep & his daughter tells me she loves me...or his son comes 2 give me a hug. I love it when I'm watching tv & out of nowhere they both start fighting because they want 2 sit in my lap & there's only room for one...

I love them...

I love my man...

...and I love my life.

I love being a mother because I know I am helping my two children grow up to be decent human beings that will be successful, contributing people to this world. I hope they will make a difference. I feel more than honored to be their mother, and I know my husband feels the same about being their father. We tell them on a constant basis how proud we are of them and how much we love them and appreciate them for all they do - even if it gets on our last nerve sometimes lol.

The love my children return to me, they are a pleasure to be with.

They are my second reason for living. I can not imagine life without them. My favorite thing NOW. Seeing the young, competent, well adjusted young adults that I have nurtured for 25 years. They are smart, funny, hardworking, talented. And I know I had a hand in bringing them to that point.

It's being there when they get off the bus after school and hearing how excited they are to tell me about their day! I like how they expect me to be here for them because that's the way it has always been and how they deserve it to be. And how my 12 year old still treats me like I'm the center of her world, even though many of her peers have already distanced themselves from family due to changes in hormones and feeling misunderstood.

A work from home MOM!

Good Question, as I dad I do cherrish the time i have with my kids, through the ups and downs. Words can't descibe how much I appreciate my son and daughter. I am blessed for having kids who dont give into peer pressures, and know right from wrong.

I love when my boys smile and I know they are happy and my husband and I can provide a good home for them.

I also love it when they randomly walk up to me and give a big hug and kiss especially when I need it the most. I feel so loved!! (I know it will change when they are teens lol)

I just love being a mother in general!

My favorite thing about being a mom is watching my son do the same exact things that I used to do.My mom says that my son is paying me back for all the things I used to do to her like not sitting still.

1. Watching their faces' light up when they walk into the kitchen and see me fixing them a nice breakfast.

2. Just seeing them smile

3. Realizing that I have to look UP at my boys.

4. Hearing my daughters say Daddy

The way my daughter looks at me when she's happy shows me how much she loves me. Also, her first word was "mum", which is funny cause we're not British. She's 2 and 1/2 and she says love you mommy in a way that melts my heart!

you get to really nurture your children and raise them the way you would like to be raised. They are the most important people in the world and after you have them..you want to love them so much. Its a great feeling..it really is.