When I first became a mother, I never planned on looking like a mother.  I would keep my clothing clean and pressed, I would always use burp cloths to catch the lovely things that would eject from my babies' mouths, and I would make sure my children had clean mouths and hands before they touched me.  Reality set in after two or three weeks with my first child, but I have still tried to keep a relatively clean appearance--just so I still feel like a person. 

Right now I am 31 weeks pregnant, and my three children are so excited about their little brother who will soon join our family.  My tummy probably receives 25 kisses each day, and often those kisses are laced with milk, juice, toothpaste residue, chocolate, etc. 

At first I got a little bit annoyed with the messiness of their love.  I kept sponging the stains off of my shirts, changing before I went out in public, or stopping the children before their lips reached me so I could do a quick cleanliness check.  Now, although I do not encourage them to make their faces messy before kissing my tummy, I consider each little smudge a token of the love in our family. 

If you happen to run into me at the grocery store or the library, and if you happen to notice that I have several spots on the lower portion of my shirt, you can trust that I am aware they are there, and I consider them to be precious!