I’ve got just five days left for the A to Z blog challenge—and about 18,000 things to get done in the next two weeks. My mom went home today and I’m drained on all levels.

So, for a quick discussion: what’s your least favorite household chore?

Men are, that they might have joy.

Typically, people define the difference between happiness and joy with happiness being more fleeting, and joy being deeper, stronger, and longer lasting.

I think that’s pretty accurate. Joy and happiness can co-exist. I see both in the little moments of motherhood.

I think Joy is built from little moments of happiness, with the assurance (or at least the conviction) that our choices are on the right track—that we’re doing what we should be.

What do you think? How do you define Joy? When do you feel it?

Photo by Collin Mel Cunningham

So today, I’m blogging about acknowledgment.

It’s one of those truths universally acknowledged that mothers work put in long, thankless years of selfless service. Realistically, I think all mothers realize we’re not getting thank you notes for every diaper we change. We’re not going to get a lot of notice for every sandwich we make, every nose or bottom we wipe, or every hour of sleep we sacrifice. We don’t get into motherhood for career advancement or acknowledgment.

But we still need it. And sometimes only other mothers can give that recognition and validation. But we all need something a little different. So, what do you want acknowledged? Let’s talk in the comments!

Completely unrelated, but also beginning with A—our giveaway! Living in a dry environment, we use a prodigious amount of quality lotions, especially for our kids. Our doctor recommends Aquaphor pretty much every time we go in for one skin problem or another. (Last time it was Rachel’s rough, dry knees. What can I say? She’s a crawler!)

And today, I have a tube of Aquaphor® Baby Healing Ointment for one lucky reader! Use this entry form (UPDATE: link fixed!) by midnight, Saturday, 2 April 2011, and I’ll choose one entry at random to win (as long as it’s still Saturday somewhere in the world, you’re in! One entry per person, please). Winners announced Monday. (Probably.)

Aquaphor describes it like this:

MAGIC LOTION

A favorite of both celebrity moms like Kimora Lee Simmons and the mom next door, Aquaphor® Baby Healing Ointment is the one-stop product for all of babies’ skincare needs. From cradle cap to eczema, diaper rash to minor cuts and scrapes, its dermatologist- and pediatrician-recommended formula restores your little one’s smooth, healthy skin.

Aquaphor® Baby Healing Ointment with SPF 15 carries a suggested retail price for $7.99 for a 3oz tube or $16.99 for a 4oz jar. Unless, of course, you win it here.

Consider it an early birthday present from me to you.

Photos by Christine & David Schmitt and Aquaphor

I’ll settle for chocolate.

What do you want? How do you celebrate Mother’s Day?

Photo by Annette Pedrosian

I see we have a bunch of new subscribers. But it looks like we’re a little shy. Come introduce yourself in the comments today. It takes four seconds, and you might make a new friend (me, at least!)

Introduce yourself in the comments and tell me what you’d like to see here on MamaBlogga!

Photo by ThinkPanama

(As a reminder, Hayden is almost 3 and a half and Rebecca will be one tomorrow.)

How have you successfully taught your kids to share?

I would love to help you find fulfillment in motherhood. I’m working on it, too, but I think we can help each other. I know that for every mother that values herself in her calling as a mother, I feel strengthened and heartened.

So what can I do to help you find fulfillment in motherhood? What do you struggle with? How can I remind you of the true worth of the little and sometimes tedious things you do every day?

I had a lot of very brave, candid moms share the challenges of their lives—and other than thanking them, I didn’t do a thing for them.

I want to do more.

So what can I do to help you to find fulfillment in motherhood? Would you like to be able to interact with other moms (in a forum maybe)? Would it help you to have a weekly post on MamaBlogga where we can all share something we did to enjoy our lives that week? Would you like “assignments” to help you find fulfillment? Would you like to see featured moms talk about what they do to find fulfillment?

Any other ideas?

How do we get women to stop saying, “I’m just a mother”? Or, “I used to be such and such, but now I’m just a mother?” We need to market motherhood. So I came up with a saying: “Motherhood: 24/7 on the frontlines of humanity. Are you man enough to try it?”

We’ve discussed this quote before and most of you felt that we needed to start by taking more pride in what we do as mothers and not allowing others to disparage or belittle it.

Do you still agree with that? What else can we do to stand up for ourselves and our callings?

Do you have a quote from a famous mom? Submit it to famousmoms (at) mamablogga.com and we’ll discuss it one week, and you’ll get a link (if you include your URL, of course).