To say that raising kids is a challenge would be an understatement. It's an incredibly rewarding experience, but it also tries your patience. Keeping your cool in these difficult situations is crucial.

Here are five ways to stay calm and keep your sanity when raising kids.

1. Lower Your Expectations and Standards

Life changes the moment your baby is born. But during that first year and a half (or until your baby can start walking on her own), things around the house stay fairly normal.

Things stay organized. Your home may not be as clean as your single days, but your space is still mostly tidy.

But once your little one takes off on her own, the house becomes her playground.

If you expect to maintain a spotless home, you're setting yourself up for failure. Lower your standards for cleanliness and lower your expectations that everything will go as planned.

2. Pinpoint Your Triggers

Do you find yourself losing your cool over some things and not others? Analyze these situations to help pinpoint your triggers.

Maybe it's your toddler telling you "no" for the umpteenth time in a day. Maybe it's your pre-teen rolling her eyes at you, or your eight-year-old boy talking back to you.

When you are able to recognize your triggers, you can stop yourself from going over the edge.

3. Rethink Your Communication

I'll never forget the time we caught our oldest son flushing the balls from the Hungry Hippo game down the toilet. As it turned out, he had been doing this for the better part a week. We wound up having to have a drain inspection and a pretty costly repair from the plumber.

I almost lost my cool. Almost. I thought about yelling and screaming. I thought about doling out a harsh punishment.

These are the reactions my own parents had when I was growing up, so it makes sense to me now that this would be my automatic reaction.

Instead of giving in to your automatic response, take a moment to breathe and change gears. Walk away if you have to.

Children should know that you're upset or disappointed in their actions, but communicating in a calm, collective way will help the message go through more clearly.

4. Make "Me" Time a Priority

Sometimes, we lose our cool because we're just overwhelmed and overstressed. Make it a point to give yourself some "me" or quiet time.

I give myself quiet time every morning by waking up 45 minutes earlier than the rest of the house. I have almost a full hour to wake up, ease into the day and just enjoy some peace. Whether it's listening to the birds sing or enjoying a cup of coffee on the front porch, I get that much-needed time to recharge.

If you don't give yourself a chance to rest and recharge, you'll find that your temper gets shorter and shorter.

5. Use Calming Strategies

If you find yourself starting to lose your cool (it will happen), use a calming strategy, such as:

• Walking away

• Counting backwards

• Deep breathing

Sometimes, taking a deep breath and walking away for just a few minutes can diffuse the situation and prevent a meltdown on all fronts.