The other day I lost it. My daughter refused to walk down the stairs, to sit on the toilet, to wear pants, to put on her shoes. She complained about not being allowed to eat a donut for lunch, about having to wash her hands after using the toilet, and about having wet hair (after her long tresses dipped into the toilet water as she … Continue reading Here’s Why You Need to Apologize to Your Kids
We all know how once we become parents, it’s hard to connect with our old circles. Oh, we don’t think it’s going to happen. We’re going to get a babysitter once a week, we say to ourselves. But, reality sets in and we quickly grasp that trying to find time to hang out with our non-parent friends is about as easy as trying to spear a … Continue reading A Sad Reality: Trying to Schedule Time to See Your Mom-Friends
Full of a stroller handle in one and a small palm in the other when I walk into a store. Full of an infant that I balance on one knee as I squat in the stall, and toddler arms wrapped around me to keep from falling into the toilet that she needs to use five minutes after we walk in. Full of dishes that I put … Continue reading My Hands Are Full
So you decide to go camping this weekend with the kids. It’ll be fun, you think. It’ll be relaxing, you dare to dream. Nevermind that you and the toddler have been suffering debilitating allergies. You just started your second steroid of the month, which hasn’t fully kicked in yet and, so your head has been pounding for eight days straight so hard that you feel the … Continue reading The Adventure That is Camping With Young Children
Laundry is not a chore I mind doing. It’s something I can do while I’m doing other things around the house. It doesn’t require me to get my hands dirty. It’s not too physically demanding, except when I lug the basket up and down the stairs, but then I can pretend I’m getting some cardio in. I like the way our detergent smells. I like … Continue reading Three Dirty Wash Cloths Can Put A Parent With Anxiety and Depression Over The Edge
Have you seen the movie 127 Hours? It’s based on the real life situation in which Aron Ralston went hiking by himself through some canyons in the desert and managed to get his arm trapped underneath a boulder too heavy for him to lift. He was stranded without hope for rescue and got to the point where me made the decision to cut his own arm off in order … Continue reading In Which Parenting is Like Cutting Off a Limb
I dropped my girls off at daycare the other day and watched two-year-old Toddler Grouch take of her boots and put them in the basket at the bottom of the closet. She unzipped her coat and laid it on the floor before grabbing a hanger off of the bar purposely positioned at half the usual height. She folded her coat’s arms around the ends of … Continue reading Moms Aren’t The Only Ones Out There Mothering
This time around I set out with the intention of running a marathon again. For awhile there, I didn’t think I’d be able to make it. I felt too weak. Too tired. Too busy. But, I decided that I wanted it, so I found a way to make it work. I’m not the skinniest. I’m not the strongest. I’m not the fastest. But, I do not … Continue reading The Purposeful Marathoner (The Purposeful Person)
I am the luckiest lady in the world. I am healthy and happy and my biggest concerns are 100% of the first world variety. My problems are of the luxurious sort; my grief is the easy kind of grief. But no matter how much I believe that my grief is silly or my grief is selfish or my grief is self-indulgent, my grief doesn’t care. I can squash it down for … Continue reading Not a Whole Heart
1. Make sure your diaper bag is big enough to pack all of the essentials. Opt for the satchel with plenty of extra room, just in case you need to hold a few of your favorite things. 2. Use Your Role as Grocery-Getter to Your Advantage: Remember that there is really no need to begrudge your spouse for never setting foot in the bread aisle because … Continue reading Practical Tips For All You Wine-Loving Mamas
A Morning Grouch 