Moms beat themselves up and then take it out on each other for choices that should be made by each individual personally. Do I know that the American Academy of Pediatrics says breast is best? Yes, I may have read that a million times or so but you know what? It doesn’t always go that way. There are moms who can’t, moms who adopt, and fathers who are the primary parents.
There are breastfeeding mamas and then there are others that have to go with an alternative method.
I’m not sure where the idea started that women should lie about their age—or at what age you should start lying. Once at a grad school party I announced that I was 30.
A colleague spit out his drink as his mouth gaped in shock, “Oh my God! I had no idea.”
He was 26.
I remember that I was carrying my infant daughter, wrapped tightly to me as I wandered through a church bazaar when a voice said, “What a beautiful baby!”
I thought so, of course, but it was nice to hear it from a stranger, so I turned and thanked the person behind the voice. I don’t remember what she looked like, but I want to judge her, in retrospect – in my mind, her perfectly coiffed, single-hue dye job was oversprayed, her skin showed the damage from too many tanning booths and she wore too much expensive, cloying cologne – but I really don’t know. She looked into my baby’s beautiful eyes and returned her bright, cheerful smile – and then looked at me and said “You’re going to keep her thin and pretty, right?”
Do you want to go to frontier camp this year? I texted my son. My son, who has a cell phone and rides the bus and comes home to an empty house. Who towers over his twelve-year old buddies and can look me straight in the eye.
No! Frontier camp is for little kids and it’s stupid. I want to go to engineering camp, he texts back and I have to sit down for a minute. Engineering Camp? Who wants to go Engineering Camp?
How far is too far for an April Fool’s Day joke? It’s all supposed to be a day filled with practical jokes and hoaxes and silliness. Until, it’s not.
Years ago, on April Fool’s Day, I told my mom I was getting engaged to someone I had recently started dating. My acting must have been pretty good because she actually bought it and, worse yet, I let the prank go on ALL day. Boy was she furious when I told her it was a joke at the end of the night.
Funny, right? Wrong! I’ve vowed never to go that far again.
I stayed up too late last night. Again. Bad idea when you’re the mom of two, one of which is a baby who doesn’t sleep through the night. An even worse idea when you are also battling a cold and facing a work deadline.
Create an Easter Egg Hunt that everyone will enjoy. Follow our tips on creating a magical experience, keeping the hunt fair play and Chocolate alternatives that will please more than your sweet tooth.
Although I love saying, “Have toothbrush, will travel,” I need more in my suitcase than oral care tools and a passport! If you find packing for vacation scary enough to put you off leaving your house, check out how I pack with ease, then start planning your next vacay.
The arrival of spring means that a lot of beautiful things are about to bloom. It also means that some not-so-beautiful things are about to arrive as well… I’m talking about every lawn’s enemy: weeds. We have have a cringe-worthy abundance of these, but I’ve figured out how to make the best of the situation and how you can to. What I’m suggesting is a weed bouquet. Sound hideous? Maybe! But as far as decorative experiments go, this is quite cost-effective. In fact…completely free.
Spring break. The time parents plan for and children dream about. A trip to the beach, amusement park, or in our case, the mountains. We chose to drive to our destination. It forced family fun and was simply easier than flying with our gear.