Part of my vision in starting this blog two years ago was to reclaim the joy of motherhood. I was reading so many articles on how hard it is to be a mom that I was starting to question whether we were tricking ourselves into believing, and accepting, that motherhood is a form of misery. Parenting is both joyous and hard. Hard doesn’t have to mean that something is wrong. Especially for those of us living in ridiculous amounts of privilege, it can be difficult to let ourselves admit when things feel hard.  The daily grind with very young kiddos is sometimes the toughest, even when everything in your life…

The words pop hot in my brain as scalding water streams down and soaks my brittle hair The sentences sear through me, they start to fuse together One idea pierces my heart and jumbles my insides with butterflies like caffeine Vapor swallows me in hope but Two babies bang their chubby hands on the grimy glass door The hot water sears my skin red as I skip shampoo and shaving Cries and shrieks eat up the words Swallow them and spit them out I try to pack them in gray folds for later But they flop out and turn to mush As mommy dripping grabs her babies, comb and clothes;…

Let’s get right into it, because it’s 9:55 on a work night and my 7-month-old will be crying for me at any moment now. Listen up, moms. First time moms and seasoned veterans. I’m about to give you some really good advice. Here it is: You do not need to take anyone’s advice.  I realize you’ve heard this before in some form or another. But let’s break it down. Let’s really get into this topic. I find it helps me tremendously to get specific, detailed and concrete when I’m dealing with a helpful nugget of wisdom that I think I “already know.” You do not need to take anyone’s advice…

Mel B on an old AGT video I watched on YouTube last week told contestant Grace Vanderwaal: “I want to give you a big boost of confidence… because you don’t actually know how good you are.”  That’s what I want to do right now. I want to give every parent in the world a huge confidence boost, because truly, we don’t know how good we are.  Every human being on this planet has a cruel inner dialogue continually berating his or her imperfections. I didn’t get to the gym. I got behind on a project. I forgot my keys. I cried at work. This voice picks on us, picks at…

As moms, we want to get it right. Though we may say we’re not striving for perfection, we constantly battle the burden of unrealistic expectations. We put tremendous pressure on ourselves. Where we might have incredibly high standards for ourselves in all areas of life – career, fitness, etc. – motherhood is an entirely new level. Whether you work outside the home or as a stay-at-home mom, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of tiny things you do each day in support of your children’s well-being. Add to that the tasks you do to maintain your household, the daily decisions you make for your family, your own personal activities. I’m…

Work is overwhelming. The house is smelly. Dinner is late. Your newborn screams bloody murder every time you lay her down. And your toddler has been repeating this phrase in a desperate whine for the past 27 minutes: “Mommy, I want the little yellow ball!” No one knows where the little yellow ball is.  Mom life can get stressful. I invented a tiny reminder motto for myself. Think Big and See Small. It means: When things get tough, take a step back and look at the big picture. Think about my beautiful family, acknowledge what’s going well and remind myself of my goals. At the same time, make a conscious…