My Kids Do Not Get Along, Like, Ever, and It’s the Worst
I sneak upstairs and wash my face. I put in one contact lens. Then I hear screaming from the preschooler — ‘Stop sitting on me! Stop bothering me!’ I go down the stairs — half blind — hop the baby gate, and pull the toddler off his sister. I bring the toddler upstairs while I finish getting ready. Desperate to just get out of the house, I allow him to bring his potato chip breakfast upstairs, too.
So Little Time, So Many Food Delivery Options
I have to admit, when it comes to certain things, I am more than willing to take the lazy way out. Working full time on top of being a parent and a playwright allows me access to the easy button every once in awhile. And when it comes to food delivery, I may as well be a sloth, but I’ve learned to be OK with that. Luckily, there are plenty of options to fill my pantry for the long haul or my stomach on a hangry quick fix.
Dear Pre-Baby Body: I Don’t Want You Back
The whirlwind of motherhood can be overwhelming and difficult to process. My lack of desire to shed the pounds or eliminate the cellulite is not a disguise for laziness; instead, I have learned to welcome rest — both mentally and physically. It has been life-changing to shift my perspective, making the conscious choice to enjoy my femininity (whatever that may look or feel like). Why do our bodies need to be what they used to be? Can we not be satisfied with how they are now? All of us women deserve bragging rights — our bodies are amazing.
Self-Care Strategies for Stressed-Out Moms
Whenever I’m in a funk, I head for the forest. Forest bathing, or what the Japanese call shinrin yoku is the practice of simply being among the trees. Benefits include increased immunity, lowered stress hormones, lower blood pressure, and increased energy and vitality. But, most importantly, it changes the scenery, which sometimes is the best self-care of all. When my babies were little, just going outside changed the mood so quickly, with new smells and sights and stimulation. I could ward off a tantrum even on the streets of Cambridge.
Getting a Puppy Versus Having a Baby :: Are They Really That Different?
Yeah, that. “I babysat in college” is a great saying, but it doesn’t mean you will have any idea what to do with a crying newborn at 2 a.m. when you haven’t slept in three days. Likewise, even though we had an amazing dog for a decade, we adopted him after the puppy phase. Thus, my experience with a dog we got as a previously potty trained, past-the-teething-point, 7-month-old pup doesn’t hold a candle to the 11-week-old shelter pup we just welcomed into our home. She is beautiful. And clueless. And a BABY.
The 7 Ways I Woke Up This Week
When they’re babies, it’s just plain old sleep deprivation. Nothing fancy, just a basic form of torture outlawed by the Geneva Convention yet somehow totally cool when perpetrated by a tiny human that looks marginally like you. Then as they get older, their torturing skills mature. It becomes less about brute force denial of sleep and more about finding psychological mechanisms for draining the joy out of the act of sleep.
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The Evolution of Girls Night
Yep, that’s right. After planning a girls night out with friends for some much-needed time to catch up, we spent our night discussing bottles, diapers, sleeping, not sleeping, trips to the hospital, breastfeeding, birthdays, and when we are going to have more. What was once girls night out has become moms night out, and we cannot help it. We are moms and future moms.
Am I Teaching My Kids Bad Manners?
It’s very important to me that my children are polite. They both engage in conversations with adults, and if someone asks how they are, and they respond with, ‘Fine, thank you. How are you?’ I feel like I’ve done my job. But maybe I’m accidentally committing a faux pas that outweighs all that I’ve taught them?
