Mom's Timeout

As if it’s not hard enough being a mom, there’s a new challenge moms face courtesy of social media. Moms face tons of pressure from family, friends, and neighbors on a daily basis to conform to an imaginary version of mommy perfection that’s impossible to achieve. We struggle to do what’s “best” for our kids […]

I’m pregnant with my daughter. She’s not even here yet and I’m already terrified. I have no idea how to raise a daughter. I’m more than scared, I’m petrified. Even though she’s yet to enter the world, my brain is already bursting with all sorts of things I want to tell her, things I need her to […]

It’s funny to think that when I first had my son everyone was so quick to tell me how to do things. So many people were all for helping me out. The only issue with this? All of the advice I was getting completely contradicted itself. One person would tell me something and someone else […]

It wasn’t my choice to wait until my 30’s to have kids. It was just sort of the hand I was dealt. I wanted kids a lot sooner, but as is the irony of life, it happened in its own time and on its own terms. In hindsight, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, though. […]

When we began our childcare search, I remember a strange bit of advice an older mom friend gave me. She said to look out for care providers that focused on education or putting the kids into a school-like routine. She urged us to find a provider who was more concerned with fostering play, imagination, and […]

Have you ever wondered what makes marriages last? You know, what keeps the bond between two people just as strong as the day they said I do? I’ve occasionally mentioned something along these lines to older friends or relatives and the responses I’ve gotten are, for the most part, very similar. It’s crazy to think that some people manage […]

Do you remember the lessons you learned as a young girl? Not the everyday stuff, but the big things that matter and that shape who we are. They’re so important and yet so easy to forget, especially as we get distracted by our day-to-day lives. I remember learning quite a few of these way back when. It’s […]

Parenthood. It’s ironic. It’s sarcastic. And it’s whole lot of fun, isn’t it? You know the old cliché about kids saying the darnedest things? Sometimes, parents do too. Sometimes, I’ll just be scrolling through my Facebook feed, minding my own business, and I run across a gem like this one. I laughed so hard when I […]

I remember telling my mama friends over and over again exactly how things were going to be. I truly think they were just humoring me. You know, because it’s easier to just bite your tongue than it is to argue with a cranky, pregnant girl who knows everything there is to know about parenting. I’ll bet […]

The playground always sounds like a great idea in theory. The sun is out and it’s warm. My son gets excited and wants to go play. I imagine waving at him like a mommy beauty queen from the park bench as he shouts “Look at me!” and wooshes down the slide. Sometimes I even take […]

My husband and I periodically grow concerned about our smart phone use. We use them for everything. These little devices have been lifesavers in many situations! We’re grateful for our smart phones for many reasons, but we’re also aware of the dangers they pose. I get concerned about my husband’s inability to ignore his phone, […]

We all joke about having our kids support us when they grow up and become successful. We tease that it’s our reward for changing diapers, helping with math homework, and managing teenage attitudes. While we don’t actually expect our children to support us in our old age, it’s fun to daydream about a time when […]

We really don’t need any more reasons to love Target do we? Let’s all just go ahead and agree that store is amazing. It didn’t take very long after purchasing our home for me to realize that we are now closer to Target than either Walmart or Kmart. It’s part of my excuse for always […]

My husband will never understand what it’s like to be me. He can’t wrap his brain around what it’s like to be a woman, a wife, a mother… just as I can’t really comprehend what it’s like to be him. Sometimes, in the heat of argument or while dishing it with my girls at the […]

There’s a clear focus on achieving in our society. We often push our kids to be the best – at anything, at something. We know in our hearts that being “best” or “perfect” isn’t really all that important, but we push anyway. What if we spent just as much time focusing on teaching our children […]

As I get older, I’m more interested in quality than quantity when it comes to friends. I might have several hundred “friends” on Facebook, but the circle of people I consider true friends is actually very small. However, these few ladies are the truest friends a mom like me could ever have. I’m so blessed […]

I remember the first time my son pulled up in his crib and I was up until midnight that night lowering the mattress position. No need to take unnecessary chances, right? These days, we’re very patiently waiting for our next switch to a toddler bed and I assure you it’s only a matter of time. It’s […]

I’m not sure which is worse – losing the last few weeks of summer to getting ready to go back to school or waiting until a few days before and scrambling around to get everything together. I remember going back to school when I was younger. It was a lot of shopping and saying so long […]

Are you busy? I mean really busy – the kind of busy that results in you being over-worked and exhausted? It seems to be the norm these days. We just keep adding more and more to our to-do lists and then end up stressing ourselves out trying to get everything done. Some of us call […]

C’mon, admit it! You know you did. We’ve all, at one time or another, caught ourselves saying things like “I would never let my child get away with acting like that” or “I can’t believe she’s [fill in the blank with mom fail of choice]” It’s so easy to judge other moms, especially before we […]