Joni Edelman

You can work your butt off and still be left with a tummy. Bummer.

Sam: The first time you mentioned that you have five kids I was like WHAT THE ACTUAL. FIVE HUMANS. FIVE HUMANS CAME OUT OF YOU. Like, not at the same time, but they came out and like, that sounds painful and scary WHY DID YOU DO THAT??

It's #STDAwareness week here at Ravishly. We're kicking it off with this handy chart!

Compassion for myself is not a thing I do. It is not a thing I have ever done. It is not a thing I feel comfortable doing. It's time I stop for compassion.

A weekly trip to Walmart would end in tears — first theirs, then mine. Them pining in the toy aisle. Me saying no. Over and over. It wasn’t so much that I wanted to buy my kids whatever they wanted, it was that I couldn’t.

I'll never forget the day I discovered the name for my mental illness.

It doesn’t get any more difficult to insult ourselves, regardless of how old we are. It would be ideal if it got easier to respect ourselves, but it generally doesn’t do that either. Every year you age, and every year the aging you looks at the you of the years before and thinks, I can’t believe I thought I was fat/ugly/etc.

You do not have to hate your body — but you don’t have to love it either. While I'm happy with my fat body, I miss being thin.

It's not always easy to find a new partner when you have kids in tow. But not only is it possible, it's worth it.