parenthood

At 12 and 10 years old, my girls are still in the age range where society tells me that I should be presenting a polished version of myself to them. Image: Thinkstock.

3 Reasons I Refuse To Hide My Feelings From My Daughters

The reality is that any person I love, including my daughters, can deeply hurt my feelings. Does this mean that I hold my daughters to the same level of emotional accountability as my husband or my best friend? Nope, but for it damn sure doesn’t mean that I morph into some feeling-less version of myself because I’m a mother, either.

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You have never had to be so flexible, literally and figuratively, in your life. Image: Hua Zhan/Pixabay.

Congratulations, New Parents — You're Screwed.

There is actually no way to prepare for parenthood.

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We want him to know that while things will change when his sister gets here, he can always come to us for anything, and we will always make time for him. Image:  Elizabeth Kardaseva/Pixabay.

5 Things I Plan On Doing Before I Become A Mom Of Two

I’m not going to lie or sugarcoat my feelings right now — I’m nervous about going from a mom of one to a mom of two. My son is seven, so he, my husband, and I have had seven years of time as “just the three of us.”

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When Branden came along, we decided not to baptize him; I just didn’t believe our sweet baby was born in sin. Image: Juan Carlos Leva/PEXELS.

Religion vs. Motherhood: Why I Doubt My Choices

I am still a very spiritual person, but don’t necessarily agree with a lot of the things I was taught growing up — or the way it was shoved down our throats. So when Branden came along, we decided not to baptize him, because I just didn’t believe our sweet baby was born in sin. My husband wasn’t religious, and this was the right choice for us.

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It didn't occur to me that once our son was old enough to actually form opinions for himself, we might not have much in common anymore. Image: Thinkstock.

I'm Very Different From My Husband And Son — And That's OK

When I brought my son into the world, I thought that he would be an awful lot like me. He had to be, right? He grew inside me; I nourished him; I was the one home with him day in and day out during those very impressionable years, while my husband worked a grueling military schedule — yet there are few similarities to be found.

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I have two kids and I curse like a sailor. I do not curse at them, but I curse around them. And they know the difference.

I'm Not A Bad Parent For Swearing Around My Children

I have two kids and I curse like a sailor. I do not curse at them, but I curse around them. And they know the difference. I tell them that "fuck" and "shit" are curse words, that they are for grownups to say. I don’t sugarcoat them. But I also do not intend to give up the words that offer me a level of catharsis I can’t seem to locate elsewhere in the English language.

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Forget the safe word, give me the epidural now, I thought, apparently with some sudden telepathic connection with my doula.

5 Things You Learn When Labor Doesn't Go According To Plan

“It will be long,” they told me. “It will likely be days after your due date,” they advised. “Everything will begin slowly with breaks between contractions,” they said. They lied.

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Parenthood doesn't stop when your children grow up.

4 Easy Steps To Loving Your Adult Children Without Smothering Them

As the mother of two adult children and as a relationship and life coach, I, like many, strive for that delicate balance of loving my children but not smothering them. It definitely takes self-awareness, a filter and lots of self-control — but it's worth the effort.

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