Murphy's Laws for Moms

Today, I'm seeking your help and advice. Yes, I'm coming to the understanding that I don't know everything - despite my children's differing opinion as evident by their continued belief that I can answer the question "Why?" about any and every topic.  So, here's my question: How do you, as a mother - or any parent - make time for yourself? I try to wait until nap time or bedtime, but then I find other priorities like cleaning up, preparing dinner, finally checking email, doing work, or the highest priorities of going to the bathroom and taking a shower. I hire babysitters and don't feel too much guilt when my kids are upset I'm leaving without them.  But, the majority of times, I'm leaving to run necessary errands which would triple in length of time to accomplish if I take them with me - or triple in cost due to good behavior bribes   treats. And, we won't even begin to talk about media use because, obviously, it's a requireme...

As a parent, I strive to maintain control of my children, my responses regarding their often unusual and sometimes inappropriate actions, my sanity, and so much more.  I use benefits (a.k.a. bribery) and discipline to seek control.  I beg and plead - both to my children and God - for control.  However, after several years of parenting, I've quickly learned that control is the one thing we either quickly lose or never have. Evidence: My daughter was easy to potty train.  On her third birthday, she announced that she was a big girl and she no longer needed to wear diapers or pull ups.  From that point on, she didn't.  Since then, she's only had two accidents when someone else was watching her and forgot to remind her to use the potty before bedtime. My son is another story.  Yes, he's still young.  No, at 2-1/2, I do not expect him to be potty trained yet. However, that isn't stopping him from trying.  Every chance he gets, he takes off hi...

What labels someone as a stay-at-home mom? Are you a stay-at-home mom if you are also acting as a teacher while homeschooling your children?  Can you call your self a teacher when you're doing the same job - just unpaid - that someone in a school setting would be doing? Are you a stay-at-home mom if you spend numerous hours fulfilling volunteer work that helps fulfill an organization's mission?  What if you serve - unpaid - on a board of directors?  What if your ability to volunteer your time uses the education and training you received prior to becoming a mom but is now simply unpaid?   Are you a stay-at-home mom when you are doing the jobs and functions of an employee - cleaning house, cooking meals, doing laundry, etc.?  Yes, these may be menial tasks, but what if they replace the job that someone else could be getting paid to do? Are you a stay-at-home mom when you do anything but stay at home during the day in order to get children to ...

Over the past several days, my social media feeds have been filled with remarks either for or against Friday's comments by President Obama regarding stay-at-home moms.  I must admit, the only parenting topic on which I've seen more impassioned arguments is the choice to breastfeed or not.  The problem that I seen with all of these remarks is that they are truly arguments - never discussion on the greater topic.  And, the reason I believe this is true is because the situation (I won't call it a choice because for some parents it is not one) of staying at home is deeply personal and emotional.  So, how do we move beyond these arguments to truly understand the nature of staying home with kids?  Here are my thoughts... Staying at home to raise kids - whether it be the mother or father - is not a decision based on simply one factor.  If it were simply a factor of economics, then it would be easy :  If you need money, then you continue working.  If yo...