Murphy's Laws for Moms

Because of the often high cost of travel, I have become very picky about how I get from Point A to Point B. However, living in the West Coast, flying often makes the most sense.  Since I often travel with my kids, I look for airlines and routes that are family-friendly. Recently, I learned I need to start looking at even more: the airport through which we are traveling. Nothing is worse than a long day of travel - often starting early in the morning - with kids who just want to get to their destination.  But, when you toss in a non-family-friendly airport...well, things have just about become impossible. This is where my kids and I found ourselves on a recent trip: in Salt Lake City. I used to love traveling through the Salt Lake airport. They had numerous play areas where my kids could let loose and use up some energy before our next flight. When you have two to three flights in a day, these play areas are a lifeline for family travel. But, Salt Lake has taken out all of their pla

Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved Valentines Day.  There's something about knowing that you have a person out there in this world - be it a parent, friend, significant other, or spouse - who cares for you enough to give you a small (or large) semblance of their love for you. The gifts don't have to be expensive or luxurious.  After all, it's the thought that matters.  But, over the years, I've found that there are numerous gifts that just do not portray love in the way that I would like it expressed on this holiday.  So, here are the gifts I do not want to receive on Valentines Day. Appliances Yes, yes, yes, it's the age-old adage of truth.  I may have told you just how much I want to get that new vacuum or the latest and greatest blender, but please do not buy it for me for Valentines Day.  I do not need a reminder of the chores that need to get done around the house.  Getting me a new appliance does not show that you love me - it shows that you lo

A couple of years ago, I wrote a post about feeling sexy before and after having a baby .  I wrote this post just six months after having my first child.  At the time, what I wrote had meaning for me and helped me to get through the dramatic changes of having a newborn, lack of sleep, getting back to work after maternity leave, and a husband who was deployed all the way around the world.  At the time, doing those little somethings like painting my toes or wearing a great looking outfit, helped me to feel more like myself. After having another child and now running the gauntlet that having school-aged kids requires, being sexy isn't quite as important.  Yes, I still want to look and feel sexy - after all this gives me a positive approach to each day.  But, more importantly I want to feel real. Too often, as parents, we try to hide who we truly are.  We want people to think we have it all together.  We want to protect ourselves and our families from people who would put us down o

Let's get real. Parenting sucks. This statement may not bode well with everyone.  After all, we like to tell people just how much of a blessing our children are to us.  We like to say that we would never take back the happiness that we have received from having children and becoming a parent.  We tell others that there is no greater gift than the gift of parenting.  And, while all of these things are true, parenting still sucks. People will tell you that different situations will prepare you for becoming a parent (like having pets or the loss of sleep in your last trimester), but they're wrong.  Nothing - absolutely nothing - prepares you for having children.  These tiny little beings who you love beyond belief will test every aspect of your humanity.  They will show you new limits of frustrations.  They will teach you that your patience can fully run out.  They will have you screaming and begging, at times, for it all to just stop. In my relatively few years of parentin

Do any other parents ever wonder the purpose of assigning homework for Kindergarten? I constantly wonder this as I battle the balance of school, play, meal times, and bed times. My Kindergarten child gets home from school close to 4pm. If we have evening activities, we have to cram in starting (not always finishing) homework, dinner, whatever activity is planned, and the *hopefully* a decent bedtime.  It doesn't always all fit. What do I do as a parent? I put off the homework. It's not that I don't value her learning and schoolwork. I want to be a parent who knows what my children are learning and help my child achieve her educational goals.  But, I also want my child to be a child.  So, sometimes this means saying that she's done enough work during the day and it's time for play.  I also want my child to be able to function well during the next school day, so it may also mean that my child needs to go to sleep at a decent time (in my house, this is around 7pm).

Do you ever fantasize about what your life could be?  I do.  In my fantasy, I wake up after a decent night's sleep of 8-9 hours.  Upon awakening, I am filled with energy to start my day, so I have no trouble immediately getting out of bed and starting my day with a nice, warm - uninterrupted - shower where I can leisurely take my time shampooing, conditioning, scrubbing, and shaving.  I then have plenty of time to not only dry my hair, but also style it and put on my makeup.  Then, the perfect outfit automatically pops out of my closet, and I don't have to squeeze, stop breathing, or wear shapewear or push-up anything to make myself look good in this outfit. As I finish dressing for the day, I come out of my room to find that my two children are also well-rested and excited to start the day - as evident by the fact that they dressed themselves in both weather-appropriate and occasion-appropriate clothing (they remember not to wear flip flops on PE day and that it's cold o