As I looked around the house last night, I saw a living room somewhat straightened up, my kitchen sink had a few dishes in it that didn’t fit in the dishwasher, my dining room had a few placemats askew but other than that it looked decent.
Then I went upstairs.
Crap.
Our guest room has slowly become the dumping ground for clean clothes that haven’t been folded. Now the piles of clothes are so big, we basically use the room as a huge walk-in closet. My kids’ rooms aren’t too bad, considering they’re …

This past weekend, I went to Borders to meet up with a writer buddy/mommy friend of mine. We let it all out and talked about any and everything: the kids, the husband, the career, our fears, our hopes and dreams, our desires.
We made good conversation for more than three hours, barely noticing the darkening sky outside. It was heavenly. I was able to get some things off my chest, help my friend get a better glimpse of herself and her bright future, and just spend some time child-free and husband-free.
It felt …

Confession time: Both of my kids were “Surprise!” babies.
The first one? Well, we weren’t careful.
The second? Well, we weren’t careful enough.
“Surprise!” babies carry a special type of “Mommy guilt” that comes even before the baby is born. Now a new study says that moms with unplanned kids treat them differently. Great.
There’s not much that can make me feel inadequate about my mothering skills. But the fact that these precious babies were created without so much as a thought on my behalf as to whether or not I could provide for …

I walked into my son’s room this morning, like I do every morning to wake him up, change his diaper and clothes, and feed him breakfast.
I peek over the railing of his crib. 
So peaceful. So serene.
My son, laying on his side, hands in little half-fists, mouth open, humming. Wish I could have bottled that and kept it with me all day.
And then I realized.
One day I won’t have to wake up and make him a bottle. I won’t have to check to make sure we have enough diapers before he goes …

My blogger friend Jenn runs the blog, Baby Makin Machine, where she ponders over whether she is ready to become a mom. She’s our age (23) and has been married for almost five years. The simple fact that she has created an entire blog to chronicle her journey to motherhood lets you know she’s serious.
She recently posted about why people choose to have babies earlier (like us) versus people who wait until their 30s or later. In writing my reply, I realized my comment might make a good post …

So I sucked this week. A lot.
I haven’t worked out since last Saturday. As in the Saturday before Mother’s Day.
See, what had happened was that I was on a roll. I was working out, eating my salads, being more active that usual, rolling on the floor with the kids. Basically just doing the damn thing.
Then I did all that and got sore. Figured, let me give these hard-working muscles a chance to rest a day. One day turned into two. Two days turned into, “Nope, I don’t need to get …

As if you needed one more reason to love your little one even more, here it is:
Little kids love to clean.
Not everything mind you, but they like to help. And if you’re cleaning, guess what? THEY LIKE TO HELP YOU.
This is one of those Great Parenting Secrets That No One Talks About For Fear It Will Disappear. My two year old (man, time flies!) will wipe up a spill like nobody’s business. Don’t hand her a paper towel and leave her to her own devices. She will walk around like …

I actually just wrote about this over at my other blog, about what it takes to be a good mother. I just stumbled on this guest post over at Zen Habits, a life and productivity blog that I read pretty much every day. It has some great advice for new moms, or even moms who just a reminder that being a good mom is as much about taking care of yourself as it is about the kids. A few things I would add to that post:

Time goes by fast, but …