Tag Archives: mom

You Might Be a Catholic Mama If . . .

1) You are consistently frustrated that no one makes “Big Brother/Big Sister” baby onesies.

2) Going to mass is like preparing for battle. You must be armed with distracting yet quiet yet religious toys. And you still haven’t been able to pay attention to a whole mass in years.

3) You attend your children’s baptisms in a fairly large dress because you’ll be damned if you’re still wearing a maternity one.

4) You have more maternity clothing than normal clothing. read more

The Thing About Advice on Motherhood: Too many cooks!

A dear friend recently wrote to me asking what I do about all of the advice and opinions people inevitably give when they see you with young children. She is a single mom dedicating her life to her sweet child, and everyone “shoving their oar in”, as it were, is distracting her from her main purpose: caring for her child the best way she can. Not to mention, too many people rowing the boat in different directions will only serve to make sure the boat isn’t going anywhere. (Hey! That must be the purpose of the metaphor!) read more

A letter to my childless self

Hey you! Yes, you over there with your tiny full term belly, wondering how your life is going to change once this baby comes. Let me tell you, this baby and the ones that come after her are going to rock your world, but in the most amazing way possible. However, there are a few things you should know and appreciate before they arrive.

1) Stop obsessing over getting the best parking spot possible. There will come a time when you will have actual physical obstacles to overcome when you park somewhere. Try searching for a parking spot when you have two babies and an enormous pregnant belly, or three babies in tow. Toddlers are as slow as molasses, and you are constantly terrified that their little hands will slip out of yours and they will immediately be hit by a car. (Side note, stop speeding through the parking lot! Toddlers escape easily and are hard to see!) Also, car seats with babies in them weigh about two tons and are about as easy to lift into a shopping cart as a baby grand piano. So, relish your physical freedom, park in the back, and enjoy a leisurely stroll to the store. We moms will be forever grateful. read more

Our little flower girls

My brother’s wedding was this weekend, and it was a destination wedding in the college town of Athens, Georgia.
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My (now!) sister in law very sweetly asked if my two older girls would be flower girls, and of course I agreed. Ruth will be three in September and Rose will be two in October, so I was a tad bit anxious about how they would perform come the day of the wedding.
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We traveled up to Athens on the 4th of July for the Rehearsal Dinner. When we had settled into our cute cottage on the grounds of the wedding venue and attended the Rehearsal Dinner, Ruthie promptly sat on a lit match and burned a hole in her dress. We like to start things off right. The rest of the Rehearsal Dinner was uneventful, other than the fact it was outdoors and the mosquitos ate poor little Ruth alive! read more

Baby Sleep Woes

When Ruth was a baby, my husband and I would wonder what all the fuss about sleep deprivation and babies was about. She was already sleeping five hours a night when we brought her home from the hospital. She was sleeping eight hours by two months, and twelve by four months. “We are the best parents ever!”, we congratulated ourselves. “All of those parents that don’t sleep at night must be doing something wrong,” we smugly opined.

Then, Rose was born. She wouldn’t sleep for more than three hours at a time until she was four months old. Our faith in our parenting abilities was shaken. That was the longest four months of my life. Until Wren was born. read more

Top five unexpectedly good things about having babies close together

When Ruth was five months old, we found out we were pregnant with Rose. When Rose was about seven months old, we found out we were pregnant with Wren! Having children this close together is not for the faint of heart, but it does come with some unexpected perks. For example,

1) None of your baby stuff is in storage. That’s right! No need to send your husband up to the attic for all that baby junk that has been up there for a few years and worry about cleaning off the mold, dust and spiders. It is all still out! In fact, there is still a baby in it. Don’t get too comfortable in that exersaucer, baby. I’m counting on you learning to walk in the next few months. And soothe a newborn. read more

When are you going back to work?

I get asked this all the time. I usually stammer some awkward explanation about being on perpetual maternity leave because I feel like “I AM working, and when the kids grow up and leave the house, I will be enjoying my well-deserved retirement,” isn’t quite the answer they are looking for.

As an aside, I feel obligated to mention that if you are looking for a discussion on whether “working” moms or “stay at home” moms are better or have a harder life, then look elsewhere. I have never been a working mom, so I am not going to presume to speak on something about which I have no knowledge. read more

When mama is sick

I woke up with a fever of 102 racking my whole body. I staggered into the girls’ rooms to change their diapers and get them dressed. Putting out two bowls of Cheerios and two sippies of milk, I turned on Sesame Street and promptly (and accidentally) passed out on the couch.

I was awoken from sleep by a kiss. My eyes snapped open, horrified that I had fallen asleep. I was staring into Ruthie’s enormous eyes. “Mama, you sick?,” she inquired. “Yes, baby,” I answered. Before I could stop her, she planted another big kiss on my lips. “I make it all better, mama.” “Thank you, baby.”, I told her, realizing how the whole “kiss it and make it better” thing had really backfired on me from a hygienic standpoint. read more

Why we should experience the moment instead of capturing it

I am writing this post more for myself than anyone else. I struggle with this daily. In the age of camera phones and social media, we have become obsessed with trying to document our lives and forget that sometimes we need to just put the phone down and experience the moment.

I am guilty of this with my children. As anyone who follows me on Instagram can attest, I take a ridiculous amount of photos of my children. If Wren starts calling my camera phone, “Mama,” I’ll know that I’ve gone too far. I know I’ll never regret documenting their childhood, but sometimes the camera can become too much of a distraction for me. I’m so focused on trying to capture that perfect photo that will be Pinterest worthy and get a million likes and comments on Instagram (still haven’t caught that white whale), that I neglect to just put the phone down and enjoy these moments with my children and take delight in every stage of their lives. read more

Wren’s Birth Story- Part 1 (be careful what you wish for)

I love birth stories. Because I have had all scheduled C’s, I used to scour the internet for them and eat them up! I loved reading about the shock, the excitement, the surprise, the spontaneity! Until Wren, my birth stories were painfully boring. We just made all of the arrangements, strolled into the hospital at our scheduled time, and a few minutes after being on the operating table our baby had arrived. I really felt like I had been robbed of a fascinating and memorable birth tale. Be careful what you wish for . . . . read more