After my daughter's birthday party last week, I was completely exhausted and then we had to go to a wedding and two more birthday parties that weekend.  By Sunday night, I looked like death warmed over and I was seriously on edge.  Every time I heard crying of any kind, I had to resist pulling out my hair and screaming, "STOP IT!!!" 

Monday morning came too quickly and it was time to go back to work and I looked at my schedule and realized that I had an overnight trip planned for Tuesday.  I don't have to travel for work often, but every time I do, I am racked with guilt.  I worry that the kids won't sleep well, that they'll fight for the baby-sitter or my parents, or that Hubby will be awake all night before he has to go operate on humans the next day.  The irony is that they always do fine, but the list of why I worry goes on and on and it's all I can think about.  But then something funny happens...I get to my hotel and it hits me that I'm alone and can do whatever the heck I want and I am suddenly thrilled beyond belief.  Then I feel guilty again for being so happy to be alone so I punish myself by working all evening on my computer and going to bed early.

Intellectually I know that feeling guilty is a stupid waste of time.  I can't change the fact that I have to go out of town.  My worry doesn't help anyone and I know deep down that sometimes I lash out when I'm feeling guilty and it's no wonder.  There is well-documented evidence that guilt and depression are a bad idea:

• A Study in the Journal of American Obstetrics and Gynecology finds that maternal depression can result in premature babies
• A Study finds that Mothers Who are More Patient Have Children with Larger Brains
• The book Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman documents how French Women resist the feeling of maternal guilt because they feel that is it a damaging emotion for the entire family

So, knowing all this, I decided to embrace my out-of-town trip.  After my business meetings, I made an appointment to get my disgustingly scraggly hair cut.  I got a pedicure on my poor callused feet.  I rented The Bachelor Pad on my iPad and I watched the entire thing.  I ate cookies.  And I didn't feel one bit guilty about it.

The next day when it was time to go home, I noticed something very interesting.  I was absolutely thrilled to see my kids.  My irritation and exhaustion were gone.  We had a wonderful evening together and I realized that I had just learned a very important lesson in how to be a better Mom: take a break.  Not just from kids but from guilt.  Of course, my situation of being out of town is unique and rare, but we can all find a way to get a pedicure, read a book, get a massage, whatever makes us happy, because we work hard and our kids deserve a happy mommy.



I want to say thank you so much to all of you readers!!!  Because of you, my book keeps climbing in the ranks on Amazon and it feels so wonderful to know that we are helping some Moms out there!!  If you haven't checked into it yet, I would love it if you would.  It has a unique perspective because I co-wrote it with former Kindergarten teacher, Susan Case, and we bring you hundreds of ways to keep your kids busy and we even tackle this subject of Mommy Guilt!  I would love it if you would check it out!

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A few months ago we were walking to our mailbox and my daughter asked, "Mom, did anything come for me today?"

I laughed.  "Um, you're 4," I said.  "Nothing for you just yet."

Yet, I can't blame her.  I remember when I was a kid and on the rare chance that something came for me, I was thrilled beyond belief.  So, when I heard about a great little company called Kiwi Crate, I thought it would be a perfect gift for my daughter.  They package up craft kits and send them out once a month to their customers.  They literally send everything you would possibly need for these crafts, along with great instructions.  They even addressed it to my her, which I thought was such a nice touch and my daughter was shaking with excitement when we opened the box.

They have all kinds of kit choices, for girls and for boys, such as gardening crafts, space crafts, dinosaurs, colors, etc.  The one we got was the space kit and as it came with two different crafts.  First, we made really cool a solar system.  The great thing about this project was that we got to use sparkly paint!

Once you get everything painted, you hang it up on the mobile cardboard they provided, with the string they provided.  We still have it hanging up and the kids thing it is SUPER cool!

The next project was rockets...You basically get a bunch of long tubes and some paper and some decorations and follow the instructions to put them together and then voila!  You have rockets!  The kids blow on one end and the rocket flies off through the air.  This was really fun for them because they got to chase the rocket all over the room and they giggled with delight when they saw it fly.  I could see this being a PERFECT craft for a 5 year old boy's birthday party.  One caveat I will make is that this craft really isn't idea for kids below age 3.  Kiwi Crate recommends their crafts for kids ages 3-7 and I suggest you stick with that.  I tried let Little Buddy participate (age 2) and it just didn't work as well.

I really like the folks at Kiwi Crate and they have kindly offered to give one of my readers a free crate (a $20 value, enter below), contest ends July 31 at 12:01am. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please note: Although this was a sponsored post and I received the product free of charge, all opinions are my own.


Lastly, have you seen my book yet?  If you need ways to keep your kids busy while you do the dishes or get a moment of peace, you should check it out!  We have literally hundreds of activities and the reviews on Amazon have been really great!


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When I woke up yesterday morning, I felt like I'd been hit by a truck.  Or maybe been out all night partying until 4am.  Yet I'd gone to bed by 9pm.  Why was I so exhausted?  Two words:  Princess Party.

Yes, I elected to have a princess party for my four year old, but I was determined to make it a low-maintenance birthday party.  There were going to be no bounce houses or rented ladies dressed up as princesses at our party (Not that there is anything wrong with that.  In fact, I felt certain my party wouldn't measure up to others who truly went all out, so I didn't even want to try.)  The only problem is that it turns out there is no such thing as a low-maintenance birthday party because you can't get around the fact that at a bare minimum, you still have to provide cake, food, gift bags, entertainment, and presents.  

First, the kids "helped" me get ready for the party.  I blew up the balloons and they stole them and batted them around the house.  Then they insisted on putting the crowns on and decorating pieces of paper, but that did keep them very busy while I got everything ready.  And I will admit that I enjoyed watching them play with the balloons so I even put on music for them and helped them bat the balloons around.

Everything  was finally ready.  We had 7 little crowns and 7 little wands all ready to be decorated with jewels, glittery letters, and stickers

Seven little girls arrived at 4:00, all decked out in their favorite princess dress and I have to say that my little Munchkin Girl was in her element.  She was the quintessential hostess to her friends, making sure they each had a crown and a wand to decorate.  Keep in mind this was a "drop-off party" so all parents were gone and the seven little girls were left in our care.  My daughter grinned from ear to ear while her little friends used the glue, glittery letters, jewels and stickers that she helped me organize.  

Since I wanted this party to be low-maintenance, I planned on all this part taking quite awhile and I didn't plan much else, other than the cake and stuff.  I had set out a bunch of bowls with plenty of supplies so when they were all done by 4:20 with this project, we were a bit baffled.  Now what?  The party was scheduled to last until 5:30.  I started to feel a bit panicky, but luckily my Mom is an elementary PE teacher, so she stepped in.  Between 4:20 and 5:00, we played:

• Hide and Go Seek
• Favorite Animal Game: Each kid got to take a turn saying what their favorite animal was.  Then they demonstrated what that animal did, such as hopping (bunny), crawling on all fours (horses), etc. and then all the little girls had to follow.  They loved having turns with this!
• Freeze Dancing (Play music until it stops and then everyone FREEZES!)
• Fall down dancing (Similar to freeze dance, but when the music stops, they all fall down)

There is just nothing cuter than 7 little sweet girls running around in princess dresses, pretending to be unicorns.  My favorite part was when all six of them would hide in the same room, all in plain sight, and all giggling and waiting to be found.

Then we decided it was time for pizza and cookie cake, and luckily we killed time by also having them decorate the cookies.

Then we did the presents and voila!  It was 5:30!  Each little girl went home with a personalized crown on their head, a decorated wand, and a bag full of princess stickers.  Hubby and I were exhausted, and Munchkin Girl had never felt so special in all her life.  The problem was that I couldn't believe that I had to face this year after year.  Not only that, the following morning we had two birthday parties to attend, and they were both also princess parties and I didn't know how I would have the energy.

We arrived at the first one and I couldn't believe my eyes.  This woman had made a Barbie cake, something I've only ever seen in magazines...it had a real Barbie inside, and an intricate web of icing for Barbie's dress.  Not only that, a tent was outside, filled with balloons and decorated with streamers and what appeared to be wedding veils and they had stations set up for the girls to have their nails done, faces painted, and even make-up done.   The Mom seemed cool as a cucumber and I suddenly felt ashamed and embarrassed.  I was still completely exhausted from my own party the day before and I hadn't done any of this fancy stuff!  I commented to the grandmother how impressed I was with everything and she replied, "Well, she about kills herself doing it and everyone around her too!"  The Grandma rolled her eyes. 

"Really?"  I replied.  "She looks so calm!"

"Don't let her fool you honey.  It's all an act!" She winked at me and I felt much better because I felt certain that she would be just as tired as I was and I realized that there are no Super-Moms.  We're all just trying to do our best to make our little girls feel special but it isn't easy no matter how talented you are.