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My Goodbye To Mommyish

Almost two years ago, I wrote my very first piece for Mommyish on the week the site launched. (That’s right, we’re almost two years old! Don’t forget to get us a card.) I talked about my daughter’s lack of patience, specifically the agony of buying a butterfly garden for a 3-year-old and spending the next few weeks constantly answering questions about how long this transformation nonsense was going to take. Since then, I’m glad to say that we’ve learned a lot about patience, and so many other things. More »

Torrington Rape Case Devolves Into Rape Apology, Rape Threats, & General Grossness On Social Media

Just as the rulings were being handed out in the Steubenville rape case, another eerily similar story of high school sexual assault was gaining traction. As the world began to move on from a small town in Ohio, we were immediately pulled in to a small town in Connecticut, where two Torrington High School football players were being charged the statutory rape of two 13-year-old girls. (The number of alleged rapists has grown to four high schools boys now.) Now, the social media bullying that became an intricate part of the Steubenville case has reared its ugly head once again. More »

Breaking: Jessica Simpson Steps Out Of The House Looking Like Every Other Pregnant Woman Ever

We need to interrupt your regularly scheduled content for an important breaking news item. Jessica Simpson left her house in a t-shirt, sweat pants, and without mountains of make-up. That’s right, Jessica Simpson, past pop star and current fashion mogul, went outside looking like every other pregnant woman who has ever existed. More »

After Infertility: Saying Goodbye To My Stash Of ‘For Future Baby’ Clothes

After Infertility: Saying Goodbye To My Stash Of â��For Future Babyâ�� Clothes

There is a baby in my head. He’s the one that I thought I would have someday. His name is Oliver, though my husband and I call him Ollie. I’m not quite sure why the baby of my dream is a boy, but he is. And over the past few months, I’ve begun the process of saying goodbye to this future child, the one that I’ll never get to have. I’ve grieved for him. Now, like with any other loss, it’s time to get rid of all his stuff More »

Bully Pulpit: President Obama Says ‘Shame On Us’ If We’ve Forgotten Newtown, Continues To Press For Gun Control

The case for gun control is still going strong and the community of Newtown, Connecticut is still in the thick of it. The NRA is sending robo-calls to Newtown citizens, reducing their emotional situation into to an automated plea for gun rights. And now, President Obama is invoking their memory in one of his most blatant attempts to use the Presidential ‘bully pulpit’ to push through legislation. More »

I Really Wish Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie Would Just Get Married Already

Guess what Angelina Jolie was doing last week? She spent four days meeting with victims of sexual violence at a rescue camp in the Congo. It is an admirable piece of outreach from an amazing humanitarian. Guess what all of the headlines about Angeline Jolie have been this week? Hint: They’ve had nothing to do with the Congo. It’s been focused on a simple gold band on her ring finger. More »

My 5-Year-Old Quietly Manners-Shamed The Jerky Adults Seated Behing Us

I try to stay out of the restaurant wars, the constant bickering about children’s behavior in restaurants and whether fancy establishments should allow children. In general, I find it a little obnoxious that people just assume all little kids at restaurants are going to be assholes. But I get even more annoyed when some jerk comes in and proves them right, letting their kid run amok while other people are trying to eat. So I stay out of the debate and continue to work with my daughter on learning proper etiquette. Last night, all of that training paid off. More »

How On Earth Do Wives Defend Their Child Molesting Husbands?

In the course of writing about parenting and motherhood, I come across a lot of stories involving child abuse and molestation. It is a very sad and disturbing part of my job. And while these heinous crimes will never make any sense to me, there’s another aspect of these cases that I am also intensely confused by. How exactly do wives stand up and defend their child molesting husbands? More »

A Fire Kills Five In Illinois Including Four Kids At A Sleepover & Our Hearts Break A Little More

Tragedies happen every day, all over the country. Parents, children, loved ones, they pass away in sometimes horrific or senseless ways. We know this, but it doesn’t stop our hearts from breaking a little more when we hear stories like these awful deaths in Illinois. A home fire killed five people, including four girls attending a slumber party. More »

What We're Reading:

If You Have Your Baby Before Your 25th Birthday, They’ll Live Forever — Or At Least To Be 100

A surprisingly definitive new study is out and it might make you think twice about waiting until your mid-30s to have that first baby. Dr Leonid Gavrilov, co-author of the study and Principal Investigator of the NIH research project at NORC at the University of Chicago, says that if you want your child to live to be 100, you’re going to want to have them before you turn 25. Given how late most people are waiting to have kids these days, looks like we might not have many people hitting triple-digits in future generations. More »

I Reject The Idea That A Woman Needs To ‘Protect Her Marriage’ From Her Children

There’s an odd discussion in motherhood circles that I’ve never quite understood. It centers around the idea of balancing your role as a partner and your role as a parent, as if the two parts of your life are sitting at separate ends of a teeter-totter, battling for dominance. As if you can either have a healthy marriage or a close relationship with your kids. It manifests into, “Which do you put first?” debates and recently, tips on how to save your marriage from your children. More »

Despicable Rush Limbaugh Says Chelsea Clinton Possibly Adopting A Child From Africa Is Just A ‘Fashion Accessory’

We don’t often discuss Rush Limbaugh‘s ridiculously obvious attempts to cause controversy. It would take too much time to continually write about all of the offensive things that come out of this man’s mouth. But every once in a while, talk radio’s favorite person to hate says something so vile and offensive that we can’t ignore it. This is one of those times. More »

Chief Justice John Roberts’ ‘Friendship’ Analogy At The SCOTUS Same-Sex Marriage Trial Was Actually Apt

This week, all eyes are on the Supreme Court as it hears arguments against the federal Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Prop 8. The implications are huge, with the possibility that every state in America will have to grant marriage rights to couples regardless of sexual orientation. But a peculiar question arose from Chief Justice John Roberts that has supporters of marriage equality concerned. Here’s our take on it. More »

Grade Expectations: I Can Completely Understand Why Parents Spend More Time Teaching Girls Than Boys

A new study is out showing that parents of young children spend more time teaching their girls lessons like reading and writing, than they do young boys. And while researchers hypothesized that boys’ squirminess and difficulty concentrating might be to blame, I have another theory of a possibly contributing factor. Over-compensation. More »

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