A working woman’s pledge to stop sweating the silly stuff

My pledge to stay sane when the kids return to school:
“I’m too busy to make lunches every day: The kids will survive occasional canteen crap.
I’m too busy to worry that our house looks like the target of a Scud missile strike every afternoon …
I’m too old to worry about looking fab all the time.  [...]

Blame the moms: We suck! (NOT)

We COULD blame crap advertising, crap school lunches, crap #worklife …
But no, another study blames working moms! Yes, now we are making our kids fat by our selfishness, our insane desire to work, put in long hour to pay off mortgages and buy school books, or self indulgently, have a career.
It made me so mad [...]

We interrupt this parenting moment to bring you a moment of guilt

I loved our guest bloggers’ post about guilt being like our pelvic floor … deep, dark and hidden until after we have kids.  And it made me think about my own guilt …
My guiltiest mom moments
Mother guilt is like a TV ad: It interrupts my regularly scheduled programming at defined intervals in an annoying [...]

Applying for a job? Try to get in within 24 hours

MomstoWork’s career coach Aunt Jobby got this question:

Dear Aunt Jobby
How quickly should I apply for jobs? It often takes me a week or so to redraft my resume, cover letter and get the supporting documents together. Is that too slow? Gimme a break, I am a working mom with too many kids …
Sleepless (and [...]

Why are workplaces still designed for families of the 1960s?

Why are our work places and schools still designed for the working families of the 1960s, the Donna Reeds of this world?
That’s one finding of the latest humdinger of a report on work life imbalance in the U.S. by the Center for American Progress, The Three Faces of Work-Family Conflict, The Poor, the Professionals, and the [...]

Happy holidays to our special moms

Moms work so hard that you deserve a break.
Have a wonderful holiday and a Happy New Year.
Let’s make 2010 the year when us Moms realize our full potential.
So don’t be afraid, be bold.
Ask for a raise, apply for a new job, try something new, make a new friend, read something different,  swap chores with your [...]

Moms: Just say “No”

How can working moms handle the endless demands on their time? Why do we find it hard to just say no?
When we asked guest blogger Karen Keller how moms can say “no,”   she wrote a two-part series. Here’s part two:

Direct your focus: Consider the 80/20 rule; 80% of your focus should [...]

The Princess and the Pea

 
Children love to explore all types of things, their environment, their bodies, the things that can fit into the tiniest spaces in their bodies.
Our indoctrination began with a pea. After a few attempts at raisins, (caught in time), our daughter discovered that peas were the perfect fit for a nose..
I was out and could not [...]

Manage Maternity Leave (Before You Go)

Don’t offer to go back to work earlier than you have to, urges Liz O’Donnnell, a freelance writer and mother, in the first of three must-read guest posts about managing maternity leave.
Managing your time-off for maternity leave should start as soon as you learn you are pregnant, even before you tell your boss [...]

Maria Shriver: Summer vacation more stressful than anything else

Why are school vacations so out of sync with the needs of working parents?
Our question hit a nerve with Maria Shriver, the author of the Shriver Report: A Women’s Nation Changes Everything.
Summer break “is almost more stressful than everything else the entire school year for my family,” Shriver told Mary Kate Cary of the Thomas [...]