Parenthood is hard. One of the hardest things about it is finding fellow parent friends who understand that we're all in this thing together and nobody does it perfect so just stop pretending you're perfect already dammit! <sigh>
Raindrops on roses are lovely, but finding fellow moms on the internet that I can relate to has been invaluable in helping me laugh at myself a little bit more.
Also, several of my friends are either about to have or have just had their first baby, so I thought a nice little roundup of some reading for while they're home on maternity leave will be nice for them. These are all very suitable for reading while breast or bottle feeding. No, just in case you were wondering, you don't have to lovingly gaze at the baby the WHOLE time they're eating.
Here I am on my 4th day as a Parent:
These are my online homies in alphabetical order, because it was too hard to pick favorites:
The Bloggess The Original and infamous for a reason: Jenny Lawson. This lady is HILARIOUS and oh so awesome. She makes me laugh and even sometimes feel normal, and you know that both of those can sometimes be a stretch for me. Read her blog AND get her book. You will laugh and feel like you stumbled on a secret club of awesome.
The Dose of Reality is written by Ashley and Lisa, a former nurse and doctor of internal medicine respectively. Both are now attempting to stay sane on the gerbil wheel of motherhood. Mostly they are successful through laughing at all the ridiculousness and keeping it real, but not in that Chappelle Show kind of way. They always make me smile.
Tiffany is the Elastamom. She has three kids, one beautiful girl with special needs and two wonderful boys, and she is one funny lady. Her writing is sometimes reflective and sometimes sarcastic and always always wonderful. She is one happy lady with a great view on life and all the little things that make it so great. She's honest about the ups and downs as well, while at the same time keeping it all positive. That is not always an easy feat, as you'll find out soon enough.
Faith in Ambiguity is thoughtfully written by Tara who lives in New Mexico with her husband and 3 sons. I love the way she puts words together and her unique perspective on the grand scheme of life and making sense of and finding peace within the chaos that parenthood creates.
Leigh Ann writes great stuff at Genie in a Blog. She's pretty much a do everything kind of lady who is so marvelously honest and funny that you wish you had her on speed-dial. She's a fellow runner and fabulous at making you feel like you can do it too. She's my kind of mom for sure.
GFunkified is Greta. She lives in Kansas with her 4 kids and writes about all kinds of adventures, great and small. She's a great treadmill cheerleader and ever thankful mum on the run. She's the kind of mom that you'd want to have a standing play date with, and reading her blog is the second best alternative.
Guerrilla Mom is written by Maria in NYC. She is irreverent and easily writes her mind on controversial issues and fun ones too. She's also the one who wrote the article on Mommyish that I probably sent you and you forwarded to your friend. I like what she writes, and her bluntness reminds me of myself so much.
Harper's Happenings is written by the sarcastic, fun-loving, crafty, thrifty, Mandy. This is a girl I could hang out with drinking wine and laughing about our silly selves. Her daughter also happens to be adorable and ultra-funny, so prepare to giggle.
Jennifer P. Williams is written by the lovely Jennifer in Texas. Jennifer has 2 kids and writes some really great girl-power stuff for her daughter. I also LOVE when she posts videos, because her voice and accent are AWESOME attributes for this fabulous lady. She's honest and fun and sometimes completely spastic which only makes her that much more endearing for me to read. She also even reads my blog sometimes (eeek), which makes me feel extra special.
Mama Kat's Losin' It To be honest, Mama Kat is pretty much the coolest lady on the internet. She is basically a blogging guru, and I didn't even mention her Vlog. She is an AMAZING resource for finding other great bloggers because of her weekly writing prompt link-up. She is also hilarious in her own right. Read her!
The Mom-In-A-Million is Rebekah. She's a fabulously opinionated DC area Mama who writes all sorts of political rants and other intelligently argued things. She also likes to drink wine, which is a major bonus in my opinion. I always appreciate her viewpoint.
The Mommy Psychologist is Heather Harrison in Los Angeles. She's a fellow midwestern girl who did grad school in the south and transplanted to LA. She's an actual honest to goodness PhD AND she's been on Dr. Phil as an expert. (Yeah, I was worried about that too, but I promise, she's great.) She even has a page where you can ask her for free advice, which I plan to employ whenever needed.
Mommy Shorts is written by Ilana in NYC. This lady is a ROCKSTAR in the blogger world as well, and always has the most beautiful pictures of her family and their (mis)adventures to post on the blog. Her style is impeccable and I wish she would come and play dress-up with me already. I truly enjoy reading about their city life, and am so happy to keep up with their antics.
Mothers of Brothers is written by (codename) MOV. This lady is FUNNY and sometimes serious and mostly just awesome. She is a mother of 2 boys who keep her busy, and is always full of great stories, both real and about her Muse who looks surprisingly like Kate Moss. Yeah, she hates her too, don't worry. :-)
Nice Girl Notes is written by the former nerdy turned fabulously gorgeous Roo. Yes, that is seriously her name. She has 3 cute girls, a handsome husband, and mad game. She lives in Connecticut and is so intensely self-aware that it is hard not to LOVE her.
Nicole Leigh Shaw is the Ninja Mom. She's a fellow Hoosier, but surely MUCH funnier than I could ever dream of being. She has a regular series of character assassination posts where people get to vivisect children's literature while we all cackle uncomfortably hard. Read her stuff. You'll love her snark.
Parenting By Dummies is a fashion/lifestyle blog written by the incomparably great and always self-deprecating Amanda. She's mom to 3 adorable boys and the girl has got amazing style. She may have learned a thing or two from her appearance on What Not To Wear with Stacey & Clinton, but her sass could surely give them a run for their money. She takes great pictures and writes funny and poignant words for all of us who keep up with her wild life.
PhD in Parenting is written by Annie. She briefly lived in Berlin with her family, which of course makes me love her even more. She is a politically dedicated and informed feminist mom. She's a guru among several parental sects, but I just love how well researched her information is on her site. She's also very great with communication if you need to ask her anything.
Rants From Mommyland was the first "Mommy Blog" that I ever read. This was my entree into the hilarious world of mom blogs. I dare you to read this blog and not snort whatever you are drinking out your nose. Lydia and Guru Louis always have great stories of mommy failures and triumphs that sometimes sneak up on you to make you laugh out loud or cry tears of joy. They're pretty outstanding like that.
Jill Smokler is the original Scary Mommy, but her website/blog has turned into soo much more. I HIGHLY recommend reading her book, and am sure that the forthcoming second book will be just as perfect at celebrating non-perfection. The mommy confessional on the site will make you feel much much much better, so go there when you think you suck. You'll soon know that we all suck at being a parent sometimes, and that is a comfort that you MUST figure out at some point.
Tracey is the Sellabit Mum to three adorable girls. She's a runner and former marketing guru in Minneapolis, and she is quite adept at weaving tales of children and family life together with humor and pizzazz. She's also excellent at celebrating the everyday and just getting through, and I love that about her.
Stark.Raving.Mad.Mommy has a right to be that way. While busily parenting her 4 kids with several diagnosed issues, she's also writing a great blog about it. She regularly makes me chortle, and that is not always such an easy task. Her craziness makes my life seem super-tame and easy.
These Little Waves is thoughtfully and beautifully written by Galit in Minnesota. Galit makes even the most mundane tasks seem beautiful and meaningful. She is a master wordsmith and easily encourages others with her gentle spirit. She is honest about struggles too, which is so very rare in the braggy online world. She is a goddess and great with the camera as well.
We Band of Mothers is written by Marianne, who is also the author of a new book out Epic Mom. She is mom to three cutely raucous boys and wife to one Chicago Firefighter. I swear she is living the life that I always wanted, though she might say the same about me. We're online buddies! I <3 her much, and she is a great cheerleader. She's also irreverent and likes to drink, so if we ever actually got together, it would probably be trouble.
Writing, Wishing is written by Allison, who is a mother of 2 small boys. Her writing is beautiful and she too likes to over-think things. She shares beautiful pictures and gorgeous memories along with her opinions about everything under the sun that happens to come across her desk. She's brilliantly on point with social media and always in the know about the hottest topics.
So this is it, my list of 25 moms who help me stay sane through this whole parenthood thing we all have going on. READ THEM!! These are the ladies I would pick for the Mom Olympics. They rock, and reading life from their perspective has helped me gain a new understanding of how I want to be as a mother, wife, and writer.