5 Things Other Moms Do Better Than Me

Welcome to my list of 5 Things Other Moms Do Better Than Me.  I hope this makes you feel like an excellent parent!

1. Discipline their children

Some moms spank their children. Without fail and without delay, regardless of where they are and how wildly inconvenient it may be, they somehow find a way to calmly pull their child aside, explain the reason for the discipline, spank, then assure them that they are forgiven and loved. There are also moms who would never, ever spank. However these moms are just as unwavering in their ability to immediately invoke their non-judgmental, non-punishment, enlightened form of discipline.

Whatever particular philosophy you subscribe to, both these mom-types are doing it better than me and there’s a good chance my child is probably running around naked in a public splash pad at this very moment.  (Yes, I told him not to, but he’s most likely ignoring me.)

2. DIY projects

I was recently goggling around the Internet, looking for ideas to make my centerpiece decor a little cuter and I accidentally stumbled into the fascinating world of DIY Mommy Bloggers. Now, I may be the last one to learn about them, but it turns out that there’s this whole amazing and interesting group of women out there, most of whom have their own blogs, who are simply incredible! I would not be slightly surprised if I learned that some of these stay at home moms/professional crafters have performed successful open heart surgeries with nothing more than a glue gun, some chalkboard paint, and some great finds they picked up at a thrift store. I am nothing at all like these women. I devote hours each week to reading their insane blogs and bookmarking their creative ideas, knowing all the while that I have neither the time nor the ability to ever make the mantel décor over my fireplace look anything like theirs…sigh…

3. Gain baby weight gracefully

I really try to eat mostly vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, non-processed foods, etc, and I’m actually pretty successful in this endeavor. But pregnant…well, that’s another story. First trimester is the trimester of white, refined, nutritionally void carbohydrates. Bagels, French bread, pretzels, crackers…they are literally the only foods that don’t make me want to vomit. (Seriously I couldn’t even say the word spinach without gagging a little). By second trimester I’ve got my nausea under control and have improved my dietary choices significantly, but by then I’m starving till we’re in the delivery room. I know there are women who hide their pregnancy and stay in their cute clothes for the first five months, but I have no idea how this is biologically possible. I can’t believe there are people who only gain 20 pounds. I hate them.

4. Savor every moment

Confession time: I just don’t love the baby stage. Babies are SO sweet, but… I think it’s a bit boring. I just have so much more fun when my children start talking! I love getting to know their personalities. I kind of just want to hurry on through the baby stage so we can all get a good night sleep, start chatting, and really get to know each other! There’s also just so much gear and equipment and by the time they’re 12 months old, my right arm is about twice as defined as my left from carrying around the infant car seat everywhere we go. I know, I am terrible! I felt especially bad when I was reading a book about getting your baby to sleep through the night and it started with several pages about making sure you’re ready as a mom to let go of that special time together in the middle of the night. Hmmm…yes please!! Exhausted and definitely ready over here!

5. Record precious memories

I promise I will get to this soon. I almost had a good start on it once, but then my computer crashed and I just haven’t had the heart to begin this project of editing and organizing 3 years worth of photos again. With the age of digital photography, there’s just so much stuff. Not only do I take probably 100 times more photos then a family used to when it was all done on film, but there are so many places to store them. Some of my photos are on my blog, some are on facebook, some are on Picassa. I have a bunch on the Kodak Gallery so I can pick up prints at Target. Some are on Shutterfly because I once had a coupon for a free photo book. I swear that someday they will be organized digitally by date in one convenient location. They will also be turned into physical albums, which my children will forever cherish. I have no idea when this day will be. I know it will not be soon.

Check back tomorrow to see the three things I can do better than anyone else…

What do you think about my list?  Are you guilty of the same things?  Do you have your own vices that make other moms look fabulous?

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Kirsten Dunlap can’t wait to find out what she’s going to be when she grows up, but she hopes it somehow involves writing. In the meantime, she enjoys driving around Scottsdale looking for large construction vehicles and any sort of Lightning McQueen- endorsed merchandise with her two boys. She is so grateful to be married to a wonderful man who is not only ridiculously handsome, but agrees that an occasional moms-night- out is absolutely essential! Kirsten has a degree in journalism and before she was promoted to “mommy”, she worked in television news as a reporter and an anchor. She worked internationally as a foreign correspondent intern for the government of Finland. Kirsten and her reporting have been featured nationally on CNN.