nevermind the mess

I know what you're thinking.  Having kids saves you money? Are you crazy? What about diapers? What about college?!? On parenting websites, you'll find calculators that let you add up exactly how much money it will cost just to get through your baby's first year of life. I plugged in some numbers, and gasped when I saw the total of just under $7000.00. That's a lot of money, especially considering that we we are also going to be short one income for that year. The  latest estimate  for rearing a child until college age is a whopping quarter of a million dollars. I'm assuming that's for upper middle-class people who actually do silly things like calculating the costs of being alive. Yes, having kids costs money. But guess what? So does  not  having kids. Don't believe me? Think of all the things you would be spending money on if you didn't have a living breathing money pit at your feet. Last-minute weekend getaways, eating in fancy restaurants, and...

One of the hardest things for me as a new mom has been maintaining relationships with several of my closest friends...the ones who don't have kids.  They either haven't started families yet or have decided that it's just not the right path for them. And that's fine! I love my friends and I totally respect their choices. And they can show me they respect my choice of becoming a mom by simply not saying the following three things to me. Ever. 1. I'm so tired. No you're not. You've never been tired and you'll never be tired until you've been screamed awake three times a night for six straight months. Oh, you went dancing all night and slept till noon and now you're tired? No you're not. Trust me. 2. My mom is such a _ _ _ _ _(insert expletive here) No she's not. Go over there and hug her and apologize. Having a baby is like a getting the gift of insight into a whole new world of family dynamics. Yes, moms can be annoying, b...

Steve and his Doppeldaughter. Our daughter looks just like my husband. She's got his deep blue eyes, golden brown hair, and round little pie face. Nicknamed his little Doppeldaughter , it's clear that she is a living, breathing replica of her dad's DNA. And behind those denim blue eyes, I know there's some of my own genetic material in there, too. She's a copy of both of us...a physical expression of our combined DNA. And now she's out in the world, racking up hundreds of "likes" on social media. Not to mention the monetary compensation she gains as well, in the form of food, diapers, clothing and free housing. That sounds like a pretty obvious case of copyright infringement to me. We made her, and now she's using our genetic composition without a license to do so. The question is, can we sue my daughter for biologically, and more importantly,  financially,  benefitting from our labor? No. Because that would be ridiculous. You know w...