• Created on 11/7/10 by mamazee

If your kitchen’s immaculate and your house has never looked like Hurricane Wilma came through it, don’t read this. This post is not Martha Stewart approved, it won’t make the Fly Lady happy, and it’s not for the homemaker who keeps the floors so clean you can eat off them (though I like that homemaker and I want to be invited to her house for dinner. Tonight. Please.) Full disclosure: I hate dirty kitchens. I find it rather painful that the floors in our kitchen can be eaten off of because there’s enough gunk on them to constitute a tasty (albeit... read more

• Created on 11/4/10 by Mothering Editorial

By Laura UlrichIssue 153 March/April 2009   My mother was a stay-at-home mom. Even as a child, I think I knew how lucky that made us. When we got off the bus, she was there. While other kids headed off to summer camp, we slept in, helped in the garden, and spent long afternoons reading under a tree in our own backyard. Last year, when I was pregnant with my son, Graham, I wanted to offer him what I’d had: a mom who was home. But, like many families, we had to accept that we couldn’t make it on one income, so I made plans to take my maternity leave, then return to my... read more

• Created on 11/4/10 by Jennifer Margulis

Since reading No Impact Man, I’ve been thinking a lot about our family’s happiness and lifestyle habits. Earlier this week I wrote about how even though it’s not even Thanksgiving I’m already fretting about the consumerism of Christmas and wondering how to simplify the holiday and make it more meaningful. I’m delighted today to have a guest blogger who makes a living writing about simplicity. Tsh Oxenreider is a hugely popular blogger, the main voice behind Simple Mom, and editor-in-chief of Simple Living Media. I just ordered a copy of her new book, Organized... read more

• Created on 11/3/10 by Mothering Editorial

By Kelly Coyle DiNorcia  Issue March/April 2008 I've always been a little odd. I decided at age 11 to become vegetarian. As early as middle school, instead of passing notes in English class like my peers, I was a prolific letter-writer on a variety of issues. As an adult, my way of life was seen by others as quirky, eccentric, and unconventional, if still tolerable. However, when my daughter was born, something changed. What had previously been viewed as interesting, if a little peculiar, was suddenly seen in a whole new light. My lifestyle became the target of... read more

• Created on 11/1/10 by Cynthia Mosher

We didn’t manage to clean the house before my father-in-law’s visit but on Sunday morning when the kids got up we did a big family clean-up. “Everything needs to be neat and organized before you go trick-or-treating” is an amazing incentive. I’ve never seen such a scramble to do chores, such neatly made beds, or such a quick house makeover. The room my three older kids share was a mess! I brought the vacuum into it and closed the door so I could sort through the piles of stuff on my now 7-year-old son’s desk in secret. I filled a bag with broken robot... read more

• Created on 11/1/10 by Mothering Editorial

Check out this exclusive video teaser from photographer Ali Smith's book project "Momma Love: How the Mother Half Lives." A photo-essay excerpt of Smith's project is featured in the January-February 2011 issue of Mothering Magazine. Disclaimer: Video Contains Nudity More more can be found on the Mothering media page. read more

• Created on 10/31/10 by Jenny Rough

Breast Cancer Awareness month is over. I’d say the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation sure has done a ton of work. I mean, every time I turned around in October, I stumbled across the pink ribbon. It was printed on cereal boxes, stuck on gas cap covers, and incorporated into football player uniforms. One morning when I was visiting my nephew Noah, I opened a carton of eggs and the ribbon was stamped onto the eggshells. Even the White House in Washington, D.C. was the “pink” house one night. Infertility awareness isn’t doing as hot. This article describes how,... read more

• Created on 10/31/10 by Mothering Editorial

By Heather Atwood Issue 93 March/April 1999 A mother has no right to expect a calm baby who takes long naps if she herself needs a daily five-mile run to redirect the tension in her life. Babies are not all the same. More importantly, neither are mothers. Know yourself, and you will forgive your baby her weaknesses. Years ago, single, and in my twenties, I worked in an art gallery. A scene from this job has lodged permanently in my head: A young Asian woman strolled in, looking long and thoughtfully at the show while her baby slept soundly on her chest. In the days... read more

• Created on 10/31/10 by Mothering Editorial

By Sarah Werthan Buttenwieser Issue 105 - March/April 2001 The conventional palette of candy pink for girls and navy blue for boys has never appealed to me. Pregnant with my first child, I elected to postpone learning the gender until he or she was born, although friends and strangers alike expected me to be armed with this information months in advance. I sought out baby clothes that could be worn by any baby. Surprised to find that even clothing for infants was segregated by sex, I weeded through both girls' and boys' clothing to find things suitable for either... read more

• Created on 10/29/10 by Mothering Editorial

By Ellen Wren Issue 144 - September/October 2008 My daughter, Kaya, and I have a special ritual. Every Saturday evening, we "do Spa." At the beginning, my husband was working Saturdays for a month. By the end of each of those Saturdays, I was seeking a break from my toddler, Kaya was desiring some "mama time" without her little brother tagging along, and I was wanting her to bathe without tears—she dreads washing her very long, as yet uncut hair. Sacred Saturday Night Spa was born. We've been doing Spa for about a year, and it has developed into much more. Now, besides... read more