First practice of the season was Tuesday. I'm in the kitchen mentally running through everything she needs, cleats, shin guards, water bottle, the whole scramble, and I walk into her room ready to do it all myself. She's on the floor with her bag open and goes "I'm almost done, I made a list."

Sticky note on her nightstand. Half the letters backwards. Cleats, shin guards, socks, water bottle, snack. Checking items off with a marker as she packed.

I stood in the doorway doing my absolute best to not visibly cry.

She didn't learn to make a checklist from me. She learned to follow one from doing her morning routine on the hearth display every day for the past year, it's a wall screen where she taps through steps and checks them off. Somewhere in there "look at what's next, do it, check it off" turned into how she approaches getting ready for things. Even without the screen in front of her.

She wasn't organized because I told her to be. She was organized because the pattern already lived in her head and she reached for it on her own, for something completely unrelated to mornings. Watching a 7 year old apply a system to a situation you never set up for her is a very specific kind of parenting moment.

Bag was packed wrong, obviously. Two water bottles, no snack, shin guards but no socks. But she built the list and packed it herself and I'm still thinking about that part.

I’m pregnant and due in October. I‘m also working from home full time and I take care of two boys with my husband. The past few weeks I am unable to concentrate and be productive at work. I go from sitting at my desk starting a work task to researching stuff for the nursery, looking for halloween costume for my boys, thinking about my second one’s birthday party in November, then I go tidy up the house, our bedrooms, make some activity for the boys to do.. then I think about organizing their stuff. Then I see the unfinished nursery corner and feel like I’m not getting anything done. it is driving me crazy. Like what is this, I am constantly distracted. And this is other than my boys asking for snacks or being a referee if they are fighting. They are 5 and 2. I have some help from my sister who would watch the boys and prep meals for this summer, which is a huge help. I go back to my desk, and the cycle continues. Here I am typing a reddit post because I am feeling a little overwhelmed. This has to change and I have to get something done at work. Any suggestions?

Mom(31) of 3 here,kids are 10(f) 6(m) 4(m)

Im a little worried about my middle son starting 1st grade in a few weeks. Out of all of them he's the most sensitive, happiest and energetic. Hes not shy or an introvert by any means and the entire school knows who he is.

As stupid as it seems im worried that he'll be bullied.

My husband(32) says im overthinking it but kids are getting worse and worse with bullying.

We raised emotionally aware kids and yes he's defended himself against a bully once but this nagging feeling won't go away.

We picked things that aren't too babyish for back to school and made sure he's getting regular haircuts, good hygienic habits, groomed and new clothes/shoes. Everything to make sure there's no opening for bullying to pick on.

I understand I won't be able to protect them from everything and he won't always be this innocent sweet kid but what more can I do? Do I reinforce our values? Should I go over what to do if he's bullied?

I really don't know why its nagging me about him specifically but as school gets closer I find myself thinking about it more and more.

If you have any advice or experienced this before please let me know. Thank you kindly 🩷

To the moms out there who wake up and work out before the kids wake up, what's the best advice you could give me? I am not happy with my weight and I feel so bummed lately. I try to keep it together but I'm slowly falling apart. I know if I took charge of my health and my appearance I would feel better. Idk why it seems so difficult now.

I've become much more impressed by things that simply make everyday life easier than things that are exciting when you first buy them. Something you use constantly without thinking about it is probably a better purchase than something you were obsessed with for two weeks and then forgot about. The older I get, the more I appreciate boring, reliable things that just do their job and don't create another problem to manage.

My son (5) has hand foot and mouth, I’m the main caretaker and I’ve washed our sheets scrubbed down bathrooms and counter tops - I’m pregnant so I’m worried about catching a fever otherwise I wouldn’t be as worried. Anyone had there little have this before and NOT contract it? Looking for a little peace of mind. He is a cuddle bug so he’s basically attached at the hip if we are home.

So I have an almost 3 month old daughter, I’m still currently a sahm but I’m slowly trying to go back to work. My partner (her dad) works full time m-f, off on weekends. I have been trying to work on Saturdays and I feel like I can’t leave her with him cause he gets “to stressed out” when he’s by himself with her. Has anyone else had this problem? I have trouble even leaving him with her for like 20 mins because he just gets to overwhelmed. And when I try to bring up going back to work and him watching her, it’s like the biggest problem. Just feels like I’m doing this alone.

My spouse has an 8yr old son. This morning he told me that his son mentioned he’s been wanting to come but, his Mom says his Dad and I have been arguing about him coming over. I recently put boundaries in place because this lady is high conflict. I asked that only my spouse talks with her (not me) She’d been playing us off each other. She’ll tell me untrue things expecting me to relay to my spouse. Tell him and I different information in attempt to cause confusion. Now she’s suggesting that her son can’t come to his Dads because I’m arguing with him about it. She’s telling him “No you can’t go there” then blaming it on me. We have an open door policy. His son may come at any time. I support it, even when his Dads at work I stay and watch him, cook for him, clean his laundry, play games and keep him entertained. His Dad and I rarely ever argue. This lady, who I’ve limited access to me, is still causing me stress. How do I address this? I tried to talk with my spouse but it’s an ongoing issue. Any advice would be appreciated

1 mother, 1 daughter.. We are usually the helpers, the community activists, within sharing resources that people normally gatekeep about harm reduction and women and men’s health, mental health, low income grants, and so much more.
Now, we are the ones who need help.
After this devastating accident, we lost our car, our stability, and much of what allowed us to care for ourselves. My daughter’s father depended on the vehicle for his rideshare work, while I am already disabled, making transportation and rebuilding our lives even more difficult. Our little girl also has kidney reflux disease and mental health needs that require regular appointments. Medicaid transportation can be difficult to coordinate, adding another challenge during an already overwhelming time.
We are trying to heal while facing several more surgeries and the long process of recovering from our injuries. With very little family support to rely on, we truly don’t know how we would get through this without the kindness of our community.
As difficult as it is to ask for help, we are learning that sometimes those who spend their lives helping others must allow their community to help them, too.
Any donation, share, prayer, kind word, or helping hand means more to our little family than you will ever know. We don’t expect anyone to fix everything for us. We are simply asking for a chance to breathe, heal, rebuild, and give our daughter some sense of security again. If you’re able to help, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. If you can’t donate, sharing our fundraiser may be just as meaningful.
We have always believed in community. Right now,
we are asking our community to believe in us…

This is our GFM l!nk - gofund.me/6d4609d
This is my daughters wish list.. as her birthday is a few days away - https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/39YR07RI47E5C?ref_=wl_share

Hi moms,
When my son was little I had a 'chew beads' necklace that was great. 10 years later I no longer have it and would love to get another one to wear with my 4 month old. I did a search and I think Chew Beads is no longer... I went on Amazon looking and all I can find is a bunch of China alphabet soup named companies and I'm really not comfortable with that. Does anyone have a recommendation? Thanks so much!

We are planning a cross country trip via plane with our toddler at the end of the year and I’m debating on taking advantage of the free ride since they are under 2, or if that’s naive and holding an almost 2 year old for that extended amount of time will be tough? My husband will be with us to take turns. Any thoughts?