Martha Stewart Would Disapprove

I lived a life-time before I had my first kid.  I'm 40 with a one-year old daughter.

Advantage:  I have literally been there, done that.

Disadvantage:  I've never been there, done that with a kid.

I'm the mom in the neighborhood/day care/play group that makes all the other moms feel better.  I work full-time and leave my little one at day care every day.  I don't make bows, I don't bake cupcakes, I have no idea what 'attachment parenting' is about and I couldn't tell you the difference between organic and not organic.    I am freaked out that my currently bald baby girl will eventually have hair and I am the one responsible for keeping it from becoming a bird's nest.  French braid?  Pig tails?  Barrettes?

I am the mom who will forget about the 50 cupcakes needed for the school party and will rush to the grocery store to buy 100 stale florescent frosted cupcakes from the bakery an hour before the party.  Why 100 instead of 50?  Because my guilty conscience says that an extra 50 stale cupcakes will make up for me not making gluten-free organic cacao cupcakes with fresh strawberries on top.  When my daughter is supposed to take a homemade gift to some party, I am the mom who will go to etsy.com and buy something that someone else made.  We will most likely not have fresh squeezed lemonade after school, and I can't guarantee that I will pack her lunch everyday.

That does not mean that I am not head-over-heels in love with my daughter.  I could spend my time trying to improve my cupcake baking skills, or practice a perfect French braid, but I think my time would be better spent doing the things that we both like to do...like playing hide & seek, pointing to our noses and catching up on the latest adventures of Olivia.

I know there are other moms who are either too busy or just not inclined to be the domestic goddess that other moms are blessed to be, and I wonder what shortcuts they take to enjoy their families just a little more.