My friend and fellow Bent Agency team member, Kimberly Brock challenged me to do this.
I feel like I’m picking my favorite kid, which is so hard and totally not fair– unless Aubrey and Sadie are cage fighting while Emma is folding laundry, then DUH. Super easy decision. Emma.
Or if Emma and Sadie are putting stickers over every flat surface in the house and I’m laying in the bed with strep throat and Aubrey is bringing me ice water and patting my forehead, then obviously SHE is my favorite.
OR when Emma and Aubrey are embarrassed to be seen with me in public and Sadie gives me one of her big hugs where she says, “Mmmm-MMM!” No brainer. Sadie wins.
So… picking my favorite posts, it’s gonna be hard.
Most Beautiful: Sleeping Sadie
I love this post because it captures perfectly, in my memory, all those middle of the night feedings with my babies. That moment, when you forget you are tired and dirty and you become totally aware of how amazing your child is.
Most Popular: Her Birthday, My Gift
My attempt at putting into words a few of the ways that my children have made me a better person.
Most Controversial: Breastfeeding: How I Hate Thee, Let Me Count The Ways
Breastfeeding enthusiasts be warned. There are actually other ways to feed your baby that are healthy and CHRISTIAN. Probably the most bizarre comments I’ve ever gotten were on this post. How can it be un-Christian to formula feed? Or is it the actual bottle? Can you pump and still be okay with Jesus? What about people who adopt? Are they less Christian too, or are they exempt? Also, where are you coming up with this stuff??
Spoiler alert: People of the internet do not get to decide what I do with my bewbies. You don’t even get a vote. Boom. Deal with it.
Most Helpful: Mommy Tips: Multitasking
With this post I singlehandedly saved mothers everywhere a good hour and a half a day. During the summer at least.
Most Surprisingly Successful: Bayway Bridge Poopfest 2011
I had no idea so many people were terrified of driving over open water… or being trapped in a car with three kids who need a potty. This post was syndicated on BlogHer and my peeps lurved it.
Post That Didn’t Get Any Attention: Lawd, Help. I don’t know.
I’ve been doing this full time for almost three years. There are plenty of posts that don’t get any comments, but I know people are still reading… I see the numbers. I don’t know why some posts are more compelling than others…
Post I Am Most Proud Of: Warning: Do Not Take Me Seriously
I am proud of this post because it is The Point. It is My Purpose and it is WHY I write. I don’t need anybody to send me emails telling me how to raise my kids. Trust me, I’ll ask when I need help. I’m proud of this post because instead of continuing to let people send me ugly emails about how I need to get it together and “try lovingly touching your children, and rocking them… even until they are in preschool,” I spelled it out for them. (And yes, someone really said that to me.)
Funny story: After I wrote in a column, “For future reference any emails sent to my address in reference to columns can and will be used in their entirety and with the author’s email address,” well… everybody got REAL quiet.
Five blogs I read on a regular basis who I nominate for a seven links challenge:
Jennifer Engelbrecht: The Engelbrecht Family (She has no idea how hilarious she is or what a brilliant writer she is. It makes me love her more.)
Lysa-Jo Baker: The Gypsy Momma (Encouraging, uplifting and beautiful.)
Ann Imig: Ann’s Rants (Funny, funny and funny.)
Pauline Campos: Aspiring Momma (Poignant, inspiring, funny. A great blog for writers.)
Britt Reints: Miss Britt: In Pursuit of Happiness (Just what you would expect from a mom who sold her house and most of her posessions to travel across the country in an RV with her husband and two kids. Ballsy, honest, relatable, funny.)
ROBIN!!! You can’t put me on a list with real people like that!!!
Also, I feel guilty because I’m one of those people who ALWAYS reads, and NEVER comments. Do you need comments? I can be better.
Jennifer recently posted..Weight Check Wednesday
Lol! Jenn, you are awesome! As your#1 stalker, I would know. And I love this post. I’m about to go reread all these posts. Probably the bf one first because, well….guess what I’m up doing at 5 am.
this is one of my fav’s. gave me a chance to look at some of your older stuff.
and it took a lot for me to refrain from responding to ‘josh and mer’ in the breastfeeding one. i have the ability to offend, when i am already offended. i only breastfed aidan for a month, and DL for two weeks. i have no boobs, so it wasn’t that. but it was extremely painful and i produced next to nothing in breastmilk. post partum was a big part of why i stopped so soon with DL.
sorry if we aren’t all perfect, but i am actually ENcouraged by your ‘complaints’. if anything, it lets me know that i am not alone.
keep doing what you do. ♥
and that jenn is something awesome.
and i never comment b/c i’m lazy.
Yay! So glad, post partum was one of the reasons I hated it too. I write all about it in the book. Jenn is awesome and COMMENT it makes me SO very happy.
I was ready to go crazy on the bf post too! I bf my son for about 6 weeks but would have stopped MUCH sooner if I had voiced how much I hated it, how depressed I was, how painful it was and how I did not even want to hold my baby for fear that he might want to nurse…all I needed was for someone to say “It’s okay that this isn’t working for you.” And it’s been a breeze with baby #2. Who knows why? The point (which has already been made): if it works for you and your baby, awesome. If it doesn’t, don’t beat yourself up and surely don’t let anyone else!!!!
And the church said, “A-man.”
Thanks for taking me back through some of your best columns… but really I love them all! And for the recommendations about other funny blogs. I’m following/subscribing to them right now
Is breastfeeding really such a hot topic? I better go reread that one. I never tried it, told anyone who (had the fricking nerve to) asked that I wasn’t interested, and never heard another thing about it. Is it like a southern thing or something? Would I lose my membership to the Stay At Home Mom club if I said that I didn’t try it because I think it’s gross to have someone suck bodily fluid out of your boobies? Is that too much?
Jennifer recently posted..Weight Check Wednesday
Oh, and for the response to “it’s the most natural thing in the world” I would like to tell you that in nature, back in the day, you didn’t cut the cord with a pair of sterile scissors. Wanna know how you detached it? YOU CHEWED THRU IT. Like a dog. Yes, like a dog. You CHEW it off.
Jennifer recently posted..Weight Check Wednesday
LOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!
I think you should just dress them in orange jumpsuits to complete the prison look! 😉