Should I be offended that people are dissin’ the President of our united states for wearing “mom jeans“? What’s all this hub-bub about anyway?

Apparently, mom jeans are unflattering – they have pleats, are old and/or faded, are tapered and have a high waist. Sounds like the ’80s.

So, should I stick up for moms here and say this is absurd to compare old, tired jeans with mothers who work so hard to feed and protect our families? Or, do I say, who cares what we wear — as long as it’s comfortable?

In the end, just quit pickin on moms. If it’s good enough for the President, it’s good enough for me.

Two weeks ago my husband was out of town for a few days and I had both kids by myself. Not a big deal, but it turned into a hardship because I became sick with strep throat. Trying to get a 3-year-old to bed while I was feeding the baby was hard enough — add the exhaustion, muscle aches and razors in my throat, it was not fun.

Now, two weeks later, I have strep throat again. Thankfully my husband doesn’t have to go out of town so I can rest and hopefully get better for good this time.

This happens to moms all the time. We go, go, go until we collapse. We do everything. We ignore signs of illness thinking we can just make it through another day.  This is my body’s way of telling me to rest.

Every night the Olympics are on and we see athletes compete for the gold. Swimming, gymnastics, archery, even curling (winter) is an Olympic sport. I think I’m going to talk to the Olympic committee and recommend some mom-related sports I’d like to see added to the next Olympics:

• Best meal preparation based on having nothing in the refrigerator or cubbards. (Man, I need to get to the store.)
• Best napper. Which mom can crash the easiest and longest after a full day on the job.
• Most efficient carpooler.
• Best soccer mom.
• Best reader of a children’s book — without looking at the book. (You know you can recite the words to “Good Night Moon” without looking at the book. )
• Fastest make-up putter-oner.
• One handed sippy-cup picker-upper while driving. (OK, Michael Phelps might still win this event given the wing span of his arms, but moms have this one down pat!)

So, it’s a long shot, but moms perform Olympic feats every day. Give yourself a gold medal today!

Moms have enough to do without having to worry about cleaning the house too. I was recently sent a press release about a contest that can solve the problem of cleaning up after your family — the grand prize if bi-weekly maid services for a year. Yep, 12 months of a clean house. Here’s the information:

Weiman Products is offering consumers the chance to win a one-year break from their house cleaning routine. Weiman Product’s annual “Maid for a Year” contest, which runs May 1 – July 31, 2008, will award five U.S. residents free house cleaning services from Merry Maids every other week for a year. Consumers can enter by logging onto www.weiman.com/contest. Winners will be announced by mid-August 2008.

All U.S. residents 18 years and older can submit a 250-word or less essay between May 1 and July 31, 2008. Entries may be submitted online at www.weiman.com or mailed to Weiman “Maid for a Year” Contest, 755 Tri-State Parkway, Gurnee, IL 60031. Essays must describe what the feeling of clean means to the entrant and why he or she needs and deserves maid service. Essays will be judged by an independent judging organization on the following criteria: the description of what “the good feeling of clean” means to the entrant, why the entrant needs/deserves maid service and the originality and creativity of the essay.

Visit www.weiman.com for official rules and regulations. BalancingMotherhood.com is not affiliated with this contest, but thinks it’s a great idea. Good luck!

Ladies, this year, don’t leave the Mother’s Day planning up to your spouse, OR your kids. Decide how you want to spend your Sunday and let the family know. This will take all expectations away and you’ll end up being happier.

Sure, it takes some of the surprise out of it, but it really gives you control over how to spend a day that is meant to celebrate you.