Mommy On Purpose

That’s short for Mommy On Purpose, by the way.

I’ve made quite a few attempts at blogging during my adult life, some of them successful, others not. My favorite was “How to Date a Difficult Woman,” which I think a couple people actually read once in a while. But then I got married and my dating habits became much less bloggable.

So why blog now? Because I’ve found that spending most of my time doing mindless, repetitive things either gives rise to a cranium full of useful thoughts that have nowhere to go, or to mindless boredom and frustration. So I’m going to empty my cranium here and throw my two bits out into the arena of mommyness.

Today while I picked up a bazillion wooden blocks, I tried to decide on my categories. I really ought to pick a niche, but not knowing what I’m good at blogging at yet, I’ll probably pick badly the first few times. So until I figure it out, here’s what I want to try…

Live to Eat. I love to cook, but even more, I love to eat. So this column seems only natural. Here’s where I’ll put recipes and other culinary discoveries.

Fight the Frump. Motherhood does atrocious things to your self image. New time and budget constraints limit our choices considerably, not to mention the sudden baby weight and the “please don’t let me turn into my mother” identity crisis. Most of us never take the time to really reconsider our style within the parameters of our changing bodies and lifestyles. We either continue to cram our new mommy selves into our good-old-days wardrobe, or we give up entirely and live in t-shirts and sneakers until it’s time to start shopping at Christopher & Banks. Either way, we come out looking like mommies and they start writing SNL skits about us. So I’m trying to beat the frump without going overboard. After all, we still have much more important things to worry about.

Just Clean Enough. My last year’s new year resolution was to become a clean freak. I used to be the most slovenly slob you’ve ever met (until you met my husband) but luckily, 2009 turned me into a born-again cleaner and organizer. Now, my house is still pretty messy, but I’m on a cleaning routine that works for me and gets the most important stuff done. I really want to get my strategies out there and report my continuing progress, because I could really have used some help and inspiration along the way. Hopefully I’ll help a fellow slovenly slob on her way to peace of mind, if not uber-clean freak status.

Parenting on Purpose. My go-to parenting guru is, far and away, the Baby Whisperer. Tracy Hogg was a genius, the ultimate Mindful Mommy. She coined the phrase “accidental parenting,” and I see a lot of it both in and out of my own home. I fight every day to avoid it, so I’ll share my goals and experiences here.

Products I Swear By. I think the best way to reward a good business for creating a good product is to buy that product and encourage others to do so. I think advertising is evil, creating demand to meet the supply… bloggers have more influence than they realize when the speak out, so here’s me casting my vote for the good stuff!

Products I Swear At. Same principle, opposite objective.

Time Savers. If there’s anything I really am good at, it’s organizing and streamlining. With help and inspiration from some of my OCD muses, I’m going to share strategies here.

… and that’s all I can think of for now.