In my family, we jokingly call it the Tree of Life for its regal, storybook appearance: Massive trunked, straight and broad, with branches that fan out like so many veins in a heart.

So when you see El Toddler running up and down the aisle, tearing holes in the carpet; or the baby rips off the glasses of our unsuspecting seat mate; or me, clawing past passengers to lock myself alone in the bathroom, just remind me, it’s only a couple hours.

These are probably glaringly obvious to the more seasoned mothers out there, but I have compiled a list of helpful tips for moms of little ones.

I’ve always been a gawker. My sister has called me out on this time and time again, since childhood. “Son, stop! You’re staring again!!”

Parenthood is an exercise in patience. Raising boys is often physically exhausting (how many times can one child climb the same chair/sofa/random body of furniture in any given day? DOZENS is the answer.)

First things first. I am an unabashedly positive person. Glass half full. Known to burst out in song. Hugging strangers. Eating chocolate after breakfast because YOLO. First one on stage at karaoke. Yada yada yada, etcetera etcetera and the like. YES, I have awful horrible bad days too, but overall you could say I’m pretty upbeat.

Sometimes the littlest moments in parenthood can just unwind you.Last night I was rocking Frankie to sleep in her dark room, sound machine locked on “gentle rain,” when the other Little Person opened the door walked into the room.“Mama,” he said, as he walked over to the rocking chair. (His little curls bounce when he […]

The doctor’s office table was uncomfortable and my legs kept sticking when I lifted them to move around, but nothing could ruin that morning for me. I had marked the day on my calendar with a bunch of silly heart emojis and I was psyched.

There are moments in parenthood where you feel so good about how you’re handling things that you practically fist-bump yourself and are all, “Yeah, I got this!”

Can I get something off my back? I’m a wreck. Let me rephrase: I’m a functioning wreck.