There are several occasions in life which force a woman to confront the inevitable and apparent fact that—despite what her inner 19-year-old brain and sometimes fashion sense is telling her—she is undeniably, objectively, and painfully.. a grown up.

In this week’s Holiday Gift Guide, we are talking about best friends.

Friends! Do you hear that far-off tinkling of jingle bells and the sound of children wailing as they sit on Santa’s lap at the mall?

Admission: The term “Mini Me,” when used to describe one’s child, is a bit squirm-inducing to me.

Since the dawn of cameras, photographers, it would seem, have found more joy (and business) turning the lens more frequently on the faces and bodies of the fairer sex. (Hello, ladies!)

As you probably saw if you follow me on Instagram, our family just came back from our annual Pittsburgh Pilgrimage.

Find your rubber gloves and get ready to rock, my friends. Mama’s on a serious binge-fest around these parts, and I’m taking you all along for the ride.

You know the one thing that’s harder to do than sleep when you have kids?

Babies are like bad rental tenants. They move into a pristine place, then proceed to tear down the wallpaper, scratch the hardwood, dent the baseboards and then on the way out be all, “What? What did I do so wrong?!”

This weekend we did what any sane parents who need a little relaxation but who also know that packing up three kids and two adults for longer than a couple days is straight bonkers would do–a staycation.