Kelli Nelson is a former corporate-type turned mompreneur and author of the award-winning blog, Sweetness of Life & Motherhood. She lives in the midwest with her two children and their cavalier King Charles spaniel. When not embracing imperfectionism and modern motherhood with humor (and cake), Kelli advocates for underprivileged children, women and pressing global issues.
When I was young, you could simply look at me and I might cry. I was afraid of my parents, uncles, aunts, the mailman, teachers, professors. It’s amazing how much we change when we become parents. Read More
When I was young, you could simply look at me and I might cry. I was afraid of my parents, uncles, aunts, the mailman, teachers, professors. It’s amazing how much we change when we become parents. Read More
When I found out during week 20 of my second pregnancy that I was having a girl, I was over the moon. I remember repeating over and over to myself, “I’m going to have a daughter.” And during the first four years of my daughter’s life, I often found myself repeating, still amazed, “I have a daughter.”
As I write this, she sits on the floor dipping a corndog in ketchup while dressed to the nines in her Little Mermaid garb–including the red wig. I look at her and revel in awe. She realizes I’m staring and says, “I love you, King Triton.” My heart swells and I reply, “I love you more, Ariel.”
Like you all, I too have Read More
Several years ago, I finally acquired the bathtub of my dreams. It had been a long time coming. I had to sacrifice square feet in the master bedroom but it was worth it because my tranquil spa-like, mommy-only retreat featuring an amazing tub was far more important. My dream was, of course, before I realized there would be no escape from my kids’ demands—not ever. I’ve been in my magnificent tub maybe a half dozen times. Probably less.
There is good news, though. The Read More
My posts have been few and far between of late and writing this one nearly broke me. I had to walk away. I dug my heels into my fiction reading addiction and kept my nose buried there, refusing to think or write.
I’d been distracted and inattentive for weeks. I’d been remiss. I failed to share my wonderful margarita-filled Mothers Day. I failed to share my daughter’s first ballet recital and my first experience as a dance mom backstage. Worse, I failed to share my son’s one and only high school graduation. Amazing moments and milestones—all certainly worthy of being shared.
My daughter kicked me in the panties one night recently. Let me tell you, my 4 year-old sounded like a 40 year-old and she really let me have it. Immediately after her brief but effective daughter-to-mom lecture, she curled up on top of me, said a sleepy goodnight and quickly drifted off to sleep. And then I cried. She was right. I had let her down and Read More
Motherhood. Parenting. It doesn’t get easier as the years pass, but the good news is you do grow stronger as each goes by. At the same time, it doesn’t get harder either. It becomes filled with variations of the same.
It seems there’s quite a mom-debate brewing out there on this very subject and I find it rather silly to argue about when motherhood is easier or more difficult. As a general rule, I don’t get involved in this type of discussion, but since I’ve been asked numerous times recently to weigh in, here’s my take based on Read More
