Carnegie Hill Mom

Parenting while sick is no joke. My kids are pretty aware of how monstrous I can become at the end of a long day on my feet. Add to that my headache, congestion, and runny nose (We're on day four now!) and my patience for disobedience and dawdling at bedtime is stretched as thin as a thread. When my three-year-old pushed away her carrot, even though that's the vegetable she requested ("Mom, can you put carrots on my plate for dinner?), I told her she needed to take a bite and then she could be done. "Why are you not a good mom?" my five-year-old asked in response. I was stunned at her comment. "Do you even realize what you're saying?" I asked her. Clearly she didn't. She was probably trying to say something like, "Why are you being so strict?" or even, "Why are you being so mean?" Either of those wouldn't have stung so much. "I am a good mom," I replied, coming to my defense. "I feed my kids a healthy ...

On any moment of any day, I can either be in survival mode or fully thriving in my role as a mom. I've spent the past five years raising my four kids and feel the scales finally tipping in favor of thriving. I wouldn't say this is a battle I've won, but I can definitely appreciate how far I've come. Let's just say that starting off with twins was a wake-up call to all involved. We had all hands on deck with grandparents flying in and a husband who can thankfully function on a few hours of sleep. When family left and hubby went back to work, I hired a friend who was in-between jobs as a daily mother's helper. I had to get outside the apartment to survive, but that often didn't happened until late in the afternoon. Those first three months were such a blur. Here's what I do remember: Three sets of pump parts piled up in the kitchen sink. Mastering the double football hold in my glider for hour-long nursing sessions every 2-3 hours. Waking a baby to ...

Kristin Van de Water is a former journalist and teacher who relies on humor, faith, and her mom crew to get her through the day. Raising four kids in a two-bedroom NYC apartment, Kristin is always on the lookout for life hacks to save time, space, money, and her sanity.