Tag Archive for: love

The Passionate Stepmom Is Not Made, She’s Built

I’m a mom and a stepmom. I know both jobs are two of the hardest, sometimes most thankless jobs on the planet. But one of those roles has been more of a personal challenge for me than the other. Can you guess which one it is? Yup…

Stepmoms: Quit Comparing Yourself to Your Partner’s Ex!

I’ve ALWAYS obsessed with comparing myself to my husband’s ex and now I’m making it public. I fixated on her looks, parenting skills, her previous and current relationship with my husband, her hatred for me. The list goes on and on. This…
Mother and Daughter

‘I Don’t Have A Stepmom’

My daughter and I were cuddled up on the couch watching something together. Somehow, the subject of her brother came up and how I was his stepmom. No big deal. But then she turned to me and said, ‘Well, you are his stepmom. But I don’t…
Stepmum smiling

4 Traits of Highly Effective Stepmoms

1. Self-Awareness It’s healthy for every person and parent out there to have developed a generous sense of self-awareness, but for a stepmom, it can be particularly useful. No matter what your situation as a stepmom is, whether it’s…

Why Stepmums Get Jealous & Insecure in the Most Stable Relationships

You’re not weak or silly for feeling unsettled in your relationship when your partner’s past is so present in your home and family. It’s not weird to feel grossed out by anything that suggests previous intimacy. It’s not wrong to feel sad that our first experience of having a child with our partner is not their first experience.
girl holding string lights

How to Show Your Kids It’s Okay to Be Queer

So many of us instill the “straight” mentality, or heteronormativity rather, in little everyday moments that we don’t even realize we’re establishing norms and expectations that make our kids assume they’re straight, cis kids living in a straight, cis world, and that everything else is different. There are a few ways you, as parents, can incorporate an inclusion state of mind into your kids’ everyday life, regardless of whether or not anyone in your family is queer. The biggest piece of advice I can give other parents who want to make an effort to normalize queerness is to try not never assume heterosexuality.
fashion couple people woman

How to Plan a Same Sex Bridal Shower

You’re throwing a part for two people you love very much. Forget about the dos and don’ts that are all over Pinterest and such. Use your instincts, because you were asked to throw a shower to celebrate the love of two people who know and trust what you’ll do for them. Keep it true to the spirit of the couple, and you really
Young Girl

Why I Don’t Want My Daughter to Grow Up to Be a Stepmom

I love my family. My husband is thoughtful, helpful, and has the patience of a saint. My stepdaughter is full of joy, silly jokes, and cure-all hugs. My in-laws are kind, accepting, and understanding. But despite all of the love and happiness,…
Couple Talking

15 Things Stepmom Wishes Her Husband Knew

In that moment, I knew I couldn’t say anything to make him understand. I could verbalize my emotions until I was blue in the face, but he just wasn’t going to make sense of my words. Exhausting myself trying to explain why I was struggling…
Pensive Stepmum

Lessons Learned When I Embraced My Role as Second Wife

Coming into my role as a second wife to the love of my life was no easy feat. It’s as if everywhere I turned there was another reminder of his former life, of the woman he loved before me. It was inescapable, perpetual torture. I wanted…
Women Talking

Things I Wish My Stepchild’s Mom Knew

I am often discredited as a stepmom blogger because my relationship with K’s mom is so great. I take very little credit for our positive relationship; that was all Amanda, K’s biological mother. She has chosen to invite me into her daughter’s…
Woman and Children

Why I Don’t Love My Stepchildren as My Own

When Gabe and I married, I understood I was committing to him and Sara, Amy, and Jack for the rest of my life. I had no idea what that actually meant. In hindsight, that’s probably a good thing. Knowing what I do now about parenting stepchildren,…
Stepmum and Stepdaughter

Surviving the Stepdaughter War

My stepdaughter Amy has a war raging within her. It surfaced this weekend. “That’s not how mom makes potatoes,” she told me as I slid the roasting pan into the oven before dinner. After her shower, she came downstairs, long hair…
Teenagers Packing

Coming Home: Custody Transition Do’s and Don’ts

Over the years, Billy and I have shared custody in many different ways. We’ve bird nested, alternated every two days, spent time in a 2/5/5/2, and most recently, adopted a week-to-week schedule. While when the children change homes has…
Father and Child

Saying Goodbye: Custody Transition Do’s and Don’ts

Years ago, when we first began sharing custody, I dreaded the time my children were with their father. I missed them terribly, and transitions triggered all my grief and guilt about our divorce. I felt like a part-time parent and the days…