Fashion has always been about illusion (i.e. black makes you “look” thinner; a shorter hemline makes you “seem” taller). The same thing goes for maternity fashion — you’ll get that hot mama look by maximizing your assets and disguising those shortcomings.

For decades, maternity fashions suffered as they tried to disguise the pregnant belly. This is utter foolishness. Afterall, isn’t the whole reason you’re having to buy a new wardrobe due to the fact that your pregnant belly is HUGE? There is NO hiding it. So we think the biggest step forward for maternity fashion is the freedom to make your beloved bump an asset to be flaunted rather than camouflaged. Other assets: noticed your chest lately? No, we don’t mean that they’re sore, we’re talking about the fact that they’re perkier (and probably bigger) than ever.

Since every mom (or mommy-to-be) knows how frustrating maternity shopping can be, we’ve got a list of the best maternity tops to jump-start your search. On our shopping trips, we combed through racks of shirts looking for the most flattering styles. Here are our four favorite styles with options for bellies in every price range> read more

I know it might seem odd, but even though my days are chock-full of kid-related adventure and hilarity, sometimes I have trouble coming up with topics for this column.  Lately it’s because there is a topic hanging over my head that I have been trying to avoid.  I try to think about anything else that will illustrate the life of a mother of young children in an honest and humorous way, and still be legible.  After all, I could just send video clips of my 21-month-old son running circles around the house shouting “RUN! RUN! RUN!” and then tripping over his feet and whining “FALL!”  That sums it up right there.

But you know all about that.  You are mothers of one or more children, and they have all been young at one point. So even if your children are grown, I know you remember the piles of laundry, the leaving the house wearing pants that nobody should see on you, the days when you really, really, really meant to take a shower but somehow never got around to it.  Maybe those days fade in your memory, and you are left with the happy warm fuzzies when you think of the years in which your children were young? I know I want that for my future:  selective memory.

Even now the image of me holding my infant son while sobbing as hard as I possibly could because he wouldn’t take a nap, is getting harder for me to conjure.  While I cherish my son’s last days of baby-ness, I am looking forward to holding actual English conversations with him, and to the days after he is potty trained so I won’t have to change his diapers anymore.  The struggles of his infant days are definitely behind us.

Oh, wait.

This is the thing I have been avoiding writing about, but I feel I must, because it’s hard to ignore now that I’m wearing size L maternity clothing. read more

Often a mom’s life is so overflowing with stress that peaceful moments are left only to our dreams. As Cher would say, “Snap out of it!” Time-outs aren’t just for kids, and you don’t even have to be bad to get one. We wholeheartedly support you giving yourself a time-out at least once a week (once a day would be even better. In those precious moments force yourself to do something you enjoy — if nothing comes to mind try one of these relaxing ideas. read more

It’s that time of year — for reflection, resolve and renewal. If one of your goals this year is to (finally corral the clutter in your house, pull up the left side of your brain and take note. Here are some tips to help you tame all those wayward whoosie-whatsies that pile up before you know it. read more