Parenting

Here's How Regular Moms Are Totally Killing It (Photos)

by Robyn Welling
Updated: 
Originally Published: 

By now you might have seen the article on Elite Daily full of Instagram pics claiming to show how “the face of motherhood is now being taken over by Millennials” who are “totally owning” their new roles as cool, young moms. And yes, the ladies in the pictures appear to be rockin’ it.

However, a scroll through their photos implies this entire hip new generation of parents is all about baby name tattoos, organic homemade baby food, wearing matching outfits with their “baby BFF” and attending Coachella with toddlers in tow. Which is great, but come on — lots of Gen Xers are still rocking motherhood too, and besides, I find it hard to believe that the majority of Gen Y moms themselves can really relate to this wavy-haired, tech-obsessed, carefully styled pseudo-bohemian generalization of their mothering style.

That’s why a bunch of regular moms came together here to prove that, even if our kids don’t have golden Etsy hair bows and we’ve never completed a single project on our Pinterest boards, we’re all killing it in our own special ways — Scary Mommy style.

Every regular mom knows that early education is important; that’s why our kids learn how to steal snacks from other kids on the sly before they even enter pre-school.

We also know that organic, non-GMO, all-natural food is probably best — in a perfect world — but that in the real world sometimes you gotta serve Dunkin’ Donuts in the car seat instead.

And obviously the best way for children to absorb those “nutrients” is directly through their faces.

Assuming we remembered to go to the store and get food in the first place.

Regular moms might consider wearing outfits that match our kids’ clothes… if we could ever get our kids to wear clothes…

Or, when they do get dressed, if we could at least figure out what the hell they’re wearing.

Our kids definitely know how to accessorize, but instead of fancy boutiques, regular moms mostly shop at the prize box at the pediatrician’s office.

Anyway, let’s just say regular moms’ style is based a little less on couture and more on… practicality.

That isn’t to say that cultivating a sense of style isn’t on our priority list! It just happens to be at the bottom of the list. Next to grooming.

We don’t always have time for elaborate craft projects either, but we do spend a lot of time cleaning up the “craft projects” our kids start.

And our idea of being the “fun mom” often means letting our kids climb a rock wall in cowboy boots and athletic shorts while we cheer them on… from the playground bench.

We’re tech-savvy too, and love posting milestones on social media like the classic “first day of school” pic. But, uh, sometimes we forget, in which case regular moms improvise.

Regular moms do a lot of improvising. Like telling our kids they’re going to “Lord Business Lego Camp” just to get them to pick up their 57,486 metric tons of Legos.

Did we mention we do A LOT OF IMPROVISING?

We’re attached to our kids at the hip, but usually it isn’t because we’re chilling with our baby BFF or off on some adventure — it’s because if we leave them alone for five seconds they’ll burn the damn house down.

And because the authorities don’t like it if we just leave them at their dance recitals mid-tantrum.

And because they’re such — ahem — good “helpers” when we’re trying to work from home.

Hell, we can’t get away from our kids no matter how hard we try!

So we might not take them to Coachella, but we definitely include our kids in activities we enjoy, like swimming. And yoga. (Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s supposed to be yoga.)

And we do take them on vacations, though half the time they act like they wish we wouldn’t.

But regular moms also know when our kids need some space, like when our toddlers are dealing with the crushing disappointment of only having one nugget left.

Or those times when our kids need a little space to act all “teenagerish” — oh yes, we know exactly how to deal with that.

Are regular moms cool enough to have tattoos dedicated to our children? Oh yeah, we have those. Some people call them “stretch marks” and they’re pretty badass.

One thing regular moms know for sure: If there’s a “new face” of motherhood, that face definitely has kids’ butts on it.

Or maybe an entire kid.

Because the most important part of being a great mom isn’t being trendy or cool — it’s being yourself. (Bonus points if you being yourself embarrasses your kids.)

So absolutely, motherhood can be matching swimsuits. It can be ironic t-shirts, and 2-year-olds named Gannon who’ve mastered Facetime, and Pinterest-perfect parties. But it’s also so much more than that.

And sometimes, it’s so much less.

It’s everything — and any mom who realizes that is truly killing it at motherhood.

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