It’s easy to notice the mistakes of those around us, especially our kids.  After all, they’re little people, growing into adults so it’s normal that they’ll have a lot of mishaps along the way.  It’s also normal to hold them accountable so they can grow into responsible adults.  Sadly, on the journey to adulthood, oftentimes our fault-finding outweighs the positive aspects of the relationship with our children. 

Is it self-centered to continue to be ourselves after becoming mothers? If a woman continues to pursue her career and personal interests after giving birth to and/or adopting a child, some people consider her to be selfish. Over the past five years my friends Jammy Davies (pronounced Jay-me) and Shari Deluca have been teaching my students about careers in the law, and the implications that our laws have on daily life.

My family and I just got back from a road trip.  We made the nearly 5-hour trek from Los Angeles to the San Francisco Bay Area, where I was a bridesmaid in my cousin’s wedding.  Prior to the trip, I gathered all the necessities I needed to keep my 2 ½ year-old and 4-year-old from having a meltdown mid-ride.  DVD Player, check.

My husband brought home dinner last night, and to my utter amazement, I opened his dessert pan and found a burnt cookie staring me in the face.  My chocolate chip cookie was perfect, but his peanut butter cookie, which wasn’t a tad overcooked or a little charred on the edges, was scorched, incinerated, burnt almost to a crisp.  If you don’t believe me, just look at the cookie, commonly known as a Pizookie, in the photo above.

Whether good or bad, celebrities often have a lot to say.  It could be totally heartfelt or completely vain, but whatever it is, we’re usually listening.  And, when it comes to parenting, although celebrity moms seem a world apart from 9-5 moms, they sometimes say things that remind us, our common bond of motherhood makes us closer than we think.

As a tribute to mothers, below are ten celebrity mom quotes that’ll leave you perplexed, touched, or rolling on the floor with laugher, but most of all, it’ll make your heart a little warmer.

We have been hearing quite a bit about “forty and fabulous” this year. Fifteen minutes of cosmetic application can transform our nearly forty or forty-something faces into more like twenty-seven year old ones. Last August I was amazed that the lip-gloss and eye makeup I had applied with great fervor to mimic the USA’s 2012 Women’s Olympic Gymnastics team palate was still on after I ran over six miles in ninety degree weather.

A dozen charity-runs in Connecticut support honorable women’s organizations for this 2013 Mother’s Day Weekend, but all of those races are held on a paved course.  Why not give your tired legs a break from such pounding and run or walk-run on a beautiful cross-country course instead?  I know that runners like my own woods-avoiding mom are thinking, “hmm…cross-country course: roots, boulders, streams and lots of slippery debris that will trip me” but that does not describe the terrain for the two loop Hartford Marathon Foundation’s True Colors 5K.

On April 15th, 2013, when twin bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon, a pit of fear and worry ached in my stomach, reminding me of how vulnerable my daughter Madison, a type 1 diabetic, is. I hate to be so grim, but without insulin, she will die. And with too much insulin, she will either go into a coma or die.

How many times have you written an email, text message or sent any message using a form of electronics; where the message was immediately sent, without spell check? When you look back at the message, you call yourself all sorts of grammatically challenged names. You laugh and may even send a message to append to the last message, with changes. You may even follow up with a phone call. In some cases you wish you never sent it.

The Holidays bring about good and bad memories of past holiday seasons.  I have a girlfriend Nancy who newly divorced is having her first Thanksgiving without the kids this year.  It's tough; there is no denying it.  Thanksgiving will be different for her; but that doesn't mean it'll be bad.  We've talked about my first Thanksgiving without my daughter and new traditions I put in place when celebrating as a single person.  For me, service work was a blessing.