As I continue to read the articles and opinions that pop up each week on the topic of working motherhood, I’m struck by something often missing from these conversations: working motherhood is a) not always a choice or a decision based whatever the mom feels like doing and b) even when it is optional, it’s not a selfish act.   

Let me preface this entire post by saying it's pretty much the most uncomfortable thing I've probably ever written.  And this coming from someone that wrote a book with an entire chapter about my sex life with my husband; so there's that.  But after what I will refer to as "The Incident" I felt I had to tackle this topic head on.

We’ve heard it time and time again, exercise is good for your health.  Trust me, being a former personal trainer and aerobic instructor I know how important it is to get in regular exercise.  But, when I became a mom, I also understood the challenge of trying to fit it in.  And, like most busy mothers, I allowed work, family and life to get in the way of consistent exercise, but not today.

Welcome to daycare…here is your daughter’s first cold. It will last about a month and then, when you finally think it’s gone, she’ll pick up something else. And so will you.

Back to work today…those first sleepless nights when your baby arrives pass so slowly, and then you blink and it’s three months later. Coincidentally we are ready to launch the Cribsters.com website just as our own Cribster starts daycare.

Most work travel isn't glamorous or fun despite what non-work travelers think. You commute by planes, trains and automobiles and sometimes all three and then check in, go to meetings day and night and crash before doing it all again the next day or traveling back home. Prior to having a child, it was easy to do this, come home, eat take out, sleep in and recover, and sometimes, even spend an extra day traveling as a tourist when visiting a new city.

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.

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.

So you go back to work. You’re used to working whenever you need to – early or late, at the office, remotely or while traveling – with long hours and back-to-back meetings. Now, however, you sensibly build a schedule that allows you to be a parent. 

What does that mean: You look for some flexibility in hours. Don’t misconstrue this statement: this doesn't mean working part time, but fitting the same hours into a slightly different schedule despite the looks or comments you may receive.