Allison Cooper

Well, 50 Shades of Grey has found its place on the runway! Toss your boring back dress suits good-bye and welcome some new gray pieces to your wardrobe. This monochromatic trend can easily make its way into your bedroom, too.

We do our best as parents, but there is no plan or prediction that can determine how your relationship with your children will be, grow, and change throughout the course of our lives. That is one of the most unpredictable things in parenthood.

Then all of a sudden he stopped and muttered the words, “Nevermind mom, you don’t understand. You’re not a gamer.” That stopped me in my tracks.

Dear Elementary School,

I know these kids need both parents in their lives to learn to grow to be successful human adults, but some days, I’d like to be remembered as the fun parent.

There’s so much going on with a postpartum mom, so much more than meets the eye, and we need to be aware of that. Stop talking about her body!

Faux freckles. Come on. You know that you have always wanted to strategically place a little freckle and mimic what Cindy Crawford has naturally.

I've noticed an evolution within myself over the past year: I’ve been avoiding leaving my house at all costs.

I promise that 10 years from now, you won’t look back and find yourself saying “remember that amazing picture you posted of the Christmas cookies on Instagram? The one where the lighting was perfect and you had all the right red and green props in the background?” That won’t happen, ever.

These are the things I anticipate most when my kids finally go the eff to sleep. I deserve it after a day of being in what feels like survival mode.