My daughter's second birthday seems to be approaching more rapidly than I'd like.  Cue the anxiety.  I'm not fretting the "Terrible Twos," but Erika Christakis' The Importance of Being Little has me panicking about preschool.  Here's how the Yale-based early childhood educator and mom encouraged me to consider a move to Finland.

PTA, Crunchy, Expert, Hipster, and Hot Mess - these five are the latest portrayals of the "types" of moms you're bound to meet, according to Buzzfeed.  Are they lurking at your local playground, or are they online stereotypes who (thankfully) don't exist IRL?  

Truly objective advice is the variety of guidance I'll almost always welcome.  And when you have a daughter, it's never too early to start looking for it.  The work of JoAnn Deak, Ph.D., is an excellent place to start.  More here on raising confident and courageous daughters.

As a mother, I view myself a bit like my old rug.  That’s not meant to be a sad, pathetic metaphor for being passive or stepped-on.  But there are parallels between my physical self and the rug, ones that reflect the fine line between letting go and letting oneself go. 

Most of the books in my daughter's library are time-tested classics.  Corduroy, Where The Wild Things Are, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and of course, Goodnight Moon are some of her (and my!) favorites.  If it was written after 1975, I'm not too interested.