Lylah M. Alphonse’s Blog

We've all experienced it at one time or another: The Mommy Drive-By. When someone -- a relative, another mom, a total stranger -- takes it upon herself to question your judgment or criticize your parenting.

Single moms get flak about their social lives. Step moms are looked down upon for not being "a real parent." Breast-feeding mamas get hit when they nurse their child in public; formula-feeding mothers get the evil eye when they whip out a bottle instead of a breast. Mothers from all walks of life are questioned for decisions large and small. And working mothers, well, they get a little bit of "all of the above."

I'm positive that I thought I knew more about parenting before I became a parent, so I can kind of see why non-parents feel compelled to tell parents what they should do differently, whether they are qualified to say anything or not. But when the drive-by comes from another working mom, I'm baffled... why do we do this to one another? Read More »

The hardest thing about working during my second pregnancy -- aside from the fact that I had four kids at home for a good chunk of it -- was my morning commute. I was constantly tired from either getting up in the middle of the night with my toddler (or, in the third trimester, from getting up to go to the bathroom every 37 minutes).

The second hardest thing about my second pregnancy was the way I felt that the size of my expanding body was indirectly proportional to my value as an employee. That is to say, I worried that people would see my enormous belly, notice that I was no longer walking so much as lumbering, and assume that I wouldn't be able to do my job properly because I was pregnant. Read More »

I keep running lists of things I never thought I'd say as a parent. You know, things like "Don't lick the microwave" and "Pennies are not for eating" and "No, you can't ride the dog." The other day, as I flaked dried applesauce off of the sleeve of my favorite black blazer, I looked at the "Dora the Explorer" bandage on my cut finger and decided to start another list: My top 10 signs you're a working Mom. Read More »

Many experts say that figuring out the times of day during which you're most productive is one of the keys to becoming more organized and less stressed out. You should also keep track of what you do with your time; one way to do this is by keeping a time log, according to personal development guru Steve Pavlina. The results may surprise you. When are you most productive? Read More »

My preschooler has been having a bit of what I call “Mama Drama” lately, usually right before bed (when she knows I have to log on and work from home once she’s asleep) or when I drop her off at school (when she knows I’m leaving so I can go to the office). It starts with a long sad look, shoulders drooping, glancing sideways to see if I’ve noticed. If I seem not to have, she adds a snuffle and a sniffle, sometimes wiping her (dry) eyes for dramatic effect.

You know the effect Kryptonite had on Superman? Well, for this SuperMom, Mama Drama does the same thing. It kills me. Read More »

How many times have you written an email, hit “send,” and immediately wished you had an “unsend” button?

Maybe you saw a typo in the split second that the email system was processing. Maybe you wrote the missive in a fit of anger, and belatedly realized that it needed a re-write or several in order to be considered anywhere near diplomatic. Or maybe, in that moment the email was still on your screen, before it flew out into the ether, you saw that you had addressed it to the person you were writing about instead of the person you were writing to. Read More »

With gas prices skyrocketing and airlines imposing new and bigger fees for everything from checked baggage to warm soda, "home" is becoming a hot travel destination. Hotels are marketing "getaway" packages to their local clientele. AAA offers "Drive Vacations" to make road tripping trendier (even with gas costing more than $4 a gallon, it's still cheaper to drive than fly if you're taking kids along). Camping and hiking have become popular again. Read More »