About a week before the Easter holiday my kids informed me that they were really hoping for two things in their baskets this year: Peeps and Squishmallows. Now, mind you, they each already have one Squishmallow, but apparently less is not more in this case- more is more. I couldn’t seem to find what they wanted anywhere- because of course they had pretty specific character requests! Did I turn to Google for advice? Not at first. What’s better than the search engine?  The Branch~Naperville Mom’s Facebook community forum of course! Within minutes I was flooded with comments—almost 100 comments actually! Our moms never disappoint. You can find the original post HERE.

I try to take a step back when I realize I’m in the midst of a “first world problem” mom panic. I have the sense of humor to let it go and know that the kids will be just fine if they don’t get exactly what they want. Life will move on and a lesson will be learned- you can’t always get what you want. Thank you Mick Jagger. Now that my kids are a bit older and I myself am older, I find that I don’t sweat the small stuff nearly as much as I used to when the kiddos were younger (It needs to be Sofie the giraffe! Glass bottles! Only organic everything!). We learn quickly that the must haves and the mom panics aren’t sustainable-and a bit ridiculous.

We love our kids with all of our hearts. But the pressure to deliver on anything and everything from elaborate holiday traditions to birthday extravaganzas is a lot to wrap our heads around. I love putting on a good party. It truly brings me joy to celebrate birthdays each year because I feel they’re only little for a few years. If that’s your thing too, go for it! Pinterest that s##% all day, mama! But if it’s not you? Or it’s not in your means to keep up with the Joneses, that’s perfect as well! Kids know love and kids know security. We provide that support, and they will get exactly what they need.

Erica Lopez is a local Naperville mother of two (9, 6). She is a former talk show co-host for The Naperville Mom’s Network on NCTV and currently works with content marketing firm, Go Girl Communications.