I consider it a good day if I get to do one of my favorite things — writing, yoga and TMI. (My third favorite thing is personal, and definitely too much information for the family members who read this blog.)

So here’s why I feel guilty today — none of these things involves my children. I read some other mommy bloggers and their favorite things are making scrapbooks of their children’s photos, throwing the world’s best birthday party, and taking their children to Wiggles on Ice. I could pretend I like doing that stuff, but I’d be lying.

I’m happy when the soccer game gets rained out, I hide some of the birthday invitations on the top of the fridge, I don’t want to ever see anything on ice. I’m just not a very good mommy, I’m afraid.

Yesterday I blogged about how editors copy what other editors are doing, and that’s why the news seems transmogrified into one giant blob called the media. That’s a gross oversimplification and I was trying to be humorous, but on a very basic level, that’s what everyone does. Moms study other moms and read mommy magazines, books and blogs because we’re all asking ourselves the same question — AM I DOING THIS RIGHT??

I don’t recognize myself in those magazines, books and blogs. As for the moms I study, most of them put on a really good mommy face. Much happier than mine.

So maybe I should ask my family to give me a performance review like the one at work, with core competencies, goals and objectives. First I would have to explain what those things mean, and I don’t really want to get into the difference between a goal and an objective with a 5-year-old, so that could bog things down a bit. I could just say to my family, how am I doing?

Here’s what their answers would be:

– Girl: Not spending enough time pushing me on the swing
– Boy: Not trying hard enough to find me during hide and seek
– Husband: Not enough TMI