True Confessions of a NJ Mommy

Every mom's got them — parenting quirks they choose not to share with the world, because, well, we think they tend toward the embarrassing. They're not, though. Here, MomSpeaker Brie Latini proudly, bravely fesses up.

 So I'm gonna give all my secrets away . . .

1. Target Fruit Snacks? Love 'em. I can seriously eat four packs in a sitting. They are delicious blobs of opaque goodness.
2. I have been told a number of times that when PJ has a public meltdown I stay remarkably composed. The truth is that being in public in and of itself is the only thing that keeps me from crying/yelling/trying to sell him to a passerby. But, really, what else can I do when he's coming apart at the seams in Target? If I lose it, too, it will just make the spectacle that much more horrifying.
3. I have watched Peg + Cat alone. As in, without a child in the room. That show cracks me up!
4. The answer to "PJ have a book?" is always "Yes."
5. PJ has slept the entire night in his bed for two nights in a row . . . and I am a little bummed out about that.
6. We hit Dunkin' Donuts about four to five times a week. It's horrible, but it is also our lifeline sometimes. I have found few problems that a coffee for Mommy and a Munchkin for PJ can't fix. Also, in a pinch, a bacon, egg and cheese Wake Up Wrap is only 5 Weight Watchers points.
7. I taught PJ the lyrics to "Remix to Ignition" by R. Kelly, albeit the sanitized version made famous by the Dartmouth Aires on The Sing Off. When I sing, "Can I get a toot-toot?" PJ will respond with "Can I get a beep-beep?" and I crack up every. single. time. He also favors "Fancy" by Iggy Azalea and "Maneater" by Hall and Oates. His propensity toward inappropriate music is my favorite!
8. I am not above letting PJ use my iPhone for entertainment if I need to. We have watched Wreck-It Ralph in restaurants, dressing rooms, Target and varied family gatherings.
9. I imagine that, as PJ gets older, I will reconsider how much I choose to share about his life in my writings. I try to keep the things that are truly private, private. But right now, as his mother, I share at my own discretion versus what I think his might be.
10. I hate Thomas the Tank Engine. Who came up with this crap? I mean, who aside from the person who is sitting on a chair made of money laughing at all of the mamas who have to endure the tales of that blue painted a–hat on tracks? And what I really want to know is why do these trains always end up in these dumb situations when they have humans who are supposed to be operating them? We have spent the equivalent of a semester in college on Thomas stuff for PJ, so the irony is that I have to set aside my hatred lest we waste all that money. I just stifle my disdain and daydream about slapping Sir Topham Hatt in the head.

Brie Latini is a South Jersey writer and mom. This post is adapted from her blog ( . . . a breezy life).