What SHE Said, and Also My Soapbox

As every mom of a toddler knows, some days parenting is amazing and truly rewarding, while some days, you want to crawl into a cabinet and hide from the insanity. I think that really enjoying parenting means seeing the beauty in the former, and the humor in the latter.

That's why I love The Honest Toddler. The Honest Toddler is a mom blogger with a wickedly funny sense of humor who writes from the perspective of her toddler. She's on Facebook, she has a blog, she has a book, she has a possible TV deal, and a pretty loyal following of a quarter million people (because she's HI-larious). And good for her! She's been at this for years and she works very hard at her writing.

Now, she's being bullied by a big bunch of lawyers representing Jesica Alba's Honest Company, which is trying to force the Honest Toddler to pay them for the use of her name for a year, after which she has to find a new one. Sound ludicrous? Well, it is. But it's also true.

I'll save you the run down on the story, because my fellow blogger Jen over at the "People I Want to Punch in the Throat" blog (also pretty hilarious) has sketched the picture so well in her post. But she doesn't just tell the story, she's encouraging other people to help do something. And, in solidarity with Jen and The Honest Toddler, I'm asking you to take ten minutes to read Jen's post, and then sign the petition on Change.org in support of the blogger mom.

In addition to being a mom and a blogger, I'm also a lawyer. And there's nothing I hate more than seeing my profession used as a tool to bully and oppress people. This entire situation strikes me as frivolous*, and a message needs to be sent that it IS. NOT. OKAY.

*Obligatory Legalese Disclaimer: I do not represent either part in the ongoing legal battle, and have not been asked to provide a professional opinion as to whether the claims being made are legally "frivolous." However, Reda the Lawyer and Reda the Hicks Hiker both agree that this is ridiculous and needs to stop.