Meet Jess Holt, the wry wit and graphic designer by trade who offers a raw, insightful look at life as the mother of twins on Grace and Champ.

Jess started the blog as a way to connect with adults after emerging from the first-year fog of somewhat unexpected parenthood, multiplied by 2. “I didn’t want it to be just about parenting, but it turns out that’s all I do,” she says.

You don’t get tips from Jess, nor do you get a candy-coated celebration of the joys of motherhood. You get candour, which brings with it reassurance that raising kids is stressful and crazy-making, and all you can do is your best, which is good enough.

We talk about shutting down unsolicited advice, the heebie-jeebieness of the term “mommy blogger,” and the feeling of being outnumbered, among other things. 

Jess recommended these local blogs and podcasts:

• Raising Edmonton, Lori Godin’s compendium of things to do with your kids;
• The Momoirs, Hannah Hamilton’s unvarnished truth about parenting;
• The Undad, Trent Wilkie’s blog about raising one (and soon two) kids;
• I Have Some Notes, the new podcast from Colin MacIntyre and Gregg Beever on how to fix a bad movie.

You can follow Grace and Champ on Twitter and on Facebook.