070: Cute $10 Valentines Day cards, how to handle sick days, updates from Trump’s first few days in office & more

Plus: Three new books for you and your kids, what’s going on with TikTok, the secret to fighting off the stomach bug & more.

Kelsey & Cassie with four of our five kids

Welcome to Two Truths, a bestselling newsletter & media brand exploring the many truths of motherhood from journalists & maternal health advocates Cassie Shortsleeve of Dear Sunday Motherhood & Kelsey Haywood Lucas of Motherspeak. Two Truths is rooted in the healing & affirming principle that two (or more) things can be true. It’s a “best parenting Substack” per Motherly; also seen in The Skimm, Vox, The Bump, Popsugar & more.

---

However you spent your weekend… celebrating the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., celebrating the loss of TikTok, lamenting the loss of TikTok, planning for upcoming card-giving holidays (we have you covered there), huddled up with sick kids (we’ve got you there, too), watching the inauguration, or not watching the inauguration, we’re guessing things may have felt like… a lot. That’s why we’re here with another round-up of links from the week: so that you don’t need to spend your precious weeknights scrolling.

This week’s edition of Two Truths—an exclusive for our paid subscribers—rounds up some of the week’s news, including…

• The secret to fighting off the stomach bug

• How to handle sick days this winter—mentally, physically, and logistically

• What the @#$% is going on with TikTok

• Trump’s first few executive orders—and how they impact you

• Where the dream of a female president goes from here

• A major announcement of Catherine, Princess of Wales’ health

• Why new mothers in Congress should be able to vote remotely

• The cutest “love bug” valentines (they include a wearable bug ring and cost less than $10) for V-Day

• A beloved cartoonist’s new picture book for littles (with plenty of wisdom for adults, too)

• Another new release that explores how bad science contributes to the myth of the “good” mom

• A must-read novel that explores state violence, family separation and the unrealistic demands of motherhood in a fictitious world that feels all too real

• More!

If you’re currently a free subscriber, keep reading by upgrading here for just $5 a month (or try the free trial). Your upgraded subscription will include timely, exclusive issues (like this one), special giveaways and discount codes, and more — and our paid supporters make this newsletter possible.

Let’s dive in.

—Cassie and Kelsey

This week’s reads: Headlines you may have missed in motherhood, maternal health, media & beyond