Motherhood can be serious business, but it can also be seriously funny.

Take this one particular discussion thread on www.HawaiiMoms.com, The Honolulu Advertiser's free Web site for moms, where we asked moms to finish the sentence "You know you're a mom when ..."

The avalanche of answers our moms came back with was equal parts hilarity, poignancy and painful, comic truth.

Here's a sampling, with the online user-names of the moms who wrote them:

YOU KNOW YOU'RE A MOM WHEN ...

... you shout out, "Fire truck!" whenever you see one. Even when your kids aren't with you.

... you excuse yourself from a business meeting by saying you have to go potty.

...your "little black bag" is a breast pump.

— Sandysue

... you no longer wear light-colored T-shirts because you KNOW better.

... you're at the supermarket by yourself and you catch yourself humming your baby's favorite song — or worse, talking to your "imaginary" kids because you forgot they were at home.

... you yell at your kids so that they can stop yelling at each other. (Figure that one out.)

... you wish that your naughty kids would JUST GO TO SLEEP ALREADY, and the minute they do, you're suddenly stuck wondering what to do with yourself.

... you know that lots of little-kid laughter means lots of little-kid mess.

— Hulagirl

... you let the baby follow you into the bathroom and let them play with a toy while you do your "business."

... you're standing in line at the grocery store or Starbucks and you catch yourself rocking side to side as if you're still carrying the baby that you left at home with Dad.

— Colomaohana

... you give the last snack to your child even though you were hungry for it.

... you spend more time planning kids' birthday parties (than) your wedding anniversary.

— Mom2

... your calendar is not only full, it's color-coded for each family member.

— MamaMia

... you realize that grocery shopping alone IS a break, and maybe consider it your "me time"!

... you hope the doctor/dentist is running late for your appointment so you can read through the whole magazine in peace because the kids are not with you!

... if you have to stop suddenly, your right arm automatically goes across the passenger.

— GnLsMom

... you go to a restaurant and the nicely folded white napkin instantly goes over your shoulder! (As if to burp the baby.) Hahahaha, I have done this many times!!! Super embarrassing!!

— Beachin_Mami

... you read all the above hilarious comments from other moms and laugh about every one of them.

... you read all of those comments and think how you would never turn back the clock or do it differently.

Debbie Milikin

Reach Esme Infante Nii at enii@honoluluadvertiser.com.