Each afternoon when I pick up my 12-year-old son from school, we perform a time-honored ritual that’s shared by millions of moms and sons every single day. (begin scene) “How was school?” I ask him. “Fine,” he answers. “What happened today?” I ask him. “Nothing,” he answers. (end scene) Of course, I usually press him […]

There are many things I’m sure I’ll miss when my children are grown. I’ll miss their laughter and noise and chatter. Their companionship, their hugs and hand squeezes. There are also a few things I won’t miss — I won’t miss driving the kids to school and doctor’s appointments and practices, and friends’ houses. Or […]

2019 definitely was a year of transition for my family. This has a lot to do with where we are now in life — Our youngest two kids have reached the tween/teen years, our parents are getting older, and so are the rest of the adults in our extended family. We’ve had to handle some […]

A few days ago, I did something I generally try to avoid — I bragged about my kid on Facebook. I hadn’t bragged in a while, mostly because my Facebook feed is already filled with other parents’ brags, and I think that stream is polluted enough already without me adding to it. Don’t get me […]

Readers forgive me, for I have sinned. Yesterday in the car rider pick up line, I did the unthinkable. I honked my horn. I swear I didn’t mean anything by it. When all the other cars in the line moved except for the one directly in front of me, I waited very patiently for the […]

This post is written in partnership with Amazon and contains affiliate links. All recommendations here are my own and I’m pretty excited to share them with you.  It’s back-to-school time, which means I’m hitting Amazon hard right now for all the last-minute things I need before the big day arrives. Luckily, Amazon has anticipated all our […]

Spring has definitely sprung, which means it’s officially time for moms across America to panic about summer break. The kids will be out of school soon, after all, and they’ve gotta have shit to do. So hire those babysitters, ladies! Fill out those sleepaway camp applications! Register for every sport camp, art camp, coding camp, […]

I got married when my stepdaughters were 10 and 12 years old. Two years later, they were living with us full-time and I was pregnant. What followed was a whirlwind of acne and diapers, boyfriends and baby bottles, angst and alphabet songs. It was a hot mess of a time and a true trial by […]

  Last weekend, my eleven-year-old son and I went to the zoo. It was a cold, snowy day and we pretty much had the place to ourselves. We had fun watching the clouded leopards and Andean bears in their exhibits… But what we really enjoyed was the playground. The Nashville Zoo’s playground is massive– It’s […]

  I still vividly remember that sizzling hot July day, even though it happened more than a decade ago. I had taken my stepdaughters and daughter to see a movie, leaving my 4-month-old son at home with my husband. The theater was in an urban neighborhood, so we parked in a nearby lot and walked […]