Eloisa, my first baby, just turned six years old! It’s honestly hard to believe. I know every parent says this, but it really does feel like yesterday that I was bringing her home from the hospital. Having a baby during a global pandemic came with certain challenges, but I think one of the best things to … More A Birthday Interview with My Six-Year-Old
When I was pregnant with my first, I prepared for motherhood as best I could. I read What to Expect the First Year. I researched all of the milestones I had to look forward to before my baby’s first birthday. I was prepared to track her development carefully, making sure to report any concerns to … More Learning to Parent Big Kids
Today is my stepson’s first day of kindergarten. He is ready. I am not. He was only two-and-a-half years old when I first moved in with his dad, and my daughter was barely three. My husband and I potty-trained them at the same time. Thomas still wasn’t sleeping through the night, and would frequently wake … More He’s Ready for His First Day of Kindergarten. I’m Not.
School is out (for the kids, not for me — law school is eternal), the sun is shining, and summer is here. With the arrival of the Devil’s armpit to North Carolina comes the seemingly endless invites to barbecues, park play dates, pool parties, and birthday bashes. And I have declined almost all of them. I … More Why I Can’t “Just Bring the Twins!”
Several months ago, I had an idea: What if my husband and I took all five kids and the dog camping? My husband and I took just our puppy camping last summer. I had found out that I was pregnant only one day beforehand, and we spent the whole weekend excitedly planning and daydreaming our … More Our First Campout with Five Kids
For several years now, I have wished that I was thirty years old. I found out I was pregnant when I was only nineteen. I had been married for approximately four months, to someone I had only started dating two months before that. I’m sure it’s a shocker to absolutely no one that teenagers don’t … More How Motherhood Has Aged Me
Before my daughter began kindergarten last year — about two weeks beforehand, to be exact — I remember thinking, Oh, crap, is she going to know how to open her favorite Go-Go squeezie applesauces by herself at school?!?! I ended up sitting her down to make sure she knew how to do it on her own … More 10 Ways to Prepare Your Kid for Kindergarten
It’s crazy to think that this summer will mark three years of being in my stepkids’ lives. Although I didn’t “officially” become their stepmom until April of 2025 when I got married, I think even their mom would agree that my step-parenting role began long before that. When my husband and I met, we both … More No, I Don’t Love Each Kid the Same
Step by Step Parenting 