Sometimes They Surprise You

If you had asked me last week how Ava was going to handle starting an entirely new school, I would have told you I was nervous. Not because I didn't believe in her. I know my kid. And historically, big changes have not exactly been her thing. When she switched from the preschool program she'…

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Adult Friendship Is Hard

Adult friendship is hard. I don't think we talk about that enough. In my adult life, I've had a pretty limited circle of friends. Sometimes I wonder if that's because I'm probably somewhere on the spectrum. I'm undiagnosed, so I don't actually know that, but let's just say…

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I Don't Want a Day Off From My Family. I Want a Day Off From Being Needed.

I don't want a vacation from my husband. I don't want to send my kid away. I don't want to escape my life. I just want, for a little while, to not be responsible for everyone else's needs.  I want to sit somewhere without someone asking me what we're doing next.  I want to eat a meal…

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Maybe Time Didn’t Speed Up, Maybe Life Just Got Fuller

I feel like having a child completely changes your relationship with time. I don't know if that's true for every parent, or if some of it is specific to those of us who had babies and toddlers during COVID, when the normal markers of time seemed to disappear. But sometimes I look at the year…

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The Flyaways I Never Thought I'd Celebrate

I'm going to be a little vulnerable about something I've become surprisingly insecure about lately: my hair. Back in January, we took a trip to Disney World. (Which we absolutely loved, by the way, and honestly deserves its own blog post.) We splurged on PhotoPass because if I'm paying f…

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How I’m Using Apps to Earn a Little Extra for Our Disney Trip

Disclosure: This post contains referral links. If you sign up for Swagbucks or Fetch through my links, I may receive referral rewards, and in some cases you may receive a bonus as well. I am not sponsored by or paid by either company to write this post, and neither company has endorsed this post. T…

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Maybe Marriage Isn't About Getting Away From Your Kids

I feel like so much of the conversation around marriage and relationships, especially among parents, centers around getting time away from the kids. Date nights. Weekend getaways. Vacations without the children. Couples' trips where you finally get to be “just us” again. I've even seen the Ti…

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I Didn’t Know I Was Living the Good Old Days

Sometimes I look at pictures from my childhood and feel a kind of grief I didn't expect to feel as an adult. Not because I want to go back and be a kid. I don't want to trade my life now for my childhood. I like being a mom. I like having my own home, making my own decisions, and building a …

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Things I Didn't Realize Were Anxiety Until I Had a Child

When I became a mom, I expected to learn a lot about my daughter. I didn't expect to learn so much about myself. Like many parents, I find myself watching my daughter navigate the world and thinking, "Oh. You got that from me." Sometimes it's the fun stuff. Her sense of humor. Her cr…

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I Thought Being a Good Employee Meant Giving Everything. Then I Became a Mom.

I think the transition into motherhood is one of the biggest identity shifts we experience, and nobody really prepares you for how disorienting it can be. Before I became a mom, I worked for a small, locally owned financial institution. They took a lot of pride in being a small-town business where e…

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I’m pretty sure the common cold hits adults harder than it hits children.

I have no scientific evidence to back this up. I have no peer-reviewed studies. I have nothing except my own personal experience and the fact that I currently feel like I have been hit by a bus. I have a cold. My child, who I am almost positive is the person who lovingly gifted me this cold, seems to…

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