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When Dinner Becomes Legacy Thanksgiving break dropped us straight into a busy week. We had all our usual rhythms, dance, doctor appointments, drama club, and play rehearsal but layered on top of that was something special. Every year, the first weekend in December, I fly to my mom’s house to spend a weekend with her. It’s a tradition that started when I was in high school with my mom’s close friend and her daughter, who is one of my closest friends. Over the years, the tradit

As parents, we worry. A lot.Grades. Motivation. College. Futures our kids haven’t even imagined yet. I picked up The Self-Driven Child  because I wanted answers but what I really found was permission to let go. This book reframes motivation not as something we can force, but something that grows when kids feel safe, capable, and in control. Below are the five ideas that stood out most to me and ultimately changed how I show up as a parent. 1. Give Kids Control Where You Can C

Home Was the Plan We were home. Home every day. Thanksgiving break stretched long this year, and instead of traveling or packing our days full, we made a very intentional choice to stay put. We started a medication change for my son on the very first day off from school, and that alone shaped the entire week. With medication changes comes uncertainty. Stress management became the priority. So we stayed close. Really close. We watched TV. We read. We ate together. We rested. M

If parenting feels heavier than it should right now, you’re not imagining it. So much of modern parenting has become about doing more : more activities, more pressure, more monitoring, more fixing. After reading Thrivers  by Michelle Borba , one thing became very clear to me: Kids don’t thrive because their parents do more.They thrive because parents are intentional in the moments they already have. That’s why I created this parenting cheat sheet. Not as a checklist. Not as a

Why We Keep Sitting Down Together; Even When It’s Hard This week was the quiet stretch before Thanksgiving break and somehow, it felt heavier than I expected. The kids had a light school week. As a former educator, I struggle with how little meaningful learning happens right before a holiday. As a mom, I’ll be honest: I wasn’t exactly excited about an 11-day Thanksgiving break. Before the break started, I spoke with our neurologist, and we made the decision to change my son’s

Practical Ways Parents Can Help Their Kids Thrive (Without Doing More) After reading Thrivers by Michelle Borba, EdD, I walked away with one clear realization: Thriving isn’t about adding more to our parenting plates. It’s about shifting how we show up in everyday moments. This book didn’t ask me to become a different parent. It asked me to become a more intentional one. Here are actionable, realistic things parents can do, starting now, to help kids build the character stre

Finding Our Rhythm When the Season Ends I don’t quite know what to do with myself. Just like that, football season is over. No more practices. No more games. No more driving to the field and sitting in the stands wrapped in blankets, cheering on boys who poured their hearts into a season together. I’ll admit, after the last game, I considered becoming a football referee. Watching bad call after bad call is not for the faint of heart. It was a hard game to watch, and the boys

There are parenting books that feel inspiring and easy to read.And then there are parenting books that make you pause, reread paragraphs, and mentally argue with yourself while making dinner. Thrivers  by Michelle Borba , EdD is the second kind. It’s a good   book.It ’s a well-researched  book.But it’s also dense and if I’m being honest, it was hard to get through at times. Still, I’m glad I read it.Because it changed how I think about what our kids actually need in order to

When Kindness Shows Up Where You Least Expect It I might not always love living in Arizona but I do  love that we don’t do daylight saving time. While the rest of the world fell back and scrambled to adjust bedtimes and wake-up calls, we stayed exactly the same. No clock changes. No added chaos. I was quietly grateful for that small mercy. Because this week? This week was already full. Busy Before It Even Began We came into the week juggling tickets to a touring Broadway show

Showing Up Matters - Even When It’s Hard I knew this week was going to be busy. I just don’t think I fully understood how  busy until I was standing in the middle of it. This was the final week of the regular football season, and Friday brought two big things at once: Halloween and Senior Night. Both important. Both emotional. Both demand your full presence: at the same time. Senior Night, Big Feelings Senior Night is a huge deal. It’s a celebration of years of work, commitme

This week, we crossed a big milestone. Dinner #100 . And if I’m honest, it didn’t look anything like I imagined when I set this goal months ago. When the Table Moves to the Bed Three of our dinners this week happened in my bed. That’s become the center of our world lately. With my son’s seizures happening more often, it’s where he feels safest and where we’ve gathered around him. My daughter has been incredible. Sometimes she curls up on the bed with us, watching our show and

I read it so you don’t have to (or so you can decide if it’s worth your time.) If you (or your child) have ADHD, this book is validating, funny, compassionate, and surprisingly practical. It explains ADHD in a way that removes shame and reframes the narrative without sugarcoating the challenges. I highly recommend reading it  if you have time.But if you don’t  have time, here are the most important takeaways you need to know. Getting to Know ADHD (ADHD 101) ADHD (Attention-De

“Because I love you, and I want to spend time with you.” This year is flying by. And somehow, nothing looks the way I thought it would, yet here we are, inching closer to 100 family dinners together. Lately, my son keeps asking me why we’re having so many family dinners. Each time, I give him the same answer: Because I love you. And I want to spend time with you. My daughter doesn’t understand why he keeps asking: she thinks the answer should be obvious. And maybe it is. But

When We Stayed Home and Why That Ended Up Mattering Most Fall break wasn’t supposed to look like this. We had planned to travel, to go somewhere different, to step out of routine for a bit. Instead, we were home home . No trips. No big plans. No change of scenery. Just regular life stacked on top of medical uncertainty and a new normal we’re still learning how to hold. My son continued football practice this week, and I waited nearby every time just in case. My daughter had h

When Life Presses Pause and Family Becomes the Plan This week looks nothing like what we planned and everything like what we needed. We’ve actually had more  family dinners than usual, not because life slowed down by choice, but because it slowed us down entirely. When medical uncertainty enters your home, plans change instantly and everything else rearranges itself around what matters most. When Everything Changes Overnight Sunday dinner felt normal. Safe. Familiar.Monday ni

Some weeks gently unfold.This one turned our life upside down. Monday through Saturday were nonstop: meetings, practices, appointments. Sunday, though, gave us a pause. We sat down together and had a real family dinner. A simple meal. Familiar food. As we ate, I realized something that’s been quietly happening on this journey: I’ve let go of experimenting in the kitchen. I’m back to the same rotation of meals. And while part of me feels a little disappointed about that, I als

This week felt like a blur. But within the blur were big moments were moments of family conection.

Driving Teens, Girl Dinners, and Growing Through Co-Parenting This was another full  week. The kind where the calendar feels like a matching game: football, drama club, doctor appointments, school-based OT, and dance class. We were here, there, and everywhere, but somehow we made it work. One thing I’ve been grateful for lately is having a teenager who drives. My son can take himself to and from football practice, and when it’s time to go to his dad’s house, he’s able to take

If you’ve ever wished you could reach inside your teen’s brain and upgrade the thoughts that spin on repeat: this book might just be the closest thing. Your New Playlist  by Jon Acuff written with his daughters, L.E. and McRae Acuff, is a lighthearted, teen-friendly guide to rewiring the soundtrack inside our minds. Those thoughts that push us forward or hold us back. The big idea? Our thoughts play like music. And if the music isn’t helping, we can change it. This book is fa

No Dinners or Big Moments: What This Week Reminded Me About Showing Up You would think that after Labor Day we’d get a little breather… but motherhood laughs at the idea of rest. Tuesday hit the ground running with drama club and night football practice. The kids barely saw each other, and dinner happened whenever we were home: not around the table together. The rest of the week was a blur: dance classes, doctor appointments, football games, and an epilepsy-awareness event. I