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Ending the Year the Way We Began: Together Week 52 of my year of 100 family dinners is here. Another week of vacation.Another week of family time.Another six dinners at the table. We finished our time at my mom’s house slowly and intentionally. Before we left, we saw a friend and even went to a rage room together: which, honestly, felt like a very appropriate way to close out a year like this one. We laughed. We smashed things. We caught up and spent time together. I met up w

Seven Dinners, Seven Days, and the Gift of Being Together This week began with a long drive. Seven hundred miles. Normally about eleven hours. This time? Thirteen and a half. Holiday traffic stretched the drive longer than we expected, and by the end we were all exhausted. But I don’t totally hate those car days with my kids. There is something sacred about being strapped into the same space for that long. We sing songs.We listen to musicals.I bring a deck of Friends  trivia

If you are raising a daughter right now, you already feel it. The pressure. The comparison. The constant performance. The worry that never seems to turn off. In Under Pressure , psychologist Dr. Lisa Damour tackles what she calls the epidemic of stress and anxiety in girls and she does it in a way that is both validating and practical. This isn’t a panic-driven book. It’s a perspective-shifting one. Here’s what stood out to me. Some Anxiety Is Healthy One of the most freeing

Letting Go of Expectations and Holding On to What Matters I can’t believe this was the last week of school before winter break. 2025 has been one of the hardest years of my life and somehow it has absolutely flown by. Here we are again, finishing school, rehearsals, packing for Christmas, and closing out a year that changed everything. Both kids had play rehearsals this week. My son is running sound, my daughter has her roles, and I love seeing them invested in something bigg

By Dr. Samantha Rodman There are some parenting books you read to learn strategies. And then there are parenting books you read because you are in survival mode. How to Talk to Your Kids About Divorce  by Dr. Samantha Rodman falls into the second category. If you are walking through divorce or even just considering it, one question tends to rise above all others: How do I protect my kids from this? Dr. Rodman’s central message is surprisingly steadying: Divorce itself is not

Why Connection Is the Foundation for Everything And just like that, we reached the last week of school before winter break. This week was full in the familiar ways: rehearsals, dance winter showcase, doctor appointments, and the usual rhythm of our days. Rehearsal took over many afternoons, and I loved watching my kids light up in their roles. My daughter was on stage, and my son was behind the scenes in the sound booth. Both of them were excited in their own way, and I love

Why Being Together Matters More Than What’s on the Plate This week brought us right back into the full swing of life after a few quiet days at my childhood home. Monday was easy. Calm. We eased back into the week and enjoyed a simple dinner together. Nothing fancy. No elevated meal. And I’ll admit something I’ve been sitting with: when I started this year of 100 family dinners, I also hoped I’d get more creative in the kitchen. That hasn’t happened. And I’m learning that’s ok

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