2019 has not been a kind year to our family, especially for my oldest child who has experienced more death in one year than I would ever hope he would experience in a lifetime. I won't share details here because they are mostly his losses, not mine, but the latest unexpected death has really rocked … Continue reading Dealing with grief as a teenager →

My mom died unexpectedly the week after Mother's Day in 2015. This will be my fourth Mother's Day without her. But even while she was alive, our relationship was complicated. She had untreated mental illness, and I so desperately wanted her to get help that she would never seek. Click here to read about my … Continue reading When Mother’s Day is hard →

I read this book to check in to see how we were doing as a family trying to navigate life with a teenage girl. Overall, I feel like we should get a pat on the back, since a lot of the recommendations are already a part of our family dynamics. It was also comforting to … Continue reading Book review: untangled →

If any parent in 2019 says they know exactly what their teen is doing online, they are liars. I am just going to put that out there. In the early teen years, I tried to police my children's screen time and where they were going on the internet. It was hard work and not that … Continue reading Monitoring teen screen time →

I have learned to be more mindful of managing stress as I enter middle age. Things that were not typically stressful in previous years tend to be triggers for stress and anxiety now. Here are 6 things I do to keep my stress under control. Let it go. No, not the Frozen movie theme song. … Continue reading Managing stress in middle age →

My oldest has had his learner's permit for about 4 months now. Unlike a lot of teens his age, he is very motivated to drive. I think teens are less interested in driving in general because they are already so connected with their friends via social media and other technology. Back when I was a … Continue reading Helping your teen learn to drive →

We just finished up spring break at our house, so I thought I would share 4 ways to make traveling for spring break fun for you and your teens. Yes, it is possible. Have a schedule of expected activities that the entire family will attend. In our family, we have the husband (AKA travel task … Continue reading Spring break with teens →

We are on spring break checking off some life bucket list items. Yesterday we split up and had a mid day nap break (more on how to happily travel with teens in the next blog post). So imagine my surprise when my daughter barges into the bedroom screaming for me to talk to daddy. Then … Continue reading Losing a pet in middle age →

One of my favorite shows these days is This Is Us. It is most people our age's favorite show because it tackles topics we are living and breathing every single day. And that fire episode... I did not use my crock pot for months after that episode! This week's episode hit on a topic super … Continue reading Who “bends” in your relationship? →