They are awkward, unflattering and blurry. They are the photos I usually attempt to hide from the world. But these are also the photos taken by my kids after grabbing my phone in what I think is an attempt to go on YouTube Kids. Instead, they take candid photos of their mom. This is my life …
Maybe you would have been a blonde with blue eyes like your big brother. Or maybe you would have had brown hair and eyes like your sisters. Maybe you would have requested a dinosaur themed birthday party. Or maybe it would have been construction, some superhero or lego theme. Maybe you would have been a …
A few week’s before our first child was born, my husband Tommy started a blog called Life of Dad. Our daughter had been diagnosed with a serious heart defect and would need open-heart surgery to save her life. The second half of my first pregnancy was spent preparing and planning for a very scary entrance to …
The day I was born, my dad was 48 years old. The year I graduated from 8th grade, my dad retired from working two jobs. The countless plays I performed, my dad slept…I mean sat through every single performance. The year I graduated from college, my dad survived quintuple bypass and colon cancer. The day …
There are certain days that are particularly difficult after a pregnancy loss that trigger heartbreak all over again. Mother’s Day, holidays, anniversaries, due dates… On those days, I find myself suffering in silence. My first pregnancy loss at 6 weeks led to completely shutting down, isolating myself from the world, telling virtually no one of …
It started out as what I thought would be a simple, reasonable, teachable moment. My four-year-old son had just gone potty and immediately went to rub his yes. “Don’t touch your eyes till you’ve washed your hands, or you’ll get pink eye.” His eyes widened as he hopped off the toilet. “What?! Pink?!” I tried …
This is a sponsored post. I was compensated by Med-IQ through educational grants from AbbVie, Astrellas, and Genentech to write about communicating symptoms and treatment side effects with the healthcare team. All opinions are my own. In 2006, my mother had a mole removed on her arm that ended up being melanoma. After testing surrounding …
Annual IEP meetings are like root canals…painful, exhausting, feeling like it will never end. Today was annual IEP day. Compared to years past, it went surprisingly well. I didn’t cry which was a first. For those lucky enough to not experience IEPs, let me explain something…there’s a reason there is a box of tissues on …
During my 5th and final pregnancy, I decided to take professional maternity photos. This was something I had never done before and well, this was my last chance to get some Pinterest worthy pics. But unlike most maternity photos, I didn’t share a single image…that was until after my baby was born, healthy and thriving, …
On the morning of February 15, 2012, my life was pretty darn perfect. Happy marriage, perfect 6-month-old baby boy, and a sweet and silly boxer. We’d enjoyed a nice Valentine’s Day at home. My husband, JP, gave me a beautiful bracelet embellished with a small heart. I’d braved the cold to grill steaks. Our son, …
