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This special girl of mine turned 15 last week, and This special girl of mine turned 15 last week, and my heart can’t even take it. For nearly five years, she was the baby in our family—and like a typical youngest child, her fun-loving personality has always been on display! Only her huge heart can rival her bright smile—every single night, without fail, she leans into each of her three sisters’ rooms to say “I love you” before bed. I mean… 🥺🥰 As I give her a little birthday shout-out, I’m sharing my favorite video of her singing back when she was only 12. This was the day she realized our garage has good acoustics—and the day I learned she could really SING (like, in ALL CAPS). I still get goosebumps every time I listen to this clip. She makes me so proud in countless ways. Happy birthday, sweet girl. I love you more than words can say. ❤️🎂
Our second daughter turned 17 last week. The first Our second daughter turned 17 last week. The first time I ever held her, I knew she had a special energy—so calm and bright-eyed, despite her frantic birth where the nurse delivered her. She came frighteningly fast, yet once she was safely in my arms, she settled us all down with her peaceful disposition. To this day, she is still the one who brings calm to our chaos. 🤍 To our kind, creative, hard-working, amazing girl—we couldn’t love you more! Happy Birthday! 🎂 If you’d like to see her creativity at work, you can find her art account here: @artbykaylaa 🎨
We moms love to keep track of firsts. Well, today We moms love to keep track of firsts. Well, today is a new first for me—the first time I haven’t been with one of my daughters on her birthday. Can’t say that I love this first, but I DO love that I’m so confident in my daughter’s ability to be off on her own. She’s currently in Hawaii with a gap year program before starting college next fall. We haven’t seen her in two months now, but she is handling all that comes at her just fine without us, right down to her ride in an ambulance and the 16 stitches she received! 😩 I’m so proud of the strong and independent woman she’s become in her nineteen years. Even though that goodbye ripped my heart out as she got on that plane, I can already feel how much she’s changed. She needed to be doing her own thing; her life at home was no longer enough for her. And honestly, I’ve been okay, too. Although we are thousands of miles apart, she still needs me. It’s just—different. Moms of teens, soak it all up before your kids leave the nest, but know that it’s going to be okay when they do. Things will shift, but a lot of that change will feel positive. There’s something pretty amazing about watching your child navigate the real world and knowing all your efforts to get her there were worth it. And all I know is that when this girl finds me in the airport just before Thanksgiving, that will be one special reunion. This stage of being her mom doesn’t feel like the “end” but rather the start of another exciting chapter. ✨ To our daughter across the ocean, happy birthday!! 🥳 Can’t wait to celebrate with you soon. Until then, consider this to be my way of being with you—it’s also your gift since you can’t receive mail. 😝 You’re welcome. 😘🎂 Love you so much! ❤️
“She wasn’t looking for a knight, she was look “She wasn’t looking for a knight, she was looking for a sword.” –Atticus Ladies, there’s nothing we can’t do. Here’s to strong women — may we know them, may we be them, may we raise them. #internationalwomensday #allyouneediswithin
This girl turned sweet 16 last week, and I can’t This girl turned sweet 16 last week, and I can’t think of a better word to describe her. She once received the “Most Likely to Apologize for Doing Something Right” Award if that tells you anything. 😉 We are so proud of the kind and talented young woman she’s become - to know her is to love her. ❤️ I can’t believe I get to be her mom! Happy birthday to our beautiful girl! 🎂 Swipe for a “then” shot. And check out my stories for more pictures through the years. 🙂 As much as we moms wish we could make time slow down, there’s nothing better than watching our kids become capable, amazing, thoughtful young people! Don’t worry, moms of little ones. The teen years have a lot of good stuff mixed in, too! 🥰
Sending happy holiday wishes your way from Pittsbu Sending happy holiday wishes your way from Pittsburgh! We had a quiet Christmas (just like Thanksgiving... and Easter... haven’t seen our extended families in a year now), but we are trying to find the silver linings. So grateful for all this quality family time, just the six of us, before our oldest graduates this spring! The kids even let my husband and me be in another Tik Tok for Christmas! 😬 (My husband deserves a medal for spending this much time with 5 women over the past year. He will literally go along with anything at this point. 🤪🤷‍♂️😂 #bestdadever) Now here’s to the year ahead! Hoping 2021 feels lighter and brighter for all of us!!! We made it, friends! 👊🏻🥳✨
My oldest daughter turned 18 last week, and it’s My oldest daughter turned 18 last week, and it’s taken me until now to be able to pull myself together about it. 🥺 I feel like I’ve grown up right beside her this whole time - she has taught me all about what’s most important in life. I couldn’t be more proud of the young woman she has become, and I can’t imagine a better big sister to pave the way for her three younger sisters. That is going to be one hard goodbye next fall when she heads off to college, but she is ready and her future is bright! . To my amazing girl: I love you more than words can say. Thanks for making me a mom. You are a dream come true. ❤️
These four girls light up my life. So proud to be These four girls light up my life. So proud to be their mom today and every day. #nationaldaughtersday 💕 #luckyme 🍀
#challengeaccepted. 🙌 Thanks to @kaitesull, @je #challengeaccepted. 🙌 Thanks to @kaitesull, @jeneckert4, and @stambroskymach for nominating me. You all radiate positivity, and I am better for knowing each of you! 🥰 Have you been seeing a lot of black & white selfies of incredible women in your feed lately? Wondering what that’s about? (I was! 🙋‍♀️) It’s a Women’s Empowerment Challenge. I don’t often participate in “challenges”, but I’m all for this one! If there is one thing I try to do through this platform, it’s to be encouraging. We women are way too hard on ourselves - we pour so much love and energy into our family and friends, always reassuring them that they are “enough”. Why can’t we do that for ourselves? So with that, I want to tell you ladies reading this that you are AMAZING. Never doubt that everything that makes you YOU is just what this world needs. Embrace that. And keep building one another up. We are stronger together. Part of this challenge is to nominate some women privately (which I will do), but I also want to nominate EVERY SINGLE WOMAN READING THIS. I encourage you to dive in and be part of this movement - don’t ever wait to spread positivity. Share a picture of yourself with the hashtag #challengeaccepted and maybe a few words of encouragement - whatever that means to you. And please tag me if you’d like! If your account is public, I can share your post in my stories. I would love to spread the love among this community! We could certainly use more of that these days. ❤️ #womensupportingwomen #womenempowerment #strongertogether #womeninspiringwomen
A NEW POST IS ON THE BLOG! (Miracles do happen! 😬) Click the link in my profile to find it. My oldest child is a rising high school senior. I can’t get her and the Class of 2021 out of my thoughts. I finally decided to write it all down. So to all you rising seniors - and your families - this post is for you. ❤️ Do you have a high school or college senior this year? What is the (tentative) plan where you live? I believe these kids can still have a good year! What if it proves to be invaluable to them in ways we never dreamed? ✨🎓 http://harvardhomemaker.com/dear-class-of-2021/
My 15-year-old daughter recently created this artw My 15-year-old daughter recently created this artwork. It was her way of speaking out about the racial injustice she sees in our world. After receiving an overwhelming response asking her if it would be possible to get prints/stickers/pins, etc. featuring this piece, she created a Redbubble webpage. She will donate all proceeds from any sales of this design to the Movement for Black Lives. You can find this artwork on many different products at her site here (or click the link in my profile): https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/50081501 I am so proud of my daughter for pouring her energy into this cause. While the youth of today are often criticized, I feel like in many ways they are the best of us – the most open-minded, optimistic, and inclusive. And I think they will lead the way to a better, more equal tomorrow. As I think about White privilege and what it has meant in my own life, my thoughts keep circling back to this: I have a child who has had her driver’s license for well over a year, and I have never once thought to talk to her about what she should do if she were ever pulled over by the police. I HAVE NEVER EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT THIS. Moms with Black children, however, have nightmares about such an encounter. It’s talked about and pounded into their babies’ heads long before they can even drive. (There is an emotional scene in the movie “The Hate U Give” that illustrates this perfectly.) Finally, speaking of movies, I would recommend all those listed below. These movies have prompted good and much-needed discussion in our house in recent weeks. JUST MERCY THE HATE U GIVE HIDDEN FIGURES THE HELP GREEN BOOK As a family, we know we want to be allies to the Black community during this national reckoning over race. Knowing how to do that feels like the hard part, but I believe it begins with an open dialogue (especially within our own homes) and a desire to be part of the change.
They say a girl chooses to marry someone who is a They say a girl chooses to marry someone who is a lot like her dad. My own dad certainly set the bar high, and now so has this guy. We are some lucky ladies! Happy Father’s Day to the two very best men in our lives. We love you! ❤️
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