My kitchen smelled like a mix of spilled apple juice and frantic glue-gunning last Tuesday when I realized I had exactly forty-eight hours to pull off Leo’s seventh birthday. Being a mom of three in the rainy suburbs of Portland means I’ve seen my share of “Pinterest fails,” but this year, Leo was dead set…
OMG, you guys!!! Easter is just around the corner – only 5 weeks left, but who’s counting?! (Me, obviously! 🤪) My brain is already buzzing with ideas for our annual Nelson family bash. Every year, I try to outdo myself a little bit, and this time, I really wanna step up our game with some…
Twenty-two first graders screaming about “Creature Power” while sticky grape juice pools on my classroom rug is a Tuesday I’ll never forget. Last April, specifically April 14th, my student Leo turned seven, and his mom—bless her heart—brought in three dozen cupcakes and a bag of flimsy cardboard masks that lasted exactly four minutes before the…
Sweat was dripping down my forehead as I stared at fifteen hyperactive five-year-olds in my Austin living room last August. It was 105 degrees outside. We were trapped in the air conditioning for my nephew Liam’s “Prehistoric Prince” birthday bash on August 14, 2025. I had exactly three hours before my sister-in-law arrived to judge…
My kitchen floor in Logan Square was still covered in sticky blue frosting and tiny red plastic legs three days after Leo and Sam turned seven on April 12. Most parents in Chicago spend hundreds of dollars at those indoor trampoline parks, but my bank account laughed at that idea this year. I had exactly…
Houston humidity is a beast that eats hairspray for breakfast, but it doesn’t stand a chance against a determined elementary school teacher with a laminated checklist and a whistle. I survive twenty-two fifth graders every day, so when my nephew Tyler decided he was too cool for bouncy castles and wanted a “real” sports bash…
My twins, Leo and Maya, turned ten on July 14, 2024, and they wanted a full-blown circus, but my bank account was screaming for a quiet library reading hour instead. Living in a drafty three-flat in Logan Square, Chicago, means space is tight and neighbors are close, yet I figured out how to set up…
My basement smelled like a volatile cocktail of pepperoni grease and pre-teen sweat on the afternoon of April 12th. My son Leo just turned eight, and in my infinite wisdom as a Denver dad who refuses to pay for those overpriced trampoline parks, I decided we would host a “Space Disco” at home. I thought…
My dining room table in South Austin was completely buried under a mountain of ROYGBIV cardstock on March 14th, 2024. Barnaby, my golden retriever, was actively trying to eat a yellow envelope. I was frantic. If you are sitting on your living room floor surrounded by class rosters and wondering exactly how many invitation do…
Rain streaked across my kitchen window in Beaverton last October 14th, turning my backyard into a literal swamp, which was honestly on-brand for a four-year-old’s birthday. My daughter, Sophie, was turning seven, but my eldest, Maya, who was eleven at the time, decided we needed a “Retro Peppa” theme for her and her sixteen friends….
