Maya’s seventh birthday was hitting me like a freight train on a Tuesday morning in April, and I was currently standing in the middle of a party supply aisle on Burnet Road feeling like I’d failed as an aunt. My niece is obsessed. Not just “oh, she likes the show” obsessed, but the kind of…
Red streamers hung from my ceiling fans like sticky webs, three crushed juice boxes leaked onto my beige rug, and a very tired four-year-old named Leo slept in a heap on the sofa. This was the scene at 4:30 PM on Saturday, April 12, 2025, in our Denver living room. We had just survived Leo’s…
The living room smelled like blue raspberry syrup and sweat on May 15th last year. I stood there, staring at seventeen empty blue bags on my granite island at 11:45 PM on a Tuesday, wondering why I ever agreed to a theme that involves words like “chug jug” and “tilted towers” while my husband snored…
Chicago winters last roughly nine months, so when April 16th finally rolls around, my twins Maya and Leo demand every single color of the visible spectrum inside our cramped three-bedroom bungalow. Last year, I nearly lost my mind trying to source rainbow party decorations that didn’t look like a clown exploded in my living room,…
Blue frosting is the enemy of white rental-hall walls, especially when you have eleven four-year-olds high on sugar and the sheer thrill of existing. My daughter Maya and her twin brother Leo were turning four on April 12, 2024, and the theme was non-negotiable: “Mermaids but with sharks for Leo.” I stood in the middle…
The living room smelled like spray paint and cheap cardboard on the morning of April 16th, a scent that now defines my existence as a mother of twins. Leo and Maya were turning five, and their singular obsession with blocky creepers meant I was staring down a daunting task: creating minecraft party decorations for kids…
Austin in mid-July feels like standing inside a preheated oven while someone aggressively mists you with warm Gatorade. It was exactly 104 degrees on July 14, 2024, when I decided to host the “Drafts and Drills” 30th birthday bash for my husband, Mike. We had the whole neighborhood coming over, which meant I wasn’t just…
Thirteen twelve-year-olds in my living room on March 14, 2026, sounded like a good idea in February. By 2:00 PM on the actual day, the sheer decibel level of cracking voices and chaotic energy made me question every life choice I’ve ever made. My son, Leo, had decided that “robots and tech” was the only…
Leo stood in the middle of our Denver living room on April 12, 2025, wearing a pith helmet that was three sizes too big. He was turning nine. I had nine kids arriving in three hours. My mission was clear but difficult. I needed to create a safari birthday backdrop that looked like a professional…
Austin in April is a total gamble. One minute you are sipping an iced lavender latte on South Congress, and the next, you are sprinting for cover because a freak thunderstorm decided to crash your outdoor setup. My niece Maya turned twelve on April 5, 2025, and she had one very specific, non-negotiable request for…
