Cooper, my seventy-five-pound Goldendoodle, was currently wearing a pink tutu because my niece Lily decided her twelfth birthday needed to be “aggressively Peppa Pig” themed. We were three hours into the planning phase at my kitchen island in South Austin, surrounded by iced lattes and a growing pile of glitter. Most people think a twelve-year-old…
My living room looked like a glittery butterfly explosion had occurred on the morning of October 12, 2025. It was my daughter Maya’s 7th birthday, and I had spent three hours the night before trying to find the exact right shade of purple for the table settings. My oldest, Leo, who is 11 and suddenly…
Twenty-two toddlers in a two-bedroom Chicago bungalow sounds like the start of a horror movie, but for me, it was just Tuesday. Actually, it was April 14th, the day my twins, Leo and Maya, turned two. I had exactly thirty-five dollars in my bank account designated for this party, and a living room that smelled…
Houston in October is a liar. It promises crisp autumn air but usually delivers 92-degree humidity that makes your hair look like a startled poodle. Last November 14, I helped my friend Sarah organize a “Barnyard Bash” for our elementary school’s PTA fundraiser. We weren’t just wrangling my 22 kindergarteners this time; we were dealing…
My kitchen floor was a literal sea of neon pink tissue paper and tangled twine on the morning of June 12, 2025. I sat there with a lukewarm coffee, staring at the empty Dollar Tree bags, while my twins, Leo and Maya, chased a very confused squirrel around our tiny North Side backyard. We had…
My daughter Maya turned five on April 12th, and in her mind, there was only one acceptable theme: Elsa. Living here in Denver, we actually had a surprise snowstorm that morning, which really set the mood, but it also meant 14 energetic kindergartners were trapped inside my living room for three hours. I spent weeks…
My living room floor was covered in generic red and green paper plates on a freezing Tuesday in Chicago. Snow blasted against the apartment windows. Throwing a budget mario party for 4 year old twins felt like trying to defeat Bowser with a single mushroom. Impossible. Yet, I pulled it off. My bank account barely…
Twenty-two five-year-olds in a humid Houston classroom after a rainy recess is a recipe for something, but it usually isn’t peace. It’s usually chaos wrapped in sticky fingers and high-pitched squeals. As an elementary school teacher who manages these tiny humans daily, I know that planning a budget spiderman party for 5 year old isn’t…
Twenty-two first graders staring at me is enough to make any sane person sweat, but on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, I had a secret weapon tucked inside my desk drawer. Houston humidity was already at 85 percent by nine in the morning, and the smell of old bananas and pencil shavings hung heavy in Room…
Standing in my Austin backyard last March, sweating through a silk blouse while trying to tape a red-striped backdrop to a fence that smelled like cedar and humidity, I realized something vital. Adults are just giant toddlers with better jewelry and access to margaritas. I was setting up for my best friend Chloe’s 30th birthday—a…
