I stared at a pile of red and blue crepe paper on my dining room table at two in the morning. Leo was turning eight the next day. The exact date was October 14, 2023. His only request for this milestone was a superhero party, specifically demanding a room covered in webs. My plan was…
The glitter is still deeply embedded in my classroom carpet from the March 12, 2024, spring break bash, and I suspect it will remain there until the building is eventually condemned. Twenty-two kindergarteners in a Houston classroom during peak humidity is a recipe for chaos, especially when you add wings and wands into the mix….
My kitchen floor in Logan Square was covered in a sea of light blue crepe paper and half-eaten goldfish crackers last Tuesday. Aria and Maya, my four-year-old twins, were currently “shadowlands” jumping over the rug while I tried to figure out how to make a budget bluey party for 4 year old twins look like…
My kitchen smelled like burnt cornmeal and desperation on the morning of March 12, 2025. Maya and Leo, my six-year-old twins, were currently staging a protest because I hadn’t yet found the perfect “Casita” look for our dining room. Living in a drafty Chicago bungalow means that when the wind kicks up off the lake,…
My daughter Maya looked me dead in the eye three months before her tenth birthday and told me she wanted a “high tea” experience in our backyard in Atlanta. I am a single dad who usually considers a successful meal to be anything that doesn’t involve the smoke detector going off, so this felt like…
My living room looked like a cardboard graveyard three days before my son Leo’s tenth birthday. I was standing there, covered in a fine mist of black spray paint because I thought I could “save money” by painting old Amazon boxes inside. Big mistake. The paint didn’t just hit the boxes; it drifted onto my…
February wind ripped through our Chicago apartment building, rattling the single-pane windows while I stared at my dining table. It was completely covered in cheap purple crepe paper. My twins, Leo and Maya, were turning 11. They specifically requested a deep-sea ocean theme. I had exactly a $50 budget to make this happen. Finding the…
Nineteen ten-year-olds in a single classroom during a Houston humidity spike is usually a recipe for a headache, but last Tuesday, it was a sea of pink. I have spent fifteen years teaching fourth grade, and if there is one thing I know, it is that these kids are currently obsessed with “ironic” nostalgia. They…
My kitchen island in Beaverton was a disaster zone last April 14th. Pink frosting smeared across the granite, three different shades of sprinkles rolling onto the floor, and me, standing there with a lukewarm latte, trying to figure out how a simple 4th birthday party for my daughter Lily turned into a high-stakes baking competition….
Austin heat waits for no toddler. On April 12th, 2025, while the Texas sun aggressively baked my best friend Chloe’s East Austin backyard patio, thirteen screaming three-year-olds gathered around a low-hanging oak branch. They were staring down the ultimate prize: a brightly colored baby shark birthday pinata. I planned this entire chaotic afternoon. I thrive…
