Raising kids without devices isn’t that hard. You heard me right. We’ve all been there: “Mommy, can we play with Daddy’s iPad?” (You’ve heard this too?) “Nope,” I say without hesitating. (Holler if we share a brain.) “Not now,” I soften the blow. Protesting, whining, counter-arguing and all sorts of admirable pleas that 8 and…
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For the teens dealing with college rejections.
A previous version of this piece was originally published in The Fresno Bee on April 6, 2019. Thanks to the recent and crazy college cheating scandal (and friends and family being on pins and needles about college acceptance/rejections happening this month), I’ve been flashing back twenty-plus years… Flashing back to the panic, the tears, the…
2018: Everything Broke. (And why 2019 won’t.)
Arms. Legs. Computers. Hearts. Minds. Spirits. Try breaking any of them, it can hurt like hell. What goes up must come down. 2015, 2016 & 2017 were up-up-and-away-hooray in the life & career departments. In 2018, it all crashed. Oh 2018… you broke me down and broke me up. But if I may borrow wise…
I’m dreaming of a fake Christmas…
A version of the piece below was previously published in my monthly ‘FAB Mom’ family column in The Fresno Bee on December 1, 2018. Parenting through family Christmas traditions sometimes mean eating your words. Call me flocked. Since first becoming a mom I’ve taken deep pride in keeping traditions from my own childhood alive with my…
Holiday Gift Guide 2018 {as seen on KTLA Los Angeles}
Disclosure: I’ve partnered with the following brands for purposes of this post — Burlington, Safety 1st, Zulily, BoxyCharm and Gerber. All opinions are mine. Now that my girls have bounced beyond the baby/toddler phase, I’m finding the holiday gift game for young families falls into one of two categories: Buy everything marketed for babies &…
Traditions: Take It Down a Notch This Season.
A version of the piece below was previously published in my monthly family column in The Fresno Bee on November 10, 2018. Nevermind that some people I know are now decorating for Christmas before Halloween is fully over… when November rolls around, two themes continue to endure for me — gratitude and tradition. (And no, I…
Moms Matter on FOCUS TV: Pretty is not a bad thing.
How about we stop vilifying pretty. Appreciating our own beauty from the outside does not make us dirty/wrong/sexist on the inside. Hear me, daughters? Feeling pretty — from the inside out — is good. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. But Jill! You just went to Dove’s #GirlCollective event!? You know, the national movement to…
