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Thursday Truth: Liquid Bandage for Life
It started innocent enough…just me and Hailey in the kitchen, making banana pudding the right way. You know, the old-fashioned way, with real pudding, layers of vanilla wafers, and a ceramic dish that’s survived more holidays than my patience. Well, almost survived. Because somewhere between teaching her how to layer the pudding just right and reaching for…
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The Review That Made It Real
When I hit publish on Tyler Never Cried, I thought I’d already lived every emotion that book could drag out of me. Grief, pride, exhaustion, relief, they all had their turn. But nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to seeing that first review. It was just a few sentences. But in them, I saw twenty years of my life…
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The One-Armed, Toothbrushless, Potty-Training Kinda Day
You ever have one of those days that starts with so much promise you could almost hear the inspirational soundtrack behind it? The coffee is hot. The house is quiet. You wake up early, tackle the to-do list, even make pancakes with fruit and sprinkles like some Pinterest-level version of yourself. And then somehow, it…
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The Day That Sucked (And Why We Danced Anyway)
Some days, coffee and Twizzlers aren’t strong enough to fix it. Last night bled into this morning with Harper waking at 3 a.m. from a nightmare about a spider on her head. I was still hunched over my laptop, uploading a book to Ingram, running on fumes. By the time Harper went back to sleep,…
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The Weekend I Planned to Rest (and the Week My Toddler’s Face Went Hitch)
I’m not a procrastinator. If something pops into my head, I do it…now. That’s how I survive life as a mom of many. So last weekend, I made a rare plan: rest. A whole Saturday of pajamas, maybe reading, maybe nothing. A reset day. Naturally, the universe laughed. Saturday “rest” turned into me hunched over the…
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Self Care is a Lie
Self-care is a lie. There, I said it. I don’t remember the last time I did something without kids. My only “me time” is between 1–2 a.m., when the house is finally quiet and I’m too tired to even enjoy it. Somewhere along the way, I convinced myself that showering and changing clothes counted as…
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Mommy Magic Never Expires
Last night, Harper couldn’t sleep. Which meant I couldn’t sleep. Which meant we were both awake in the middle of the night, tangled up in blankets and lullabies that didn’t quite work. Those hours are exhausting, yes, but also the kind I’ll miss one day. By the time morning hit, my older kids were already…
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I Accidentally Joined Color Guard ( or a cult)
It started so innocently. One little volunteer shift during halftime. A harmless, “Sure, I’ll help.” I was just a supportive mom, standing on the sidelines, clapping like a normal person. Then my daughter’s meal plan got messed up. Instead of complaining, I decided to do something. Because that’s what reasonable, totally-not-overcommitted moms do, right? So I…
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Spicy Guacamole or Cold Avocados
Picture this… the morning starts with that first hot, soul-moving sip of coffee. For a split second, you remember—you’re not just “Mom,” keeper of forms and finder of lost Barbies…you’re a woman. Another sip, and you’re actually warm inside, daring to walk back to the bedroom with a still-HOT cup of coffee in your hand. No…
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The Color That Broke Me
My daughter once told me she couldn’t wear blue pants because blue was an itchy color. Same pants, same store, same size , but blue? Blue was different. Blue wasn’t “happy,” so it made her itchy. Half her school uniforms were blue. I was a single mom then, working 2–3 jobs just to keep us afloat.…
Crumbs and Chaos 