I was sitting at my desk, staring at the Southwest website, realizing that a trip to Pittsburgh for Christmas just wasn’t going to happen. The cost of airline tickets was too expensive to stomach for a family of five, especially this time of year. Kids’ wish lists for gifts are funny – the items get smaller but more expensive as they get older.

I had spent enough hours researching flights and airlines at this point to know that it just didn’t make sense to fly up north this Christmas. Which was a bummer, even though I really never desire to leave the warmth of Florida to freeze my extremities off in the Pittsburgh winter.

But there’s something about this time of year that calls for a bit of cold.

The holidays are a wonderful time. There’s music, celebrations, decorations….so much to love. But living away from family, this happy time can get tinged with a little bit of sadness. It’s our fault, of course. We are the ones that chose to move away. Don’t get me wrong, we love where we live and have no plans to move back to Pittsburgh. But that doesn’t mean we don’t miss spending this time with our large and loving family circle and sharing in the traditions we’ve grown up with.

The girls, mainly my 10-year-old Scarlett, are saddened by the distance between us and the rest of the family. Scarlett has had the hardest time adjusting to the long distance. She cries every time we leave from a visit and has said numerous times that she wants to move back. It hurts my heart to hear her say that. I don’t want to make decisions that intentionally hurt my kids, but roots have been established here over the past 5 years.

We can’t go back and none of us really want to…only Scarlett.

I grew up with one Big Christmas. Just one. And it’s been haunting me ever since, shaping the way I approach Christmas with my kids. Do I overdo it? Is this year their last Big Christmas? Welcome to my annual holiday mind-wrestle where childhood scarcity meets modern-day parenting… but this year, I’m letting go of that fear and just embracing the joy.

We don’t do date nights. Not because we’re too cool for them, but because, well, life. But after 20 years and 3 kids, we tried it out: dinner, axe throwing, and not talking about the kids for once. Spoiler: we survived.

Ever wish you could clone yourself to be everywhere at once? Yeah, me too. I had to make the call between staying home with two kids or catching Gianna’s first varsity soccer game—one that I missed because my brain convinced me it wasn’t that important. My heart? Told me something else. Lesson learned: the heart’s usually right.

Why does school sometimes feel like a creativity-killer? When my daughter Scarlett came home upset because her teacher criticized her unique writing style in front of the class, I was furious. Why do we box kids in and force them to conform? Let’s talk about how rigid standards can squash creativity and why we need more room for imagination in our classrooms.

Are you a parent who sometimes feels like you’re barely holding it together? Same here. In my latest post, I’m sharing my “Mother of the Year” moments—the times I definitely didn’t nail the whole parenting thing. From letting my kid eat hand sanitizer to approving a show I should’ve said no to (yep, it happened), this is the real, messy side of motherhood. If you’ve ever had a #momfail, trust me, you’re not alone. Let’s embrace the chaos together. 💁‍♀️