Before we took our kids to Walt Disney World Resort for the first time in 2008, this is what I thought I knew about my children: My four-year-old daughter was quiet, intelligent, timid, sweet, and loved Disney princesses. My two-year-old son was brazen, a dare-devil, and I hoped he would someday get into college on a football…

This post has been sponsored. All opinions and strange food habits are my own. I am a creature of habit. In first grade I carried the same lunch in my yellow Cabbage Patch Kid lunchbox every day: a sandwich with American cheese and yellow mustard, a thermos full of apple juice. Various lunches cycled through…

I’ve experienced more Disney magic than is really fair for one person to enjoy. I was blessed to grow up in a family that sometimes had more than enough and was led by a father who believed those extras were gifts to be enjoyed, namely in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. At the tender age of…

(Spoiler alert — This post discusses specific moments from the film Saving Mr. Banks.) When I imagined myself as a mom prior to having kids, I envisioned a relaxed, laid-back, playful person whose days would be filled with far more yeses than no’s — my future children would be thrilled to be raised by the “cool…

You’ve probably seen all of the calls to show your Disney Side, from the at-home Disney Side parties to the Disney inspired recipes on Pinterest. I’ve hosted a Disney Side party of my own and have hashtagged tweets, Facebook updates, and Instagram posts with the #DisneySide tag. I’ve declared myself to be showing my Disney Side when I’m doing…

Recently I’ve found myself in a series of conversations about parents in Disney movies, mostly inspired by Disney’s Frozen, that powerhouse film that continues to break records with its success. {Spoiler Alert} Of course the parents in Frozen die very early on in the film, shaping the entire story. Any Disney film fan knows that parents are rarely…

Thanks to my often whimsical father and the excuse of traveling to an aunt who lived in Tampa, I grew up visiting Walt Disney World Resort more often than most of my peers. I always assumed that when I had a family of my own we would do the same, family members in Florida or not. When…

This post was originally published on March 20, 2013. As I watch the news of the stolen girls in Nigeria, I cannot help but think of the vulnerability of girls and women around the world as they continue to suffer as victims of violence, commodities, pawns in war games. I pray for those young women…

I recently returned from the fifth annual Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, and this year like each year in the past left me feeling inspired. Quite honestly, every visit to Disney Parks fills me with inspiration. Whether I’m learning about the incredible dreamer, thinker, and innovator Walt Disney or simply recharging my own batteries with…

I was raised by a stay-at-home dad in rural Pennsylvania in the 1980s, the younger of two kids, the only girl in the house most hours of the day. I remember spending my first few years convinced that I, too, was meant to be a boy and that my parents had somehow convinced the doctors…

Life is complicated and no parent is perfect. But it’s important to look back and reflect on the experiences that helped us grow into the people we are today. This post was originally published on May 10th, 2011. Last  Sunday on Mother’s Day, my parents joined us as we celebrated in church, the kids singing…

I first heard about sex from the neighbor girl, Emily. She had a big sister who kept her informed, and Emily was more than happy to pass that information along to her younger best friend. Proud of my new knowledge, I let my mom know where babies come from, and it wasn’t long before my…

I’ve been carrying around a few books wherever I go lately including Restless by Jennie Allen and Thrive by Mark Hall from Casting Crowns. The book that’s logging the most miles, however, is Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. I’m fairly sure that my friends either don’t believe I’m really reading it or that perhaps I have some undiagnosed learning disorder…

(This post was originally published 8/29/2012. After a recent conversation with a friend, I was reminded how despite incredible progress, too few people – including physicians – recognize and understand hyperemisis gravidarum.) A couple days ago I saw this status update on the HER Foundation Facebook page: “We have an HG sufferer in Jamaica in…

(This post was originally published on 1/12/13) Right now I am sitting in the dark at my desk, waiting for a doctor to call me back.  I’m not feeling particularly picky about which doctor calls me back.  It could be my actual healthcare provider or my mom or even the doctor that you see when…

This post was originally published July 17, 2012, and is being republished as a reminder that I desperately need a date night. (disclaimer: this post has been approved by my husband who would like another night out with his amazing wife…) To say that the week had been rough would be an understatement {I’m talking…

{This post was originally published in May of 2011.} I’ve always been one of those girls who people describe as very smart with a great sense of humor. Close your eyes and picture someone who has been described with only those words. What do you see?  Be honest. Now before you think I’m begging for…

{This post was originally published on May 20, 2011.) I recently read an article in the April Redbook about Ashley Madison, the dating site for cheaters.  I read it when the magazine first arrived in March, and since then I’ve been hearing about the site all over the mainstream media. Little “did you knows” on…

I remember deciding long before becoming a mom that I would never yell at my kids. It was a ridiculously unfair construct to create for myself, a childless young woman who struggles to close a cupboard door without slamming it or say hello to a friend without tackling them. I live loudly and that includes…

{Originally published 6/28/11} There is a beautiful, huge Victorian on Old Mill Road in my hometown, just past the Methodist cemetery, right before the sharp turn in the road that my dad used to accelerate through making us fly out of our seats, giggling as butterflies fluttered in our stomachs.  One day while driving home…

My daughter and I had a rough start. I’m the kind of person who plays out scenarios in her head long before they happen – if they happen – and then is disappointed when the reality doesn’t correspond with the fantasy. One thing went as planned when we started a family. One. The conception. From that moment…