• baby clothes
    Family & Motherhood

    my go-to shop for baby clothes

    I’ve been a fan of Zulily ever since my girl was born. A friend suggested I check it out for baby clothes when we were both feeding our newborns at all hours of the night. I remember texting each other deals that were ultimately bought at 4 a.m. In those hours, I was introduced to favorites like Robeez, Jack & Lily and Zutano. In a way, it was another insight into the newborn baby world that I would otherwise never know before becoming a parent. I learned the difference between 24 months and 2T clothing and baby vs toddler shoe size. Now, of course, Zulily has more than just baby…

  • Family & Motherhood

    Hey Parents: Does Date Night Still Happen?

    My husband and I went to Hawaii for our 10th anniversary. For the first time in a year and a half, we had the opportunity to slow down and truly relax in each other’s company. Usually, our daily communication revolves around things that need to get done and kids. Our date night lasted 5 days on a beach in warm weather without having to worry about getting someone a snack. We have a date night notification on our calendar that goes off every week and 99% of the time we dismiss it. At the end of the day we are spent, ready to relax and watch some TV by ourselves.…

  • new home
    Family & Motherhood

    New Home Fairy

    We are finally starting to feel like we’re settled into our new home. With the exception of wall art and some organization, I feel like we are at the point where things can get done in a slow, more relaxed manner. The first time we moved to CA from Texas was stressful in the sense that we didn’t know what neighborhood we wanted to be in, the selection was slim and we had massive sticker shock on the house prices just for rent. We went from an apartment in very hilly Nob Hill, to an extended stay in Oakland and then finally to our place near Dolores Park. It was…

  • remote work
    Family & Motherhood

    Remote work: why asking for help is the key

    I recently read an article talking about the struggles of entering the workforce after the pandemic. The results were shocking. Check out this graph made by Moody’s Analytics: See that red line? That’s women with young children who haven’t been able to re-enter the workforce due to factors like closed schools and daycares. As a mom with a 6 and almost 4-year old, I get it. I’m lucky that I get to work from home on my own schedule and prioritize work and kids depending on the day. My husband has been working from home since March of last year. It’s tough for him to focus while the kids are…

  • Family & Motherhood

    Anytime Gifts for Moms

    Mother’s Day is coming up! This year I’m celebrating all the moms in my life including my mom, mom friends, family and myself. With the year we’ve had, moms have been the true superheroes of the past crappy year. Since becoming a mom, I’ve realized how important mom friends are, so every year I send them a card to let them know how truly special they are. But even though we have a day dedicated to moms, what about the rest of the year? Call me crazy, but I think moms deserve to be celebrated all year. Working moms, stay-at-home moms, single moms, we do so much every day that…

  • Family & Motherhood

    Self-Love

    Self-love is a term that’s been thrown around a lot. Almost to the point of making you feel bad about it if you don’t love yourself in a way that is apparent to the world. The quote above is awesome, but also overwhelming. Love EVERY PART OF MYSELF? Taking care of MY OWN NEEDS? It seems far-fetched. I did not grow up engulfed in self-love. More often than not I was self-conscious about my weight, my clothes and fitting in. I was a very shy kid and kids can be mean. I was bullied, made fun of, and so desperate to find my place in my small world. As I…

  • Family & Motherhood

    Starting a Movie Night Tradition

    Do you have a fun family tradition? We are at the place where our girl can sit through a new movie with us, and while our boy’s attention span is closer to 20 minutes before he starts getting restless and playing with his airplanes, it’s nice to think about starting a movie night tradition that just get better and better. We recently saw E.T and our girl was totally into it. I have forgotten so much of that movie that it really brought me back. Traditions help form stronger bonds and are unique to every family, which is what makes it super special. With so many good family movies out there, there…

  • nap
    Family & Motherhood

    the loss of the mid-day nap

    We are getting to that point where my son doesn’t want to take a nap anymore. I know, it’s happening. I’ve been milking the mid-day sleep break for as long as I can. I think I’ll have to come to terms with the fact that it’s slowly going away. I knew it was time with my daughter when it took longer for me to get her to nap than the actual nap. She would just play around until we both would decide a nap isn’t happening. My son still takes 2.5-hour naps and it’s gloriously quiet in the house during that time. I’m considered one of the lucky parents whose…

  • Family & Motherhood

    Why walk when you can skip?

    I remember when my little one was just starting to walk. The push for those early steps. Google searches and advice from other parents on how to do it. Eventually, she did it on her own time. Now she’s twirling and learning ballerina moves. That reminds me, I gotta put that girl in dance lessons once everything settles down a bit more. We thought our son would learn earlier, wanting to catch up to his sister. We got the same suggestion scroll on how to get him to walk but with him our response was different. “He’ll walk on his own time, we are in no hurry” I would tell…

  • Family & Motherhood

    Do you do crafts with kids?

    I’m not one to do crafts. I have friends who are crafty, my MIL is crafty and my sister can hold her own in a DIY situation. Me, not so much. The photo above is a creation that involved a pinecone, glitter paint, pipe cleaners, and random miniatures to make a crown, head and vail. We call her the “Pinecone Princess”. I had no hand in any of it. I went to a maker space event with my sister for Christmas one year and they had a make-your-own ornament station with sewing tools. There were 8 and 9 year-olds that were breezing through it. I sewed the ornament onto itself…