Couldn't we all use 5 Tips for Surviving "HallowThanksMas" this year? Never heard of it? The first time I heard of it was last year.

I had my last drink on July 11th, 2020, smack dab in the middle of a global pandemic while most of my peers had an increase in their alcohol consumption. Since it’s “Sober October,” I thought it would be appropriate to follow up with a continuation of that first sober article I wrote in August, ...

My kid won’t say mama. It’s rude, right? I carried her for nine-plus months, experienced extreme everything, changed my diet drastically (gestational diabetes, y’all), and suffered a migraine in my third trimester so intense I thought I was having a stroke. I forgot how to form words. Have you ever tried to call 911, and ...

You’re probably very aware that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. As a sister of Zeta Tau Alpha fraternity, with breast cancer awareness and education as our national philanthropy, I’ve been proud to also help honor survivors. But it’s in the past year that I’ve become aware of someone else we should celebrate: the “previvors” ...

Some parents just do not have the luxury or the option to stay home to solely focus on their children and running their homes. I am one of those parents that must work in order to keep a roof over our heads, shoes on our feet, and food to stock the fridge. Right now I ...

When I was a child, I was repeatedly labeled as “shy.” I was never the most verbose kid on the block. As the younger of two daughters, I was perfectly content listening to my bubbly and chatty mother and older sister. Throughout my primary school years, my “shyness” spilled over into interactions with peers and ...

I’m done trying to be the perfect mom Yup, I’m done, I quit. That load is way too heavy for me to carry, and I will never live up to the expectations. My own or someone else’s. Notice: I’m done trying to be the PERFECT mom.  She doesn’t exist. Seriously, hear me out. For way ...

What if we learned some permanent lessons from the pandemic? I recently went to Target – something I’ve done far less frequently in the time of COVID-19 – and as I waited in line, I noticed an associate sanitizing the shopping carts.  And it struck me: Why couldn’t this be a regular thing? Extra sanitation ...

I work. A lot. Can we talk about that for just a few? I promise it’ll lead to parenthood, just stay with me here.  Let’s jump back to the week after Thanksgiving 2014. I had just been let go from a short stint at a financial firm, was drowning in self-pity, and was eating half ...

After a lifetime of forgetting to feed fish, failing to water plants, and returning infants their caretakers the moment they cried or soiled their diapers, I was positive motherhood was not going to be a part of my story.  The universe had a different plan for me at age of 24 when my son arrived ...

There’s something about a drink that just feels right during certain situations: girls’ night out, an event, first dates, after a long day of work and parenting teens in the middle of a pandemic. It just FEELS right. It felt right. Until it didn’t anymore.  Now, I’ve been wanting to get sober for a long ...

My oldest daughter heads back to school next week, so in homage to those old first-day-of-school essays, my first Mommy Blog will be about what we did (or didn’t do) on our summer vacation. Disclaimer: Time has sort of melted for me during the pandemic, so we probably did some of these things in the ...

It is really awkward to be sitting here writing my first ever Mommy Blog. I’m not a writer by nature, and I certainly never thought I would one day be a mother. About 6, 7 or 8 years ago (I started to lose track of life events when I hit my early thirties), I had ...

Introducing The Mommy Bloggers!  I’m really excited to be introducing you to our latest feature for Central Penn Parent: The Mommy Bloggers.  The Mommy Bloggers is a group of local midstate women who have varied stories, challenges and backgrounds. Each one of our bloggers will be highlighting their parental experiences on Central Penn Parent weekly.  ...