Category: Chaos

  • Tween Fashion Battles |  Hoodies, Crocs, and Other Hills We Die On

    There are wars raging in my house every morning before school. Not the “Did you brush your teeth?” battles (though those are alive and well). Not the “Please eat something other than Takis for breakfast” skirmishes. No, the daily wars are fought over tween fashion choices—the hills my children are inexplicably prepared to die on,…

  • Puberty, Perimenopause, and No One’s Okay | A Survival Memoir

    Once upon a time, I thought the toddler years were the emotional peak of parenting. Silly me. That was just the warm-up act. Now, here I am, squarely in my mid-40s, experiencing the joys of perimenopause while parenting three tweens entering puberty. That’s right. One body. Three hormones. Five moods before breakfast. Welcome to the real Hunger Games.…

  • Parenting Tweens | May Cause Emotional Whiplash

    One minute they want to snuggle, the next they’re slamming the door. There should be a warning label on parenting tweens: May cause whiplash, emotional whiplash. Side effects include crying in the pantry, involuntary eye twitching, and spontaneous laughter at completely inappropriate times. Raising tweens is a bit like being on a rollercoaster built by…

  • Fuel Up, Buckle Up, Suck It Up | Life as a Mom Taxi

    Somewhere between piano lessons and the 4-H Fair, I lost the feeling in my left butt cheek. I’ve become one with the seat of my Jeep. My Apple algorithm thinks I’m 12, and my car is less a vehicle and more a time capsule of growing-up moments. Hi. I’m Angela, and I’m a full-time mom…

  • When Summer Gets Weird | What to Do When Everyone’s Over It (Including You)

    Ah, late July into August—that weird in-between place where sunscreen feels like a second skin, popsicles have lost their sparkle, and no one knows what day it is anymore. You’ve already vacationed (or attempted to), grilled, chased fireflies, and now… everyone’s cranky, hot, and over it. Including you. Especially you. This is The Summer Stretch—those…

  • Still a Party of Five, Just with All the Tween Drama Now

    Fry, Party of Five is back – older, moodier, and with more eye rolls than ever. But don’t worry, this isn’t a comeback tour with glittery graphics, Pinterest-perfect photo ops, or sponsored cereal reviews. Nope. This time around, it’s just me— Angela —writing straight from the trenches of tween parenting, heart first, filters off. If…