My Jenn-eration

The very first thing I do when I open my eyes is squint to see the clock. It is 6:38AM. I have enough time to shower and still get everyone out the door by 8AM which sounds pathetically indulgent. I take care to do an above average washing job – probably a B+, but don’t have enough pride, energy, or desire to even consider shaving my legs. When I am finished and standing in front of the mirror, I decide my left armpit still smells. I can’t decide if this is because the new natural deodorant doesn’t work or if there is something sinister happening on the left side of my body. I decide to rewash and google “smelly left armpit” for later. At breakfast we are low on food which is an important item that is necessary for this time of day to actually count as breakfast. I find enough expired egg whites, 3 slices of cheese and last week’s bread and cobble together some egg white omelets and toast for the kids. The coffee maker is hissing at me in a way that seems urgent and sinister but I...

Sometimes my husband will ask me if I want to eat out or if we should just order in. In my head, I picture our adorable family carefully passing the basket of bread. It is an alternate reality where everyone shares and no one spills and not even once am I or them under the table for any number of reasons and no one cries and we order dessert and it’s no big deal and we casually share it. And then the version of what will actually happen pops into my head – that of children crawling and crying and spilling. And it is in that moment that I look at my adorable little rugrats and say something to the effect of, “No fucking way. Not this time.” We’re up on Scary Mommy tonight, sharing some thoughts on what we’ll miss about going to restaurants with little ones J

2008, as far as years ago, was a pretty shitty one. I lost my mother rather swiftly and unsuspectingly and I was behind the wheel of our car with my husband and 10 month old son when we were in a near fatal crash on the highway. Everything felt catastrophic and awful. That New Year’s Eve, I huddled inside my home with my still new little family. We had a few candles lit, and just about two minutes before midnight I said something to the effect of, “Fuck this. I’m done with you 2008.” Because there was 90 seconds left in the year, it seemed we were past most of the garbage. At 11:59, I bent over to blow out the candles. And at 11:59 and 30 seconds, with about 30 seconds left of 2008, a strand of my hair slipped forward, fell into a candle, and caught on fire. And here is what I learned. 1.       Candles can be dangerous. Safety first. 2.       It ain’t over till it’s over. 3.       Bad s...

How do you follow your dreams? More importantly, why do you follow them? Come join me over at Today Parents where I'm taking about the new movie Sing, in theaters December 21st, and my quest to not just chase my dreams, but rather live them.

I’m sitting in the middle of the coffee shop, hyper aware of everything. Of the clicking of the laptop to my right, of the flipping of the newspaper of the old man to my left, the scooping of the ice and the chatter of some old friends in the corner. I feel the weight of my fit bit on my arm, the fluttering of one hair to the left of my cornea. Everything feels on, and crackling. Sometimes I feel that way. Sometimes life feels that way – like sensory overload. Very loud, or very soft but either way – very obvious. Just very. I’ve been feeling this very much with my kids – this crackling, the relative loud and softness of my love for them, the way it gets expressed, the way it feels. It is all sort of out body – I am living these moments with them, and observing them as well. The rapid speed at which they seem to be growing up and changing. The full body experience of my love adapting to their newer, bigger selves. This morning Ruby tells me that she can see the sun coming out....

I've got election night jitters on the brain tonight. Sharing my thoughts on who I'm voting for and why. Make your voice heard! #imwithher

I’m scanning through my Facebook newsfeed during a 25 minute long episode of Dora in the City when the new AAP recommendations on screen time catch my eye. The guidelines include revised screen time recommendations for children ages 6 and up, from two hours a day to no official screen time limit. Rather, the panel recommends prioritizing homework, physical activity, extracurricular activities, family meal times, and after all that whatever is left can be dedicated to screen time. It makes an important distinction between media for educational use versus entertainment, and encourages families to seek and find their own balance with technology. Parents, it recommends, are to assume the role as “media mentor.” Toward this end, the panel made an additional recommendation specifically geared toward parents and their own technology use, reminding us to put down devices during meal time and parent child playtimes. The recommendations came out at the right time, as I had been turning ov...