Many of us will be gearing up for long drives this week, so I wanted to share some top tips for surviving long car rides with young kids. Leave really early (or late) to avoid some of the traffic. Use audiobooks to keep the whole family entertained. I genuinely loved Matilda recently. Don’t be afraid of boredom. It encourages kids (and you) to use their imagination. Reframe it. This is quality time with your kids. Tell stories, play ‘I spy’ or ask them questions you’ve al

As working moms, it’s easy to feel guilty when you aren’t spending the little time you have with your kids active with them. But, the reality is you need time for yourself and the realities of household chores. The good news is that encouraging independent play is beneficial for your kids since it: Teaches them to find joy in themselves since a playmate won’t always be guaranteed Fosters creativity, as they need to think of new ways to entertain themselves Teaches independ

Thank you for sharing ideas on how you stay connected with your kids while traveling. Wanted to share some of my favorites: I draw a calendar, so my son knows what I'm doing each day we’re apart and draw an airplane when I’m flying back home. Inés de Uriarte I used to write notes for my son to open each day I was gone. As he got a little older, he wrote notes for me too 😭. Shanna Hocking There was a commercial on the television about a little girl who put her special littl

Joe and I love going out to great meals, but taking kids is stressful, and babysitters add up. Enter Nibble + Squeak—dining experiences for families. You get a multi-course meal from one of the top chefs in your city in a setting where it’s totally OK for your kids to run around or have a meltdown. The kids have a blast with their own kids' meals, complete with sippy cups and kids flatware, plus added bonuses like sing-a-longs or mini photoshoots. Everyone is happy. Don

Over the summer, Chloe presented me with a present⁠—a small box with a drawing of her inside. “To remember me while you are gone on your work trip.”  She asks me each trip if I’ve packed it. This token connects us even when apart. Here are a few other tactics for staying connected while you are traveling, or even just at work: Create a scrapbook of photos of you together for them to look through. Give them a small token to remember you by, such as a small piece of fabric they

Parenting expert, Harvey Karp had a great suggestion for creating a culture of gratitude for your family⁠—gratitude checkmarks. Whenever your kid experiences something good during the day, make a little check on their hand. At night before you go to bed, have them try to remember all the checks. You start looking for (and remembering) the positive. Frankly, I want to practice this in my own life. Giving myself a little check for having you guys as part of my tribe. ✔️ #par

I decided that I want to go camping with the kids most weekends. Being outside destresses me, and I’ve been making life-changing memories with the kids. The trick to doing this without stress was to make it incredibly easy. I store the camping gear in my trunk between sessions. That way, all I need to do is back a few clothes and some food for each adventure. I joke that it’s my version of a ‘go bag.’ What activity do you love doing (with your kids or not)? Can you make

I have started a small habit that has brought me great joy⁠—complaining. Not talking Joe’s ear off until he tunes me out, but complaining to people who can do something. Here are a few examples: Emailing United when the wifi didn’t work on my flight before I paid for it. I got 2500 free miles. Chatting with Fresh Direct to say that their competitor is offering me free shipping, but not them. I got 6-months free delivery. Emailing the founder of a B2B company when I had

This week I went to Boston for a day. Instead of trying to line up other meetings for the trip, I surgically flew in for a single one. I was on an 8 am flight and back at my house by 5 pm. Looking back at the week, it hardly felt like I traveled at all. What would happen if you cut each of your upcoming work trips in half? Could you get 80% of the value in 50% of the time? What are the opportunity costs at home for being gone? If that seems hard, try it with one. You’l

I powerlift, and a key best practice is to have a ‘deload week’ every 6 weeks or so. On that week, you cut your weight and reps by 40% or so to give your body time to recover. I always try to add in some yoga and maybe a massage as well. I was starting out a deload week on my training when I realized, why don’t I deload the rest of my life? Why don’t I have a week where I don’t sign back on at night post-kids bedtime and don’t try to pack my schedule (both personal and work)

Rowan regressed when he entered Pre-K. Last weekend, my usually fiercely independent kid asked us to wipe his butt. He’s four. We refused, which led to a 53 minute stand-out, ending in screaming child. We won, and he has not asked again — score 1 for mom. This win made me think about my cravings (for sweets or checking my phone). How often do I give into my inner screaming child, just rewarding and perpetuating bad habits? Today, pull a mom on yourself. Let that inner craving

Are you sitting on the toilet right now? If so, you aren’t alone based on the number of moms who've told me that this is their AM toilet reading material. Whatever fits into your life! Here is a quick toilet hack. Poop like a samurai: cross your right ankle over your left knee (with your left foot on the ground). Place a hand on each knee and straighten your back. Then go. Somehow this aligns everything to make it quicker and more effective. Just trying to help any way I can.

My kids started school last week, and the daily influx of art and assignments has descended on my kitchen. Here are some tips for taming the beast. Process daily. When I unpack the backpacks, I deal with the papers immediately. Ask your kids. I’m always shocked first about what they want to save and second about how much they are cool with trashing. Make a home. Create a bin for all the art that they do want to keep to go into, so it’s not taking over your counters. Hang crea

For her birthday, Chloe got a subscription to Kiwi Box. It’s the best present she’s received in ages. Each month, she gets a well-made art/science project that we can do as a family. Each has a theme, from rainbows to secret agents. She’s made kaleidoscopes and crane machines. They have kits that supposedly start at age 0 through adult. The best news? I feel like I’m teaching my kids without any planning on my part. Score for the busy working mom. #parenting #momtips

When we moved to D.C., we built a home gym in our basement. It’s been life-changing. Not only does it mean that I can save at least 30-minutes driving to and from the gym, but it also means that my kids join me for many of my workouts. In between sets, we chat and laugh, and nothing makes me smile more than seeing little Rowan take a PVC pipe and try to do overhead squats. They will join me in my interval training, dancing in the workout intervals while I do burpees. W

These days 90% of our family’s non-grocery items come from Amazon. The side effect is a pile of return boxes in the corner. Which is why I was so excited when Joe taught me this new hack: You can return Amazon items without a box or label to any UPS store. Yes, you can just walk in with the item, scan a QR code on your phone, and UPS will box, label and ship it for you. You can also do this at Kohls if that’s easier. One less thing to worry about. Thank you, world. #momt

Dinner time is this perfect storm in our family. My kids are hangry and miss me. Yet, I just need 15 minutes to get food on the table. That's why I was thrilled when I came across advice from Jessica Braider, the CEO of the meal planning service, Six O'Clock Scramble. She gets it. Wear babies or put them in a swing where they can see you. It's also a great time to teach about textures. Use your kitchen as a playground: Open up a cabinet of pots and pans to bang on or play wit

We recently relocated from Brooklyn to DC. Moving near family means free babysitting from Joe's parents. Life. Changing. I'm writing this in peace while savoring a cup of coffee on a morning after a sleepover. My biggest tip for simplifying childcare: move close to family. But, I get it; that's not possible for most. So, here are some tips for reducing the stress around finding one-off childcare: Find a sitter that has kids herself. They are usually always available since the

The average person makes around 35,000 decisions every day - everything from what to wear to what to eat.   As a mom, it's probably even more because you are also deciding what your kids wear and eat. I'm always looking for ways to cut decisions out of my life, which is why I love standardization -- adding routines and formulas into your life. Here are some examples: Weekly meal formulas. Take the stress out of meal planning by working off a formula for your week: For example

I don't know about you, but I feel like my mind is a never-ending checklist. Just this morning, I had to remember to dress the kids up for "Art Night," give Chloe the right medicine, place an online grocery order, arrange sitting a parent social, pack suits for swim class, and prep a dish for a potluck. That was all before 8. Just writing that list makes me exhausted. This week, I'm going to give tips on how to reduce this mental load. Today: make scheduling childcare easier: