The Trying Mama

12/25/2025

You did it🤍

12/23/2025

I cannot wait 🥹

12/23/2025

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but if someone cuts ties with you because of how you treated or behaved in front of their children, and they clearly tell you not to give their kids gifts, then don’t do it.

That doesn’t mean mailing them anyway.
That doesn’t mean slipping them through someone else.
That doesn’t mean trying to go around the parents to ease your own guilt.

All that does is prove the boundary was necessary.

It’s blatant disrespect.
It’s ignoring a direct request.
And it shows, once again, that you don’t care about the children or the parents. You care about control, access, and making yourself feel better.

Boundaries aren’t suggestions.

12/22/2025

12/21/2025

🩷

12/21/2025

I don’t pack our schedules.
And I don’t feel guilty about that.

Our days aren’t stacked with back to back activities, constant practices, or calendars so full there’s no room to breathe. We don’t run from one thing to the next just to prove we’re doing enough. Childhood doesn’t need to be rushed to be meaningful.

There is time in our home. Time to wake up slow. Time to sit at the table. Time to be bored. Time to help. Time to rest. Not every hour needs a purpose for kids to grow into capable adults.

We value presence over pressure. Rhythm over chaos. Our kids learn responsibility in the ordinary moments, not in a car speeding to the next obligation. They learn how to exist without constant stimulation. They learn how to be content where they are.

We choose margin on purpose.
Because a full calendar doesn’t equal a full childhood.

And I’m not interested in raising exhausted kids just to keep up with someone else’s idea of success.

12/21/2025

An Open Letter to the Family Members We Walked Away From This Year:

You tried to sweep it under the rug.

You acted like it didn’t matter. Like it wasn’t serious. Like silence would make it disappear.

It didn’t.

Accountability was nowhere to be found. No ownership. No responsibility. Just excuses, deflection, and expecting us to move on.

We won’t.

We will not pretend it didn’t happen. We will not carry what you refuse to face. We will not enable behavior that hurts people and then demands access anyway.

That stops here.

We refuse to protect what is wrong. We refuse to stay quiet to keep things comfortable. We refuse to take part in your circus — the chaos, the lies, the blame-shifting.

And yes, we were angry.

Because wrong was done. Because truth was avoided. Because accountability should have been automatic.

But anger didn’t make this decision.

Clarity did.

You showed your true colors. Not in what you said — but in what you refused to own.

And that was enough.

Our kids deserve parents who call out what’s wrong and stand ten toes down for what’s right. They deserve parents who hold people accountable. Something you all clearly never learned.

So we chose differently.

We chose peace over pretending. We chose integrity over access. We chose to step away instead of staying stuck.

There’s no hatred here. No need to argue. No need to explain further. We’re at peace with this choice.

Because once someone shows you who they are,
you believe them. And once you choose what is right,
you don’t second-guess it.

That was enough.

12/21/2025

🙌

12/21/2025

I noticed it

12/20/2025

If a man talks about chores like he’s “helping out,” or refers to time with his own children as “babysitting,” that’s not partnership.

12/20/2025

I stopped apologizing for protecting my peace.

12/20/2025

If you’re a grandparent who plays favorites, you’re not sweet, you’re not loving—you’re a sh*tty grandparent.