THE AWKWARD MOM

because uncomfortable conversations are the ones worth having

Category: Family (page 1 of 15)

Writing a Year-end Note to Your Child: 4 Simple Steps

Reading Time: 6 minutes

note to your child

The dog licked me awake early this morning. Well, early for my slumbering house of teenagers house. And I stayed awake for the quiet.

As I type to you, snow layers the landscape out my window like fondant. I love its muting effect–on schedules, on sound. My life craves more quiet, for the love of Mike. And the end of the year always seems to hush my own soul into a more contemplative place. read more

16 Fun, No-Screen Ideas to Occupy Kids on Winter Break

Reading Time: 5 minutes

kids on winter break

Missed the first list for kids on winter break? Grab it here.

My kids are getting older, which means winter break looks different here. Sniff.

Of course, we’ll still be decorating cookies and mushing together the family clam dip. (It’s a Breitenstein thing.)

But Christmas Eve, we’ll have three different pickups of three different kids: two teenagers have gone for more fun with relatives this week, and my oldest–the Marine–arrives from Camp Pendleton. read more

4 Easy, Fun Ways to Help Kids Give Thanks

Reading Time: 3 minutes

help kids give thanks

Question: Are you the fun parent?

I am not. read more

When It’s Hard to Enjoy Your Child

Reading Time: 4 minutes

enjoy your child

A friend asked me a good question in a roundabout way. Let’s say my child is in one of those seasons when they’re hard to love.

…Or even being a jerk.  read more

25 Parent Fails, Inspired by My Life

Reading Time: 4 minutes

parent fails

Author’s note: This week was one of those where I was pretty consistently busy nearly until bedtime. I would recommend this pace to pretty much no one.

But I continue to have real-life kids, like the one to whom I have been raising my eyebrows about chores three days in a row. Or whichever one left a fingernail clipping on my sofa. And the one I had to apologize to while editing this version of the post below. read more

Daily Prayers for Holy Week and Easter for Your Family

Reading Time: < 1 minute

prayers for holy week and easter for families

This morning my teenagers are peeling themselves out of bed for that oh-so-exciting first school day after Spring Break.  And for all us types with less liturgy in our lives,  it might actually be easy to let Holy Week slide into that sludgy pile of Great Things I Really Meant to Focus On.

So I’m tossing both of us a low ball here. read more

Best Posts of 2022!

Reading Time: 5 minutes

best posts of 2022

Today, my oldest is headed for continued training with the Marines; the 1987 Nissan Z he’s been flipping–the one the still needs the muffler?–sits resignedly outside. My youngest, a delight and a straight-up handful, is with extended family.  And thanks to this past year’s new puppy, I’m up early.

(This morning’s tea choice: Stash’s Licorice Spice. But since we’re talking New Year’s, my favorite of 2022 has definitely been Tazo’s Glazed Lemon Loaf.) read more

Ideas for Kids on Holiday Break (& Teens, Too)

Reading Time: 8 minutes


ideas for kids on holiday break

Random avatars of sugar and carbohydrates currently sprawl across my table, and I recently did the Sam’s Club pickup with holiday snacks to feed four teenagers.

Which is to say, never, ever enough. And I need price-club-sized tubs of things like salsa and cheese dip.

I’ve been noodling on ideas for kids on holiday break for years, people. But picky teenagers really up the ante, y’know? read more

When Your Internal Narratives Sabotage Your Relationships

Reading Time: 3 minutes

internal narratives

On Tuesday, my brain–well, my heart–undermined my marriage.

Here’s what happened on the outside. read more

Why Your Marriage Needs Sex (& other recent articles)

Reading Time: 2 minutes

needs sex

When my four kids were little and life resembled a 24-hour Bounty commercial, I read a statistic in Parents magazine that something like 78% of new moms, when choosing between sex and sleep, chose sleep.

Um. Duh. read more

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