Just here to say that your story sounds like a Hallmark movie! Busy city mom falls in love with a toy store and decides to buy it so that it doesn't go out of business. Cue snow fall, romance, and dreams coming true! As a side note, I love reading your family's stories and you asked the order for which we'd like updates. To be honest, as a mom with hectic work/life balance it's nice to see random updates in no particular order. I have a host of different parents I follow and each mom's story and journey makes me feel like a part of it all/helps normalize it all. Hope this helps and congratulations!!
The truth is, there is nothing I would like more than to write and discuss it at length. Believe me, I have so little closure over the whole thing and one reason for that is because over the last 12 years, writing a blog post and getting feedback has become my default way of processing feelings. But this doesn't feel right to share publicly, since I think public sharing was part of what caused the rift to begin with. There are the surface level reasons we are no longer friends but I think the underlying reasons have to do with the fact that we both live our lives online and have a very different way of putting ourselves out there.
I'm so sorry. Also very curious because I've gone through a couple of really hard friend breakups myself, and I also remember what a wonderful relationship it was for your whole family (or at least it seemed to be). And also sorry that you can't process your way. I hope it helps to know that even if we don't know the details, your community is there for you. Any of us would sit on your couch, with glass of wine in one hand and a tissue box in the other, and let you process. :(
I have been a reader since you were on baby sideburns a million years ago. I also have 2 kids a little younger then m&h. I would love to hear more about school applications for high school. And not to be nosey at all, but a friend break up is hard and I would hugely benefit hearing how to work through that. If you can even vaguely share. 🥰
Sending hugs and a reminder to you, Mike, and Mazzy that you are interviewing the school just as much as they are interviewing you. We went through the whole high school application process last year (New England private/boarding schools instead of NYC schools, but I'm guessing similar vibe) and it is so easy to get caught up in the competitiveness of it all. Take a breath and look for the right fit and don't worry about which school is the hardest to get into/highest ranked/most prestigious/whatever.
Thank you for that! That's what I tell Mazzy too. We are definitely not looking for the highest ranked/most prestigious school! Focusing on where Mazzy would feel comfortable and which schools would suit her learning style.
That's great, and I know she has tons of support and a level head. My daughter had a couple of friends who suddenly became very focused on getting accepted to as many of the most prestigious schools as they could just to prove they could get in and that got into her head for a little while. I also had to remind myself because we met a LOT of hyper-competitive parents at various events.
I also had to remind myself again when March 9 and 10 rolled around and I was like, "I know my daughter's amazing, why doesn't <insert name of school here> see it?!"
My biggest "pearl" here is to remind Mazzy (and yourself and Mike, too) that even though teachers are asking a lot of her, you're asking a lot of her, schools are asking a lot of her, and she's asking a lot of herself that it's for a finite period of time and then she'll get to take a breath. Please try to enjoy the process, it's really interesting what you'll learn about Mazzy that you didn't know before. Especially when you're eavesdropping on her interviews (shhh, I didn't do that with Ava, wink wink)! Always here for any help if you need it, as is Ava. xx
A good kind of busy! I’ve been busy but it’s all trying to be an advocate for my son at school. Our district in NJ is not great and so I think we are going to have to move. I’m looking forward to moving but it’s just a hassle and why do I have to move because these teachers don’t want to help my son? He has an IEP and they still don’t follow it. My anxiety is just getting debilitating about his school experience.
Sending lots of love. It’s conference season at work, doing my MPH, kids have rugby training twice a week and a game once a week and husband is running a marathon and we have to go straight from there to the school fall festival and my parents are coming for thanksgiving so I need to clean out a room for them to sleep in and should I do that before or after my biostatistics midterm? Someone always needs antibiotics for something (strep! Pink eye! Some weird skin infection!) and every single thing any kid does has picture day this week. There’s sleepovers and birthday party planning and I think the dog needs vaccines and it never stops. Maybe it’s not cool to talk about how busy we are, but damn, we are all busy. I’m always relieved it’s not just me! Hearing how other people manage all of this would be so helpful.
Wow! You are busy! Even with all of it being wonderful, I can appreciate the stress of it all.
I am definitely curious about how you are juggling your "day job", parenting, and now this new venture. My hubby and I are talking about my making a change and just the idea of it literally makes my anxiety go through the roof.
Missed your life updates but saw how much fun you guys are having in New Zealand on IG (been wanting to try that Fernberger - is it a 10/10??)
Would love to read more from you and from the rest re ipad/iPhone use for kids 7yrs old. I need some consistency as I traverse between ultra strict no iPad days to “fine just let me finish my work” days.
October takes me down every year despite my best efforts to prepare as a mom of 3 big kids/tweens. I seriously think the busy Fall season is what brought me to sobriety 3 years ago when my life seemed so unmanageable. Great updates!
I went through the high school application process with my daughter last school year. Thank goodness for me that she wants to major in art and the school that accepted her didn't ask for art samples from there students. She loves her school but every time I look at her I can't believe I have a high school teenager. We're in The Bronx and unfortunately I have to worry about school shootings after school and misdirected gang violence. But so far , she's happy and thriving. Now I need to figure out what to do with myself while she's at school and my fiancee is at work. Sure, my 3yo and my dog keep me busy, but I'm trying to find a "me thing, you know what I mean? Good luck with the Bat Mitvah and school applications!
Frankly, all of that sounds exhausting but especially the school application process.
My husband also turns 50 soon so I would actually love to hear more about Mike’s party. Unfortunately I’m not friends with a fancy chef but could do with some inspiration.
I just have to say that I am so thankful that where I live we just send our kids to the public high school we are assigned to based on our address. There is a private Catholic high school that is an option, but most of us just send our kids to public school.
Sounds like a lot, but as you wrote, all good things! I have never seen a Bat Mitzvah so very curious about that, of course the New Zealand trip is exciting, and so nice that Mike will get a great meal prepared in your beautiful kitchen! I get the stress of exams/applications too, important but not as fun as the other things! Good luck with all of it! I am about to jump into a couple months of a lot of job demands, but thankfully there is light at the end of that tunnel, and it doesn't overlap with birthdays or other events.
On second thought, I think the high school applications is probably something that a lot of readers can relate to, if not for high school then as a preview of other kinds of application processes - so I think all of this is really worthwhile to hear about, in no particular order!
Just here to say that your story sounds like a Hallmark movie! Busy city mom falls in love with a toy store and decides to buy it so that it doesn't go out of business. Cue snow fall, romance, and dreams coming true! As a side note, I love reading your family's stories and you asked the order for which we'd like updates. To be honest, as a mom with hectic work/life balance it's nice to see random updates in no particular order. I have a host of different parents I follow and each mom's story and journey makes me feel like a part of it all/helps normalize it all. Hope this helps and congratulations!!
Not sure if you're willing to discuss, and it's very understandable if not, but what happened between you and the other party planner?
I am also genuinely curious! It's not to be nosey, but the fallout seemed pretty final and abrupt. Is this something you'll share about?
The truth is, there is nothing I would like more than to write and discuss it at length. Believe me, I have so little closure over the whole thing and one reason for that is because over the last 12 years, writing a blog post and getting feedback has become my default way of processing feelings. But this doesn't feel right to share publicly, since I think public sharing was part of what caused the rift to begin with. There are the surface level reasons we are no longer friends but I think the underlying reasons have to do with the fact that we both live our lives online and have a very different way of putting ourselves out there.
I'm so sorry. Also very curious because I've gone through a couple of really hard friend breakups myself, and I also remember what a wonderful relationship it was for your whole family (or at least it seemed to be). And also sorry that you can't process your way. I hope it helps to know that even if we don't know the details, your community is there for you. Any of us would sit on your couch, with glass of wine in one hand and a tissue box in the other, and let you process. :(
I second this!
I have been a reader since you were on baby sideburns a million years ago. I also have 2 kids a little younger then m&h. I would love to hear more about school applications for high school. And not to be nosey at all, but a friend break up is hard and I would hugely benefit hearing how to work through that. If you can even vaguely share. 🥰
Sending hugs and a reminder to you, Mike, and Mazzy that you are interviewing the school just as much as they are interviewing you. We went through the whole high school application process last year (New England private/boarding schools instead of NYC schools, but I'm guessing similar vibe) and it is so easy to get caught up in the competitiveness of it all. Take a breath and look for the right fit and don't worry about which school is the hardest to get into/highest ranked/most prestigious/whatever.
Thank you for that! That's what I tell Mazzy too. We are definitely not looking for the highest ranked/most prestigious school! Focusing on where Mazzy would feel comfortable and which schools would suit her learning style.
That's great, and I know she has tons of support and a level head. My daughter had a couple of friends who suddenly became very focused on getting accepted to as many of the most prestigious schools as they could just to prove they could get in and that got into her head for a little while. I also had to remind myself because we met a LOT of hyper-competitive parents at various events.
I also had to remind myself again when March 9 and 10 rolled around and I was like, "I know my daughter's amazing, why doesn't <insert name of school here> see it?!"
My biggest "pearl" here is to remind Mazzy (and yourself and Mike, too) that even though teachers are asking a lot of her, you're asking a lot of her, schools are asking a lot of her, and she's asking a lot of herself that it's for a finite period of time and then she'll get to take a breath. Please try to enjoy the process, it's really interesting what you'll learn about Mazzy that you didn't know before. Especially when you're eavesdropping on her interviews (shhh, I didn't do that with Ava, wink wink)! Always here for any help if you need it, as is Ava. xx
A good kind of busy! I’ve been busy but it’s all trying to be an advocate for my son at school. Our district in NJ is not great and so I think we are going to have to move. I’m looking forward to moving but it’s just a hassle and why do I have to move because these teachers don’t want to help my son? He has an IEP and they still don’t follow it. My anxiety is just getting debilitating about his school experience.
Sending lots of love. It’s conference season at work, doing my MPH, kids have rugby training twice a week and a game once a week and husband is running a marathon and we have to go straight from there to the school fall festival and my parents are coming for thanksgiving so I need to clean out a room for them to sleep in and should I do that before or after my biostatistics midterm? Someone always needs antibiotics for something (strep! Pink eye! Some weird skin infection!) and every single thing any kid does has picture day this week. There’s sleepovers and birthday party planning and I think the dog needs vaccines and it never stops. Maybe it’s not cool to talk about how busy we are, but damn, we are all busy. I’m always relieved it’s not just me! Hearing how other people manage all of this would be so helpful.
Wow! You are busy! Even with all of it being wonderful, I can appreciate the stress of it all.
I am definitely curious about how you are juggling your "day job", parenting, and now this new venture. My hubby and I are talking about my making a change and just the idea of it literally makes my anxiety go through the roof.
Planning for my kiddo's bar mitzvah in May - other than the montage, anything you wish you started thinking about earlier than we can knock out now?!
Missed your life updates but saw how much fun you guys are having in New Zealand on IG (been wanting to try that Fernberger - is it a 10/10??)
Would love to read more from you and from the rest re ipad/iPhone use for kids 7yrs old. I need some consistency as I traverse between ultra strict no iPad days to “fine just let me finish my work” days.
October takes me down every year despite my best efforts to prepare as a mom of 3 big kids/tweens. I seriously think the busy Fall season is what brought me to sobriety 3 years ago when my life seemed so unmanageable. Great updates!
yes, life is very very hectically busy these days.
If u have time, just go through this dear.
https://substack.com/inbox/post/74869333
I went through the high school application process with my daughter last school year. Thank goodness for me that she wants to major in art and the school that accepted her didn't ask for art samples from there students. She loves her school but every time I look at her I can't believe I have a high school teenager. We're in The Bronx and unfortunately I have to worry about school shootings after school and misdirected gang violence. But so far , she's happy and thriving. Now I need to figure out what to do with myself while she's at school and my fiancee is at work. Sure, my 3yo and my dog keep me busy, but I'm trying to find a "me thing, you know what I mean? Good luck with the Bat Mitvah and school applications!
Frankly, all of that sounds exhausting but especially the school application process.
My husband also turns 50 soon so I would actually love to hear more about Mike’s party. Unfortunately I’m not friends with a fancy chef but could do with some inspiration.
I just have to say that I am so thankful that where I live we just send our kids to the public high school we are assigned to based on our address. There is a private Catholic high school that is an option, but most of us just send our kids to public school.
Sounds like a lot, but as you wrote, all good things! I have never seen a Bat Mitzvah so very curious about that, of course the New Zealand trip is exciting, and so nice that Mike will get a great meal prepared in your beautiful kitchen! I get the stress of exams/applications too, important but not as fun as the other things! Good luck with all of it! I am about to jump into a couple months of a lot of job demands, but thankfully there is light at the end of that tunnel, and it doesn't overlap with birthdays or other events.
On second thought, I think the high school applications is probably something that a lot of readers can relate to, if not for high school then as a preview of other kinds of application processes - so I think all of this is really worthwhile to hear about, in no particular order!