The 90’s are back, baby. 

I mean have you looked at what’s back in style today? The extra wide leg pants, hot pink everything, hair scrunchies, bike shorts, overalls, cargo pants, combat boots and my personal favorite, the sweater vest. The fact that there aren't any Blockbusters in the strip malls anymore is the only way that I know I'm not back in 1992. 

I feel like I've lived a long time since I've seen the sweater vest be the coolest wardrobe accessory followed by the-ugliest-thing-I've-ever-seen-I-can't-believ-I-wore that back to closet hero. Wow. It's almost like I used to walk a mile to school way back in the day or something. Even my puffed sleeve Laura Ashley floral extravaganza dress is making a comeback. See kids, I really did used to be "cool". 

You know what hasn't made a comeback from the 90's? Snackwells. You remember those boxes of fat free cookies? Forget the Creme Sandwich, I went for the Devil's Food Cookie Cakes. Ah, yes, those...

My late Father-in-Law loved a good joke. 

One of his favorite one liners was asking my Mother-in-Law if we were having honeymoon salad for dinner. What’s that you ask? Lettuce alone!

Cue the knee slap. Ba Dum Bum.

I couldn’t help thinking about his salad joke when a mom at our neighborhood pool gathered her three children to see that neighbor Molly was eating a salad BY HER OWN WILL. 

“Do you see what a great job she’s doing eating vegetables all by herself without her mom forcing her to eat them? She’s being such a good role model and setting such a good example for all the other kids!” 

Her kids stared at her blankly and jumped back in the pool while Molly sat uncomfortably in her poolside chair munching away.

I’m sure they were all thinking, lettuce alone. 

Putting certain foods on pedestals and demonizing other foods is exactly what diet culture teaches and perpetuates through countless diet rules and...

My daughter was poised to jump with water dripping off her swimsuit while she hollered,

“Don’t catch me, mommy! Do it by self!”

A seasoned swim instructor and fellow mom-tot chorus singer of wheels on the bus said, 

“Good for her, she’s loving that body autonomy.”

I thought about how much body autonomy feels good whether you’re two years old, twenty-two years old or seventy-two years old. Despite the government trying to take away female’s basic body autonomy rights, they can’t take away that you know how good it feels to have control over your own body. 

Body autonomy is a fundamental human right. 

Body autonomy is also the foundation of finding peace with food. 

My two year old daughter knows it feels good to do things she can by herself, even if her clothes are on inside out and backwards and her shoes are on the wrong feet. That’s what feels good to her right now. 

As a kid, you had the same...

Who knew that an artist would have the advice I needed to hear this week. 

My girls and their friends went to a Cape Cod stripes art workshop with an incredibly talented local artist, Carolyn Mackin. During the workshop the girls picked any colors of their choosing to make some fancy horizontal stripes. Anything goes for stripe thickness, amount of stripes, the way to apply the stripes onto the paper and number of colors. 

Basically, there are no rules. 

I came back towards the end of the workshop and one of my girls was looking particularly upset about her stripes. Carolyn and I asked her what she was thinking and she said she didn't like the bold, thick stripes she had put on her papers. Carolyn gave her some suggestions, but my daughter was still looking unsure, upset and a little frozen. 

Then, Carolyn gave the mic drop speech. 

She said, art isn't about being fearless. There's no such thing as being fearless. We all have our...

The last three times I've run into a school mom, my two year old is doing something with a lollipop. 

The first time, this mom saw us at the paper store in town and kindly peeled the white sticky stick off of my daughter's bottom and brought it to me letting me know what she had found. She promised no judgement and said with a giggle that she could totally relate. 
Thank you, new friend. Classy. 

The second time, we were at CVS buying some (a very large bag) of lollipops to survive an upcoming airplane flight. My friend helped me find the econo size bag because apparently she makes pre-flight CVS stops, too. We had just enough to last the final leg of our trip.
Thank you, friend, sugar and CVS. 

Just last week, we bumped into each other at CVS (AGAIN) and my daughter was working two lollipops in her mouth even before we got to the checkout line. My friend and I laughed about our repeated lollipop adventures. This time I needed the lollipops...

There was a small room in our old house that we never used in the three years we lived there.

I had every intention of a nightly, weekly or even a monthly steam, but that basement sauna didn't get used once. I'm taking zero, zilch, nada enchilada. I shouldn't be surprised because despite the couple that sold us the house ooohing and aahing about their fabulous sauna, it was clearly untouched. I thought for sure the distinct spicy warm cedarwood smell would lure me in for the best in at-home detoxification, improved circulation and relaxation, but not so much. 

Maybe I didn't want to slap on a swim suit or was too lazy to go downstairs even in the buck with a towel, but for whatever reason, I never made it happen. Maybe it was the fact that I almost passed out during a hot yoga class (yup, I'm a yoga teacher and don't love hot yoga) so even the thought of doing something remotely similar wasn't motivating. 

Lately, the sauna world is all a twitter about the weight loss...

The soccer sidelines are a great place to be a voyeur. 

I was sitting near a mom who was offering her kid snacks out of her purse. No judgement on giving snacks of any kind much less the cheerio dust and goldfish lining purse bottoms, because- hello- mom life. 

This little girl was happily munching away when her friend wanted to get in on the snack action. 

The mom happily handed over some goods to the friend and her daughter was, well, less than pleased. 

The mom looked her daughter straight in the eyes with that tone and said you've had two of these, three of that and I think you've had enough while continuing to pass the crunchy treasure onto their friend. 

The message here was pretty clear.

I know better than you. Not a good idea to trust yourself. 

And just like that, her ability to trust herself starts eroding away one (not so) innocent comment at a time. 

How do we know what's best for other people when it...

To this day, I refuse to buy a Kindle. It would be ridiculously convenient to use that fancy little e-reader while traveling with six kids, but its never happening.

There’s something special, even magical, about holding and reading a real book. Whether turning the page feels like a fresh start or the weight of the book just feels like a small treasure that was written just for me, books are powerful.

I’ve always loved books and am excited to tell you that I’m writing a book that you’ll be able to hold in your hot little hands very soon! 

In this book I’ll be sharing all my tips, strategies, coaching exercises and ideas that will help you handle everything from trips to the doctor’s office, to school lunch monitors to body image. The book is full of additional resources and is the guide I wish I had when my kids were born about how to handle and what to say about all things food and body.

What should you say and not say...

Saturday morning basketball set the scene that would change my life forever. 

Let me first back up a little bit though. 

With six kids, I spend a LOT of time in my car. Two different schools, baby/toddler classes, soccer, dance, basketball, ninja class, playdates, birthday parties, and the list goes on and on. Needless to say, my car is a mess. Not just like a few things here and there mess, more like unidentified and moldy objects (don't judge) mess. Broken masks, granola bar pieces, broken barrettes, goldfish, empty water bottles, pacifiers, scattered toys, and lots of wrappers to name just a few offenders. 

As I sat next to my friend talking about my Saturday plans, I casually suggested I was going to get the kids to help me clean out the car. Spring is here and I was feeling the need to clean out the cobwebs stat. The kids were less than thrilled, but the idea of a clean car had me excited. 

She grabbed my arm with wide eyes and said, "Wait, don't do it....