I’m a mom, stepmom, and theatre educator helping exhausted parents access their inner creative playfulness for more connection and joy. No messy crafts, complicated setups, or sensory bins here! Just simple, silly moments that bring your family back together through laughter. My short weekly emails share reflections from real life and a simple invitation you can try for yourself or with your kids.
Moms… can I get real with you for a sec?
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I’ve seen this study going around on social media that kind of bothers me: It says mothers get more oxytocin from cuddling their kids and dads get more oxytocin from playing with their kids. The study itself doesn’t bother me. It’s the hundreds of comments saying: “I hate playing with my kids. My husband's the fun one, I’m the nurturing one. Good to know it’s just science.” And my most viral reel? My husband. The world loves a fun dad. Here’s what the stigma seems to be: Dads = fun, silly, playful Moms = nurturing, carrying the mental load, nagging, all the NOT-fun stuff. That’s some B.S. — sorry, I said it! Moms, I’m here to tell you: we get to be nurturing AND fun. “Fun” can be silly and simple. Doesn’t have to be rough-and-tumble. Example: My son and I used a “magic wand” to freeze and unfreeze each other today and he was squealing with laughter. It’s already been my favorite part of the day. What are your thoughts on this? Reply and let me know — I’d love to hear! Love, Mia P.S. Here’s a message from a mom yesterday that sparked this email: “I started using your free ideas for being silly and it has magically diffused so many almost-tense moments. It's made me feel so much more real, relaxed, and not stressed. I always hated that my husband was the "fun one,” but now I feel happy having even fifteen mins of silly time!” P.P.S. Have you saved that list yet? Here it is: 25 Easy Silly Moments updated.pdf P.P.P.S. I'm experimenting with sending short, weekly emails like this to keep in touch with you. I'll still be posting on Instagram, but shifting my focus to be more personal here. That algorithm is crazy and I never know if even 1% of followers will see my content -- so thank you in advance for sticking around! 🙏🏽 |
Playful Heart Parenting
I’m a mom, stepmom, and theatre educator helping exhausted parents access their inner creative playfulness for more connection and joy. No messy crafts, complicated setups, or sensory bins here! Just simple, silly moments that bring your family back together through laughter. My short weekly emails share reflections from real life and a simple invitation you can try for yourself or with your kids.
My sis came to town this past weekend and, yep, per usual I peed myself from laughter. Listen, this is actually not a common thing for me, so please don’t worry about my pelvic floor. It’s just my SISTER makes me laugh so hard I literally lose control of my bodily functions. The night before she left, we decided to go live on Instagram (something I never do) and take requests for inspiration to do games where we make something up by trading off every other word. We did: GPS directions to the...
I was working upstairs the other day when I got a text from my husband, who was downstairs with the kids. It said, “He did this all on his own. Keeps saying, ‘Hope no one eats this when I’m not looking!’” and included a short video. In the video, my son was holding my daughter’s toddler fork with a bite of butternut squash. She was in her highchair, gazing at him. He brings the fork toward her mouth, then looks away, humming casually, as if to say, Nothing to see here! She smiles...
My weekend was SICKK (and not in a good way!) Yep, after caring for sick kiddos, the virus finally caught up to my husband and me this past weekend and knocked us on our BOOTANGS, as my friend Angela calls it. TV was working OVERTIME as we literally just tried to make it through and keep our kiddos alive. 😮💨 (SO thankful for power, it’s a mess in Nashville and many STILL don’t have power!!) Was I silly and playful this past weekend? Heckkk NOPE. But there was actually one moment. My 4yo and...