I took brussel sprouts to a potluck. They were delicious and now my car smells like farts. Just gonna have to light it on fire I think. Goodbye 2013 Toyota Sienna. Carnitas by #foodiejafta I  just had a “mosh pit etiquette” talk with a child who is being dropped at his first adult concert. He was unimpressed with my experience and wisdom on this matter. In other news, I taught a child to peg her jeans. Wisdom and experience mildly appreciated here. Cotillion: came for the awkward . . .

  Okay, friends. Help me choose which holiday card to send this year.  (And PS Minted is 20% off right now and this link gets you another $25 off: https://refer.minted.com/kristenhowerton). 📷: @lovisaphoto Kids gone. Christmas music on. Leftovers. Moscow mules. 🙌 There’s always the one relative that goes at the carcass. 🤢😂 #foodiejafta View this post on Instagram   Why yes I just put 3 Christmas trees in one . . .

  Sporting some new gear from our friend’s @letsbekindday campaign. ❤️❤️   It’s the day of the show, y’all. http://bit.ly/elfcostamesa The cast came off. And apparently, so did his melanin. We are now calling this his “biracial arm” 😂 (I think it pairs nicely with his David Rose rings.) One of the things I talk about in my book is learning to let myself off the hook. In this season of life, I am the napkin underdog. I will not be providing adorable crafts for the . . .

  Real talk: I’m over taking phones or grounding my kids as consequences for stupid behavior because those things both punish ME. My new philosophy for consequences is to ask: 1. What can they learn from, and 2. How can they serve me. I’ve also been making a habit of long YouTube playlists that fit the issue. Ted Talks, motivational speeches, educational programming ... and I make it LONG and related to what they are struggling with. They they write an essay on what they learned. Also, . . .

Last night I had 11 teens/tweens sleeping in my house (three not pictured) and Jafta isn’t even in town. 😂 When Kembe tries to have a sleepover and the girls get involved .... It’s cute because you can’t hear it. (See my stories)   First middle school dance India played her final basketball game yesterday. They didn’t win one game. They were beat, badly, in every game. But she and her friends had a blast. And she woke up, by herself, every morning to get to practice at . . .

  Last game of the season, hand still in a cast. Freshman year is hard. Made harder when the you have to massively adjust your expectations. Here’s hoping for less broken bones in the years ahead. Just a couple of 90’s kids.   View this post on Instagram   Every Halloween our neighbor feeds her snake a mouse for all the kids to watch. This was our Burmese foreign exchange students first Halloween and this . . .

Never to old to go back to your elementary school’s trunk or treat for candy ... “I’m gonna make some fair food for lunch.” #foodiejafta #donutburger   Matching top-knots. 😍 Karis’s friends were really impressed with her ukulele skills. 😬 Anyone wanna armchair choose my house colors? I have to choose paint colors tonight and grays are SO hard. Here is the color palette rendering from the architect, along with the paint colors I'm looking at and a couple houses that served . . .