A friend is moving from Atlanta and asked me for Austin-based mom content creators who talk about parenting, pregnancy, or local places to go with kids. She has a toddler and one on the way!

Lately I have been on such a Brighton Butler kick- but I want to give her good local moms to follow! (Besides Kathleen Jennings obvi.)

Any favorites she should follow? Thanks y'all.

Can’t believe I’m writing this, but I need some advice—and this group always comes through. My youngest child, my daughter, is turning 8 this month, and my husband and I made the really hard decision not to throw her a birthday party this year.

Over the last few months, her behavior has become incredibly difficult. I’m not talking about typical “off day” stuff. I mean frequent, intense outbursts—hitting, kicking, screaming, cursing, slamming doors, refusing to follow any directions, and saying deeply hurtful things to everyone in the family. It’s not isolated to one type of trigger or situation either—it’s been happening multiple times a week, sometimes multiple times a day.

We’ve tried everything—calm-down spaces, social-emotional tools, connecting before correcting, taking time to reflect together when things are calmer. But she flat-out refuses to use the tools and often escalates further when we try to help. It’s reached the point where my older child and I have both ended up in tears after the way she’s treated us when she’s upset.

One particularly heartbreaking example: on her older sibling’s birthday last month, she refused to join us for our celebratory family dinner. Not only that, she was so nasty to her sister that she ended up sobbing. My husband and I ended up taking our older daughter out to dinner without her. It was awful for everyone.

We told her several weeks ago that if she didn’t start being more respectful and cooperative, she wouldn’t have a party this year. We even gave her a few opportunities to earn it back with better behavior—but nothing really changed. And now here we are, just days away from her birthday, and I feel completely torn.

On one hand, this is the standard in our family: birthdays are a big deal. The kids get to skip school and do something fun with just us parents, pick out a special cake and theme, and have a party with friends. Her sister had a great party recently. So yeah—I feel sad and guilty that our youngest isn’t going to get that this year. She’s only 7, after all.

On the other hand, if we go back on the boundary we set—after clearly stating it and giving her chances to change—I’m afraid we’re just reinforcing that there are no consequences for truly harmful behavior. And she knows the expectations. She just isn’t interested in meeting them.

We do believe in gentle parenting, and I absolutely believe she’s a child who is having a hard time, not a “bad kid.” (Thanks Dr. Becky + Janet Lansbury.) But the truth is—our whole family is struggling right now. The emotional toll of her behavior has made daily life really heavy.

Tonight was just another example. We asked her to get pajamas on, and she shouted “I’m not doing anything you say!” and stormed off. We calmly told her it wasn’t a choice—it’s bedtime—but she just sat in her room reading, ignoring us. This kind of standoff happens every night and bedtime stretches until 10pm.

We’ve reached out to a few child therapists in hopes of getting her support, but there’s a wait to get in. Meanwhile, her birthday is coming up fast, and I keep second-guessing this decision not to celebrate.

Am I going to scar her by skipping her party this year? Will she just spiral more out of control if she feels rejected or left out? Or are we doing the right thing by holding the boundary and following through on a consequence we clearly stated?

Feeling really stuck and really sad about this.

– A Very Tired Mama

Y'all. I've turned this Karen Read trial into my whole personality. I listen to the podcasts while folding laundry, reading court docs in the carpool line like it's Colleen Hoover, and texting my friend group with “new theories” like we’re the FBI.

But after ALL that— I think she did it.

First, her whole “did I hit him?” spiral? That’s not normal. Like, girl. Either you hit him or you didn’t. The fact that her first instinct is to say she might’ve? OMG the guilt. That’s not how innocent brains work.

Second, the broken taillight thing. I cannot wrap my head around how people think cops snuck around during a blizzard to plant her broken taillight in the snow like it’s a Hallmark movie. That’s a stretch.

And listen—I love a good small-town cover-up story as much as the next true crime mom. But the idea that 15 cops, plus wives, plus neighbors, plus pets are all in on this massive secret? And no one’s cracked yet? Come on.

Also... her vibe? Unhinged. I know grief is messy, but she’s spiraling on a whole other level. One second she’s yelling, the next she’s Googling “how long to die in the cold.” Like... WHAT?

I’m not saying she’s evil—I think she was drunk, angry, and made a huge mistake. Then panicked. And now it’s gone way too far to turn back.

Anyway... Curious what y’all think. Tell me what makes you think she’s innocent or guilty—I’m still hooked and deep in it.

But be nice. I’m just a gal who needs to stop reading about Karen before bed. 😅

Anyone been to Marfa lately? We are going for a wedding soon and I'm looking for a nice restaurant for my husband and I and 2 friends. Staying at the Thunderbird and already have most of our "activities" planned. We've been before but it's probably been 10 years since our last trip. Thanks for the ideas!

Hey moms, the former Pikopye's Town space off S. Lamar is ready to be taken over. Unfortunately the business was mismanaged and closed a month-ish ago. The Lakeway location is owned independently from this one.
The opportunity is to buy the furniture, fixtures and equipment currently in the space, taking over the lease, etc.
There are business manuals + computer and POS software that were left behind so you could continue operating pretty soon. I think there is a LOT of upside to this business, though, and could be sooo fun for a local Austin fam.

Lease Term: 36 months Free Rent: 2 months gross rent ($23,042)

If there's interest I'll link a Google Doc with the details for who to contact to tour the space.

Hi Austin moms, how much do you pay your housekeeper, and what does she do for that amount?
For example-
Mondays $225 whole house takes 4ish hours (2ppl)
Thursdays $130 2ish hours and that’s a tidy plus washing and folding and putting away laundry.

Now that we’re settling into our life as a family of 5, there’s just so many piles of stuff everywhere. Our kids are little and require a lot of attention, help, and we have a lot of potty accidents. I realize that it’s time for our oldest child to start doing a little more, but I sort of wish I had our housekeeper come over 3x per week with a solid plan for what to do each time she comes.

I will say- I ordered a Hidden Helper from amazon and the kids have started to help with the dishes more. That thing’s been great.

Tips appreciated.
Thanks moms!