Spilled Milk Blog

  • The ancient family way: Is ‘raising our kids to leave us’ actually a terrible idea?

    The ancient family way: Is ‘raising our kids to leave us’ actually a terrible idea?

    Nine years ago, my husband and I jumped at the chance to buy a house we hated. It was ugly and stuck in the ’70s. And not the good kind of 70s. It had bad shag carpet, damaged parquet floors, mustard-yellow formica, peeling siding and all. We did some upgrades, but no Chip-and-Joanna level renovation. Read more

  • How toxic masculinity is hurting our boys’ friendships and what we can do about it

    How toxic masculinity is hurting our boys’ friendships and what we can do about it

    I know I’m not the only parent wringing her hands about The Miseducation of the American Boy. After all the progress we’ve made, Peggy Orenstein’s article exposed an underbelly of stubborn toxic masculinity that still pervades locker rooms, frat houses, and athletic teams. The TL;DR version is that while feminism has opened up multiple avenues Read more

  • Reading the Bible in a Year with your kids | February reading plan

    Reading the Bible in a Year with your kids | February reading plan

    Okay, deep breath. We made it through January. We missed a few days—weekends are the hardest, we’ve found—but we managed to catch back up. Here are some tips we’ve learned: Let your kids (and you, if necessary) read during the sermon at church to catch up on any missed days. Get them a Bible of Read more

  • A tall mom’s manifesto on how to raise tall girls

    A tall mom’s manifesto on how to raise tall girls

    I get the questions from other moms a lot. “So how tall were you when you were her age?”  “How big are your feet now?”  “What age did you stop growing?” They’re mothers of daughters who are growing up tall, and they’re scared.  “She’s already FIVE TEN,” they tell me in hushed tones.  I get Read more

  • What to expect when your child starts ABA therapy for the first time

    What to expect when your child starts ABA therapy for the first time

    As I write this post, a BCBA therapist is chasing my squealing-with-delight daughter around the driveway on her riding toy during an ABA therapy session. It looks to our neighbors like I have the most involved babysitter ever, who also happens to have a curious habit of asking my daughter to stop playing and simply Read more

  • The Mom-dalorian: What the Mandalorian taught me about being a parent

    The Mom-dalorian: What the Mandalorian taught me about being a parent

    I thought I would be much older when I ordered my first box of Rogaine. Actually, I never really envisioned this moment for myself. But there it is, on my list of Amazon orders, right above diapers and below coffee filters. I have to say that of all the surprises of aging so far, including Read more