Our SweatHouz Mom Date

Weโ€™re going easy for the first content week of the year, by sharing our latest Mom Date review. Mary and I were both hosting and coordinating for what seems like the entire holiday season. So, we took advantage of a quiet window of time last weekend to visit the new SweatHouz that just opened up by me.

SweatHouz is a modern wellness studio, using infrared saunas, cold plunges, and contrast therapy to reset the body and mind.

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Child(ish) Advice: A Reintroduction

Child(ish) Advice turns six this year. And as we gear up for a fresh wave of content, I find myself reflecting on where we began and how far the blog has come.

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Pattiโ€™s Favorite Post: 2025

Sometimes I feel like a bit of a forecaster. I knew 2025 was going to be a bit of an abyss, but not on so many fronts. This year, my favorite post to write was our Mammogram Mom Date in celebration of Mary and I turning 40. But since then, my health has been a bit…

The goal behind writing our Mammogram review was to enthusiastically remind moms that their health is important and taking care of ourselves shouldnโ€™t feel like a burden. I still stand behind that because prevention and proactiveness are good habits. Since high school, Iโ€™ve pushed through sickness, worked until I lost my voice and (for one day) my eyesight. Iโ€™ve had stress dreams and red-eye flights. I’m constantly putting sunblock on my kids and never on myself, literally and metaphorically. To think that this doesnโ€™t have a long-term effect on our health is delusional.

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Maryโ€™s Favorite Post: 2025

Reflecting on 2025, Iโ€™m pleased with the content weโ€™ve produced throughout the year. While I loved exploring topics like the Boy Brain and the Girl Brain, but my top pick has to be Maryโ€™s School Update: New School, Whoโ€™s This?

School consolidations and closures have become increasingly common across the country in recent years, especially in cities that are reaching max capacity. On the flip side, new school construction and redistricting in growing communities can be just as challenging for parents to navigate.

When our school closed and we moved to a nearby one, the transition turned out to be far less daunting than we expected. In fact, the kids adapted more easily than the parents. And through it all, what truly makes a school special remains the same: the teachers, staff, and families that make the community.

Enjoy!

Child(ish) Reads: Wanted: Toddlerโ€™s Personal Assistant

In December, I usually pick a fun book to review; mostly to whiz through it and have a light-hearted post. This one changed up a bit on me.

Wanted: Toddler’s Personal Assistant: How Nannying for the 1% Taught Me about the Myths of Equality, Motherhood, and Upward Mobility in America by Stephanie Kiser

Blurb: When Stephanie Kiser moves to New York City after college to pursue a career in writing, she quickly learns that her entry-level salary won’t cover the high cost of livingโ€•never mind her crushing student loan debt. But there is one in-demand job that pays more than enough to allow Stephanie to stay in the city: nannying for the 1%. Desperate to escape the poverty of her own childhood, Stephanie falls into a job that hijacks her life for the next seven years: a glorified personal assistant to toddlers on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

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