travel

Ultimate Mom Date/Girls’ Trip Review

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

I don’t know about you, but we’re obsessed with Real Housewives on vacation. Patti and I have even joked about recreating a few of them ourselves (minus the chaos, of course).

We’ve traveled together plenty over the years, but we had never taken a true girls’ trip. Not with a spouse, or other couples, or families; a real girl’s trip with 3+ adult women. This year, we finally made it happen with a getaway to Salem, MA, joined by Patti’s SIL and her best friend.

But honestly, the number of people doesn’t define a girls’ trip. It’s any intentional getaway shared between women, created for connection, fun, and a break from the everyday. Decidedly NOT a bachelorette. And for women in their midlife season, girls’ trips carry even more meaning because it meets the psychological, social, and biological needs that become more apparent in midlife.

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Our First Theme Park Survival Guide

| Patti Webb

Growing up in Florida, Troy and I would go to Disney at least once a year for school field trips. Gradually, that grew to loving roller coasters, fandoms, drinking around the world, and staying in the parks late at night. We were always with friends, had very little cash, and ended up passing out on the ride home.

Making a big to-do about Disney World was never a thing for our families. But, we thought long and hard about how we wanted to navigate Disney with the girls, knowing that it is probably worth it to do one big magical trip to Florida while they are still little princesses.

So for this year’s Spring Break, we decided to give them an amuse bouche while we were in California. In addition to Joshua Tree, Carlsbad, and sightseeing around LA, we took the girls to Universal Studios Hollywood. They are on the fifth Harry Potter book. Super Mario Galaxy just came out. Z just got over 42 inches tall. It seemed like the best time to test the waters.

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Summer To-Do List: 2025

| Patti Webb

Happy Last Day of School (for us, at least)!

Since I loved our Summer To-Do List lessons from last year, we’re doing it again. Each summer as our kids get older, they become more and more capable. I also feel more and more determined as a parent to stretch their comfort zones. Both Mary and I have something new up our sleeves for our kids this summer.

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Our Panda Fest Playdate Review

| Patti Webb

For this play date review, we’re tweaking it yet again. We’re sharing our first ever girl date!

Once Mary and I settled our spring break plans, we got tickets for the brood to go to Atlanta’s first-ever Panda Fest, an Asian food festival with dates in multiple cities across the country. Panda Fest vendors are mostly local and they specialize in Asian street food and snacks.

Attending were BOTH sets of twin girls, so no boys this round. My husband Troy also came for the food and to be an extra set of hands. H&K are two years younger than A&Z, so now we’re factoring in age gap for this play date.

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The Baby Registry – 5 Years Later

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

It’s incredible how much can change in just five years! When Patti and I first stepped into parenthood, the landscape of baby essentials looked entirely different. The must-have items evolved. Mamaroos became less of a must-have while baby slings took center stage. Even the reigning travel system brands, Britax and Baby Jogger, have made way for newer favorites like Doona and UPPAbaby. Also, an RIP moment for our beloved (and recalled) Fisher Price Rock and Play sleeper.

Yet, despite the shifting trends, one truth remains: babies need stuff. But what exactly do they need, and how much of it is truly essential? The answer is often subjective and changes if you get to your second or third pregnancy. That’s why for this post, we’re doing a refresh—what baby items proved indispensable, what turned out to be unnecessary, and the unexpected game-changers that saved the day.

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