We all come from different backgrounds, and each of our children is unique. I have learned I am in no position to judge the decisions other parents makes for themselves and their children.

Whenever people ask what you want for Christmas/your birthday/your anniversary/Monday, your first response is "sleep." When that earns you a laugh, you begrudgingly accept gift cards for coffee.

If you take nothing else away, I've boiled it down to this: Tune out all the judgment, trust yourself, try not to worry so much, laugh, give yourself a break, be flexible and don't Google anything!

The holiday season still makes me feel a little left out. It will always bring me back to the days when I was jealous of my friends who got to decorate trees, hang Christmas lights and joyously sing Christmas carols.

I sat across the table from my mom the other night at a local ice cream shop. The smile I had on my face was the complete opposite of the look she had on her face. By the look on her face, you would think my toddler had just taken a permanent marker to the Mona Lisa.