She talks to us about balancing her career and being a queer single mom of a two-and-a-half-year-old boy.
Heres how she parents.
Did life happen mostly as planned or were there surprises?
Almost nothing in my life has gone as planned, and I wouldnt have it any other way!
The kiddo was planned, but the divorce shortly after was not.
Take us through your morning routine.
What are your best tricks for getting out the door?
I get him on the potty, we brush our teeth, and I get him dressed.
Some days, it goes smoothly and were downstairs by 7:30 a.m. for breakfast.
My best trick is that I makeeverystep a choice.
I also avoid confrontation and tantrums.
Who or what cant you live without?
I get a decent amount of outside help.
Though I dont have any family here in Texas, Henrys father is the perfect co-parent from a distance.
We made the decision early on that everything we did would be in Henrys best interests.
Hes never used as a pawn or a weapon.
We keep things very civil, especially when Henry is around.
We spend major holidays together as a family.
I also live with my longtime best friend, Caitlin, who is a ton of help.
Shes the person who allows me to have those five minutes to use the restroom in peace.
Henry calls her Auntie and they love each other very much.
Its nice that technology offers him the ability to know them and have a relationship despite the distance.
And finally, I absolutely couldnt live without full-time preschool.
What are the gadgets, apps, charts or tools you rely on?
For a techie family, were actually pretty light on tools!
The iPad is a godsend for when were on flights, long car trips or getting a haircut.
Im not sure if it counts as a gadget, but Henryskitchen helperhelps me out so much.
And personally, I live or die by usingYNAB (You Need a Budget)to run my finances.
Has becoming a parent changed the way you work?
My goodness, yes.
I have to work as efficiently as possible, even though thankfully my office offers lots of flexibility.
How do you decompress?
My decompression time usually comes after Henrys in bed and Ive done a nightly house tidy-up.
On the weekends, I admittedly dont get enough me time.
Whats been your proudest moment as a parent?
I could probably say something like when my son pooped on the potty for the first time!
That would have been a constant struggle in beautiful San Diego.
What moment are you least proud of?
Sometimes life is hard.
What do you want your kid to learn from your example?
I parent him the way Id like him to act in his life.
I have never yelled at him, and reserve that for when safety is a concern.
What are your favorite family rituals?
Luckily, Austin is an awesome city for outdoor fun even if its currently 102 degrees at 8 PM.
Its a simple one: Difficult feelings are tunnels, and we are trains traveling through them.
That stopping and reversing isnt an optionits full steam ahead so you can work through things.
Difficult feelings are tunnels, and we are trains traveling through them.
Whats the hardest part about being a single parent?
Haha, just kidding.
Honestly, logistically speaking, the hardest part is when were both sick.
and it was a constant state of throwing up between the two of us.
And also, just having to be on all the time is rough.
Obviously its worth it, but man I cant even remember what it feels like to be bored.
Whats your favorite part of the day?
Whats your take on kids and video games?
I feel much the same about video games as I do about TV and movies.
Theres a lot of inappropriate stuff out there, and theres also wonderful stuff as well.
I tend to lean on theCommon Sense Mediarecommendations to research games I havent played.
There are so many awesome games out there without blood and weapons.
Talk about the games with them.
And be wary of games with voice chat, because hell is other unsupervised children with microphones.
All of life is a balance and everyones pendulum swings different ways at various points in their lives.
