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We accidentally sent out our email last week at 12:04 AM instead of 12:04 PM. And by "we," I mean Jordan, because I really have no idea how technology works. I just send him a bunch of gobbledegook that somehow ends up looking like a real newsletter on the internet.

But here's the thing… it was actually a success! About 35% of you opened it around midnight (Jordan says that's really good), so maybe we've discovered our new sending time? If you're one of those midnight email readers, please tell me what you're doing up at that hour. Are you nursing babies? Binge-watching shows? Having deep thoughts? I'm genuinely curious!

This past week in a minute:

The hotel story Okay, I promised to follow up on this from last week, and so many of you asked what in the world happened at the Gaylord. Let me paint you a picture.

My husband is very, very protective of his sleep. Like, unreasonably protective. So spending one night in a hotel room with three kids (including a nursing newborn), one wife, unfamiliar pillows, and "comforters that aren't heavy enough" is basically his personal nightmare scenario.

But he planned for it. ✅ Noise machine ✅ Sleep mask ✅ Industrial-strength earplugs. I wouldn't put it past him to have taken a little swig of Nyquil for good measure.

The night started relatively peacefully, until everything went sideways around 2:00 AM.

We both jolted awake to a loud THUNK. Even Jordan kind of stirred through his fortress of sleep accessories. Evie had fallen off the bed she was sharing with Lacey, hit the wall, and landed on the floor with a crash.

I immediately rushed over to her, shaking Jordan awake as I went and asking him to keep an eye on Isla while I checked on Evie.

Well, earplug man decides that "everything is okay" without any understanding of the situation whatsoever.

"SHE'S FINE!!!! HONEY, SHE'S FINE!!!"

At. The. Top. Of. His. Lungs.

Right in my baby's ear.

Earplugs still in. Sleep mask still on. Providing zero comfort to anyone and probably waking up half the hotel.

I scooped Evie up (she really was fine, thankfully), Jordan mumbled something and fell back asleep within minutes, and I spent the next hour making sure everyone was settled again.

When I recounted this whole event the next morning, he just smirked and said, "Well, she was fine, wasn't she? Sounds like good advice to me."

I love this man dearly, but I almost reached across that breakfast table to throat punch him.

Jordan swears by these earplugs , and honestly? After that night, I guess I do too 😤. He's always hated the feeling of traditional ones, but says these are much more "pillowy" for his precious little ears.

Ladies, get some for yourselves, not your husbands. And maybe grab this eye mask too, you'll probably need the sleep more than they will.

My favorite childhood stage (and why that’s okay)

Favorite Stage: toddlers... for humans and ducks. Look at these toddler dumplings y'all (or chucks, whatever you want to call them)!

🦆 Toddler Dumpling Magic 🦆 

I just can't get enough of the toddler stage with all my kids. It's such an incredible period of pure curiosity, unfiltered cuteness, rapid development, fierce independence, daily frustration, endless wonder, and absolute hilarity all wrapped into a couple of magical years.

The way they explore everything with their whole bodies. The random questions that come out of nowhere. Those chubby little hands trying so hard to do big kid things. The way they can go from complete meltdown to pure joy in thirty seconds flat. And don't even get me started on toddler logic - it's brilliant in the most ridiculous ways.

I don't think there's anything wrong with having a favorite stage. We're all wired differently, and that's okay. (The newborn stage is SUPER difficult for me, y'all. I'm just being honest here.) Some mamas thrive with tiny babies, others come alive during the school years, and some absolutely love the teenage phase (bless them).

But here's where it can get tricky - we have to be really careful how much we celebrate our favorite stages in front of our other kids. We've had to be especially mindful of this with Lacey, our oldest. It would be so easy to constantly gush over Evie's toddler antics without thinking about how that might make Lacey feel. Like maybe her stage isn't as exciting or worthy of celebration.

So, in addition to being more intentional with Lacey, we've started doing something sweet - going back and revisiting all of her old toddler videos and watching them together with her. We compare the similarities between her and Evie, laugh at the funny things she used to do, and remind her how absolutely delighted we were with her at that age too. It's become this precious bonding time where she gets to see herself through our eyes again.

It's such a good reminder that every stage with every kid has been a gift. Even when we're in survival mode, even when we're exhausted, even when we feel like we're failing - there's magic happening that we'll look back on with such tenderness.

What's your favorite stage? And if you have multiple kids, how do you balance celebrating different phases without making anyone feel left out?

 — Tabitha Paige, Author/ Illustrator, Speech Therapist & Mom

Sometimes I make books & other pretty things…