Work-Life

Stay Home or Go Back to Work?

One of the most difficult questions for a new mother to answer is, Do I stay home or go back to work? Many moms don’t have the gift of choice, but for those who do, the decision can feel overwhelming.…

ASK A MOM: The Mother's Day Edition

Q: Hi Molly. Need you to settle this once and for all. Should my husband spend Mother’s Day with me and our children instead of his own mother? He makes the same argument every year, that I’m not his mother, so he…

ROOM WE LOVE: Open Book

Designer Lori Shaw has a reputation for bold, unapologetic use of color, but she made her biggest personal statement earlier this year inside her own 8,000-foot home. She transformed her sitting room into a library for her “household of bookworms.”…

PARENT TO KNOW: Esezele Payne

Esezele Payne has a refreshingly direct style, which might be out of necessity. Like most moms, she is very busy. Esezele is the Vice President of Operational and Environmental Services at Atrium Health and is active in several charitable organizations…

11 Toddler-Friendly Restaurants in Charlotte

These Charlotte restaurants have the menu options, ambiance and entertainment to keep wiggly kids occupied while parents enjoy a satisfying meal. Cabo Fish Taco Find coastal Mexican cuisine in a laid-back Baja surfer environment. Guy Fieri visited the flagship NoDa…

Kid-Friendly Restaurants with Healthy Options

If your 2023 goals include eating healthier, check out these local restaurants with good-for-you options even the littlest family member will love. Many continue to offer curb-side pickup and delivery, so you can eat well no matter how hectic the…

ROOM WE LOVE: A Neurodivergent-Friendly Space

In my book Our Neurodivergent Journey, I write about how important it is for your home to accommodate your child’s needs. Kids need a space that elicits feelings of calmness but also leaves room for rambunctious behaviors. Our library allows…

PARENT TO KNOW: Molly Carroll

Molly Carroll's family has made a festive splash on their Plaza Midwood street during the holiday season for the last several years. And each year their yard on Wilhelmina Avenue draws a bigger crowd. When she’s not spreading inflatable holiday…

PARENT TO KNOW: Patrice Gopo

Patrice Gopo is an award-winning essayist and author who often returns to themes of race, immigration, identity, and belonging. Her essay collection, All the Colors We Will See, was a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection. Her debut picture book, All…

THE MOM’S SPACE: Authentic Friendships

As moms, finding and maintaining authentic friendships can be difficult. How nice would it be if the opposite were true? What if moms felt free to be real and unite through the messy experience of motherhood? Instead, we tend to…

PARENT TO KNOW: Neely Verano

Neely Verano’s lifelong passion for the arts led her to serve in various nonprofit leadership roles at the Mint Museum, McColl Center for Art + Innovation, and The Arts Empowerment Project. She’s also a co-founder of LaCa Projects, Charlotte’s contemporary…

The Cult of Mom Friends

My husband and I lived in our South Charlotte neighborhood for about a year before we had any meaningful interaction with our neighbors. Then one weekend, I showed up to the pool sporting 38 weeks of pregnancy. Suddenly I was…

THE MOM’S SPACE: Childhood Trauma

Many of us would agree that our childhood affects how we think, feel, and behave as adults. The trauma experienced as a child, no matter where that trauma may lie on the spectrum, unequivocally affects our environments, relationships, and how…

A DIGITAL DETOX

Because children’s brains are malleable, they can learn and retain new skills, like foreign languages, more rapidly than we can as adults. But bad habits tend to stick, too. In other words, a child who learns to love screens in…