Erica Tran
How My Friends Show Me Love
How My Friends Show Me Love
When it comes to love languages, I am unquestionably a words of affirmation kind of girl, but I’m also a big fan of flowers and anything, everything chocolate. My...
Letters to my Children
Letters to my Children
On my bookshelf, tucked away between old journals and bad poetry from college, sit three ordinary, unassuming notebooks. But these are three of my most treasured possessions.
In each of these three...
Celebrating the Snake :: Happy Lunar New Year!
Celebrating the Snake :: Happy Lunar New Year!
Four weeks after the world has celebrated New Year’s Day, our family will celebrate the Lunar New Year on January 29. My husband’s Vietnamese family will ring...
Our Mail Carriers Make Magic
Our Mail Carriers Make Magic
A couple of years ago, I helped my very young children write letters to Santa. We normally put these in our mailbox with the flag up to signify we have...
The Year I Said Yes to my Health
The Year I Said Yes to my Health
I imagine the situation I’ve been in for the last few years isn’t totally uncommon for moms. Since I had my first child, I stopped taking care...
So What if the Tree Goes Up Early?
So What if the Tree Goes Up Early?
I like Thanksgiving, but I love Christmas. It’s my favorite holiday. But when it comes to decorations and holiday spirit, I usually don’t want to see a...
To My Sister, About to Become a Mother
To my sister, as you enter into the final weeks of your pregnancy:
In a perfect world, we’d be living next door to each other and having babies at exactly the same time. We’d trade...
The Report Card Comment
Report cards came home recently.
Throughout my entire academic career, I fixated on my grades. I saw grades as a reflection of my self-worth, and I wasn’t happy if my grades weren’t perfect. I put...
What I Didn’t Know About Being a Food Allergy Mom
Motherhood is unpredictable, and we’re often faced with challenges we could have never expected. Never did I imagine that two out of my three children would have multiple severe food allergies. We were very...
Change My Mind: My Least Favorite Book Reviews
Change My Mind: My Least Favorite Book Reviews
This year has been all about reclaiming my love for reading, and I’m always on the hunt for great new books to add to my list. Whenever...
I Was a Perfectionist — Until I Had a Third Kid
I Was a Perfectionist -- Until I Had a Third Kid
Perfectionist, obsessive compulsive disorder, Type A, enneagram Type 1 … it’s not hard to see the pattern emerging when I try to describe myself....
Our Three Favorite Books for Back to School
Our Three Favorite Books for Back to School
Back to school! It’s here, whether our kids like it or not. Over the years, my children have experienced a range of emotions, from pure and utter...
Worth the Drive :: Infinity Science Center in Pearlington, MS
Worth the Drive :: Infinity Science Center in Pearlington, MS
My family regularly travels out to Waveland, MS, where my parents own a beach house. On these short hour-long drives, we always pass the Infinity...
Worth the Drive :: Traintastic in Gulfport, MS
Worth the Drive :: Traintastic in Gulfport, MS
About an hour and a half away from New Orleans in Gulfport, MS, lies an absolute gem of a museum: Traintastic. In fact, calling it a “museum”...