Calm the Chaos Parenting

07/23/2026

Today was my heart surgery.

I have/had supraventricular tachycardia.
It is something I likely had my whole life but was masked by asthma.
However with the increase of running, working out and roller coasters (yep incredicoaster was a clue), the frequency of heart rates of over 200 were increasing.

This meant out of no where, I’d be out of breathe, dizzy, tight chested, and nauseous. It’s like someone would flick a light switch.

This also meant slower runs, often walks were hard, talking or getting excited was hard, waiting in lines, rushing somewhere, being upside down even to tie a shoe all could trigger an episode.

Over the last two years I’ve had advice to just run through it, I just need to be more consistent, workout more frequently, learn to breathe better and my hesitate would just go down.

The first year I blamed myself. I’m not strong enough, fast enough, consistent enough, fit enough. I’d beat myself up for having to sit at the gym or stop doing a run.

I’ve had to learn to listen to my body, notice it’s triggers, decipher when to push and when it wasn’t safe, and seek out answers when even “general” doctors said it was nothing.

I’ve been calling this a procedure to not psych myself out of it. But today I had heart surgery. I’m so thankful for the advances in medicine, for the doctor that meticulously found the misfire, the nurses that took such good care of me, my family for supporting me, and friends that reached out to check on me.

This is a reminder:
1. Listen to your body and take care of it
2. You never know what someone is going through- be Kind

05/20/2026

Regulation and dysregulation can be such a blurry line between the two. What feels like “out of nowhere” can be frustrating to detect and get ahead of.

But what if it didn’t have to be that way! That’s what today’s summit is all about and it’s Free!

You don’t want to miss this!
https://ctchub.com/unlocking-regulation

04/01/2026

Thinking to myself… “I need to post something.”
Scrolling through my photos looking for a relatable moment.
Scouring my memory for a meltdown, an argument… something familiar.
And coming up empty.

“I don’t have anything of value anymore. What’s the point?”
So I hide.
I don’t post.
I close the computer. Walk away.
Tell myself I’ll try again tomorrow.
Tomorrow becomes tomorrow again.
Then next week.
Then I’ll feel better next month.
And now…
I can’t remember the last time I felt in flow.

And maybe for you… it doesn’t look like this.

Maybe it looks like trying to connect with your kid…
but they can’t lift their eyes from the screen.

Attempting another hard conversation with your partner…
only to be afraid of rocking the boat and avoiding conflict… again.

Doing the thing that once brought so much joy and confidence…
yet feeling like you’ve lost all the “magic.”

And underneath all of that…
there’s this quiet voice that starts to creep in—
“I don’t have anything of value here anymore.”

But here’s what I’m starting to see…
Your value hasn’t been lost.
It’s just been drowned out.

Maybe you are in a different place than you were.
Maybe things have changed… for better or worse.
Maybe you’ve outgrown that version of yourself.

Whatever the reason…
If you’re in that place right now…
I want you to know I’m here to walk alongside you.

I don’t have it all figured out.
But I’ve done this long enough to know…
I’m not alone.
And neither are you.

P.S. If this has been sitting with you too…
that quiet feeling of “I’ve lost it”…
you don’t have to hold that on your own.

There’s a space here where you can share what’s been weighing on you — no judgment, no fixing.

Just someone here to listen. Drop a ❤️if this is what you needed today.

03/31/2026

You are staring at a hole in the wall (the second this week).
Wondering how it got this bad.
Replaying every step… how it escalated so fast and without warning.

One minute everyone was talking about spring break plans…
and the next moment you are being chased out of your kid’s room with books being thrown at your head.

You just wanted to help.
You were calm.
You said all the “right things.”
And it still went sideways.
I get it.

You are wondering if it’s always going to be this bad.
If anything could truly work… because lord knows you’ve tried everything.

Are the “experts” really right?
Is the next step meds… residential… hospitalization?
That all sounds so extreme.

But deep down… you know you can’t keep going this way.

Here’s what I wish someone had told me before we got to the emergency room visit…
when the doctors sat me down and gave me an ultimatum—
either let us admit your son to residential treatment…
or we will take over medical power of attorney.

In that moment, through the tears,
I felt my entire world rip apart.

Any resemblance of control or choice… gone.

I had done what I worked so hard to not do…
Fail.

And here’s what I didn’t understand in that moment…
This wasn’t a failure.
This wasn’t something caused by one person.
This wasn’t because of something wrong with me or my son.

This was a culmination of listening to all the expert advice…
being pulled in a hundred different directions…
trying strategy after strategy that didn’t actually fit my son… or even feel right to me…
and navigating systems that were never built for a kid like him.

If you are here… wondering if this is the beginning of the end…
scared you’ve failed your family…
and feeling like there’s nowhere else to turn…

I want you to know this—
You are not alone.

Even if it feels like you’re the only one sitting in this right now…
even if no one around you truly gets it…
You are not the only one walking through this.

P.S. If you’re carrying a lot right now and don’t have a place to put it…
I created a space where you can share what’s really going on — no judgment, no fixing.

https://ctchub.com/tell-me-more
Just someone here to listen.

03/17/2026

It used to be arguing.

Now it’s hitting.

Blocking each other in the hallway.

Throwing toys.

Ruining the fort someone just spent an hour building.
And suddenly you’re not just dealing with bickering anymore…
you’re trying to keep someone from getting hurt.

If sibling fights in your house have started crossing that line, take a breath.

You’re not the only parent dealing with this.

What most kids are missing in those moments is a way to pause before the escalation spiral starts.

Because once yelling turns into hitting, everyone’s nervous system is already overwhelmed.

That’s why we created the Sibling Fights Plan — so kids learn what to do before the fight turns physical.

Get it free → Simply comment "Sibling" below and we will send it right over.

03/16/2026

You can't leave the room for five minutes.
Not to make dinner.
Not to use the bathroom.
Not even to grab your coffee.

Because the moment you step away…
someone is screaming
someone is crying
and something just got thrown across the room.

If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone.

A lot of parents in our community say the same thing:
“I feel like I can’t leave the room without everything falling apart.”

Sibling fights don’t explode because kids are bad.

They explode because kids don’t yet know what to do when emotions get big.

That’s exactly why we created the Sibling Fights Plan.

Inside you'll find:
• the exact words to say when things get heated
• thought swaps for when YOU are about to lose it
• a simple plan your kids practice together so they can pause before fights turn physical

Grab it free →
https://calmthechaos.co/free/sibling-fights/

03/13/2026

One child needs space.
The other one hates being alone.

One is wildly competitive.
The other falls apart when someone wins.

And somehow every activity ends in an argument.

If you have kids with completely different personalities, sibling fights can feel constant.

It’s not because they’re trying to make your life difficult.

It’s because their needs are pulling in opposite directions — and they don’t yet know how to work it out.

One of the biggest shifts we teach parents is helping kids pause before the conflict escalates.

Not by separating them.
Not by choosing sides.
But by giving them a plan they can actually use together.

That’s exactly what’s inside the Sibling Fights Plan.

Grab it free →
https://calmthechaos.co/free/sibling-fights/

03/08/2026

There was a time our family was in complete survival mode.

I couldn’t leave the house more than 5 minutes, couldn’t shower, and definitely couldn’t leave my kids by themselves.

The aggression and outbursts were so severe that I couldn’t risk anyone getting hurt if I stopped being vigilant for one second.

I second guessed my parenting, my choices, my moves, my abilities, and everything in between.

I worried about how we’d get through each day, what the next week would bring and how many times we’d get a call from dcsf in the next month. When I was alone I’d worry about the future. Would we make it? Would my kids have so much trauma from the aggression? Would they hate each other? Would one end up in prison or dead?

I just didn’t know.

Flash forward 10-12 years and while it’s not all figured out, I don’t worry the same way. My kids are doing well. They love each other, they support me and my dreams, and they help out around the house.

My daughter recently told me she can’t remember me telling since the boys were little (over 10 years). She said she can’t remember tell me things and not be afraid and she isn’t ever walking on eggshells waiting for the next meltdown.

I never thought that would be our story! But it is! In fact it’s the story of thousands of parents I’ve helped over the last ten years and if you are at the beginning, I want you to know you are not alone! There is hope!

Simply leave a 💕 if you needed to hear this today and be reminded you’ve got this!

03/01/2026

02/27/2026

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