January 2026
Looking Back
January went by in the blink of an eye. I am intentionally trying not to say that this year, so here goes: January was full of so much fun.
It started with a New Year’s Eve party at our house. We were joined by a smattering of our besties and Charlie’s bestie. We had “the ball drop” at 6:30 pm, and as much as I tried… I did not make it to midnight. Ha! We had so much fun ringing in the new year as a family of four, and I was so happy to have Tasha join us and stay the night. There’s nothing better than celebrating with your absolute favorite people.
Shortly thereafter, Ronnie rang in his New Year — which I was so excited about because I got him a great gift and a great cake — but unfortunately, he was super sick and had to stay in bed the entire day. A bit of a buzzkill, but on the positive side, I got to enjoy extra time with the girls.
By the time Ronnie was feeling better, I was back to work for the first time since having Margaux, which has been really enjoyable and, at the same time, very hard. I’ve found it more challenging to get my sea legs back this time than when I just had Charlie — probably a combination of matrescence (new term!), mental load, and getting back into the swing of things.
I joined a private women’s mastermind for working, ambitious mothers to support me during this season, and it’s been an incredible investment of time, money, and energy.
One thing that helped me bond with my colleagues was our mutual love for football — and the unbelievable excitement of the Bears going to the playoffs.
While the workweeks were a marathon, on the weekends I fit in lots of fun: yapping with the girls, having my friend Lauren join me for a workout in our home gym, getting together for a tea party with the Yayas, and celebrating the forthcoming arrival of the newest member of the Yaya Tribe — le Grand Petite Yaya #4.
Ronnie and I also implemented date night for the first time in our relationship and really enjoyed a weeknight off dinner and bedtime duty. We went to a foot spa followed by dinner at our favorite local spot, and it was quite fabulous.
Lastly, we stuck with Tuesday nights as our immersive Spanish lesson nights for the girls — a really fun new addition to our weekly routine. We have a Spanish instructor come to the house and spend an hour as a family only communicating in Spanish while doing play and other activities around the house. Think of it as Spanish exposure therapy to lay the foundation for multilingual neural pathways while the girls are young.
As I’m writing this, I’m realizing just how grateful I am for the support we have in our home and with our girls. It’s been really fun stepping into the identity of working mom of two and revisiting my systems to help us navigate this time with as much joy and ease as possible — knowing it’s as sweet a season as it is hard.
Perhaps I’ll call this the “Hard Candy Season” when I look back on these times.
Looking Forward To
As I look ahead, there’s so much to be excited about.
Ronnie and I both have celebration trips coming up in March with our companies — we’re headed to Scottsdale with his team at the beginning of the month and Puerto Vallarta with mine at the end. In February, we’re taking a little weekender up to Lake Geneva with the girls over Valentine’s Day weekend. We’re hoping to introduce Charlie to the joy of skiing while also enjoying a fun indoor waterpark adventure. We did this trip last year over the same weekend and loved it so much that it’s back for another round. We also put a deposit down on a place in Tampa for our big family vacation this fall, and having that on the books is giving me something to really look forward to at the end of this Hard Candy Season.
I’m also really looking forward to February and March as we introduce foods to Margaux’s diet. This was such a fun part of Charlie’s development, and I can’t wait to see what Margaux thinks of new flavors and textures — and how it unveils a whole new side of her personality and expressions.
Last but not least, I’m excited to get work back from some of the partners I’ve hired to help in different areas of life:
a partner helping with the design and layout of the cookbook I’m creating for the girls, more professional photos of my favorite recipes, and a designer helping us plan a kitchen/first-floor renovation.
One of the things that excites me most about this stage of life is holding creative projects with more patience than ever before, and with a mindset shift from “this is all on me” to “who could help me do this even better, while making the process and outcome more enjoyable?” It’s been so much fun hiring for the help I need in areas where I used to default to, “I can do it myself.”
As I think about this next month and treasuring the season I’m in, one thing this mastermind highlighted that I can’t unsee, and has been so helpful, is looking intentionally at identity, values, and behaviors, and how this season of life is evolving all three. It’s made me think more thoughtfully about who I’m becoming and how to live into that with intention. I’m excited to be on that journey, and I really enjoy writing about the process here.
What are you most excited about right now?
xx
Stef
Favs and Finds
In my kitchen this month, I cooked my tail off!!! Here are some of the recipes that defined our month:
From My Camera Roll
Becoming a mom x2 in this era of AI everything has really made me think about what memories I am willing to share publicly via social media, and which are really just meant for my family (and maybe our close friends).
Here are a handful of the memories we made this month. The more private ones (like my home videos from our NYE celebrations, and our family singing happy birthday to Ronnie, etc.) are going on our private family archival site by The Memories Concierge.
*** The Memories Concierge is my digital and creative studio that builds custom websites to help families preserve, protect, and celebrate their family’s core memories and most cherished heirlooms. It would be our honor to help you protect, curate, and celebrate your living legacy with the care it deserves, and the love only a family story can hold, reach out at hello@thememoriesconcierge.com to learn more.
