Nobody warns you that motherhood eventually turns into this:
You spend $300 on groceries that disappear in two days, loan out your car like you are running Hertz, and give a heartfelt parenting speech, only to get hit with “k.”
One day, your kids are asking for snacks, cartoons, and help tying their shoes. Next, they are eating everything in the house, texting you at 11:45 p.m. for a ride, and making real-life decisions that somehow leave you feeling proud, emotional, and mildly unwell.
Hi, I’m Deanna!
I’m a mom of a teenager and three young adults, which basically means I’m a full-time worrier, part-time life coach, unpaid Uber driver, and professional finder of things that were “literally just here five seconds ago.”
Welcome to Deanna After Dark – my late-night corner of the Internet where I talk about the funny, chaotic, emotional, and slightly unhinged reality of raising kids who are not really kids anymore.
This is for the moms in the thick of it.
The moms funding a grocery habit that deserves its own line in the family budget.
The moms wondering where every phone charger went.
The moms decoding one-word texts like they are FBI agents.
The moms lying in bed waiting for the garage door to open.
The moms trying to give guidance, set boundaries, let go a little, and keep it together while their babies somehow turn into almost-adults right in front of them.
Because this stage of motherhood is a lot.
It is pride and panic.
Laughter and stress.
Big love, big feelings, and the constant realization that time is moving way too fast.
It is realizing your kid is old enough to make their own decisions, but still somehow incapable of replacing the toilet paper roll, putting a dish in the dishwasher, or closing a cabinet door all the way.
Around here, there is no perfect parenting and no pretending we have it all together.
Just real life.
Real laughs.
Real late-night thoughts.
And the kind of honesty moms usually only admit to their closest friends… preferably with something cold in hand.
If you have ever stared at a grocery receipt in disbelief, reread a text that just said “k” like it contained hidden meaning, or thought, how did my baby grow up this fast, and why are there 15 water bottles in the bedroom? You are in the right place.
I’m so glad you are here!