Nourish with Connection

10/24/2026

If someone would have told me a few years ago that I would soon quit my dream job to homeschool my kids, I would have laughed. “There’s no way I could do that?!”

I’ve never had a desire to teach at any capacity, even teaching Sunday school wasn’t something I would volunteer to do. I preferred holding the babies.

And my husband is a teacher, so financially, staying home never seemed attainable.

But here we are in year 3 as a full-time SAHM homeschooling a 5th & 7th grader. Even though it’s not been the smoothest transition, and I’m probably messing up a lot, I’m really proud of myself.

As hard as it’s been some days, it’s also been such a gift that I try not to take for granted. I’ve earned back so many hours with my kids.

Sometimes it can be stressful and exhausting, but in comparison to the stress and exhaustion we were all experiencing with traditional school and a full-time job, it’s so much better.

In case you needed to be reminded, no amount of money can buy back time with your kids…

10/21/2026

Sometimes you forget how cute they can be at this age. 🥰

Putting this here to remind me later when I need it. And remind you too 😆

He actually has 2 versions of the last word.☺️

What are your favorite words from your little ones? ⤵️

10/19/2026

This recipe will likely become a family favorite breakfast. It’s easy to make, great for busy mornings, and makes the kitchen smell like a bakery. Plus, that cream cheese icing? Absolute magic!

This cozy cinnamon roll oatmeal bake is a nutritious, kid-approved, easy breakfast recipe with warm spices and comforting cinnamon flavor!

10/19/2026

We started the adoption process in August 2018. At the time she knew we would be adopting a brother or sister from India.

We matched with her sister who was only 10 months younger than her in November 2019.

We had a few photos of her, her name, and small amount of medical information.

And even though we had never met her in person, we were all completely attached and deeply loved her.

We were tentatively scheduled to bring her home in the summer of 2020. They both would have been 5 years old at the time.

But Covid changed that timeline significantly.

We were finally able to travel and bring her home in January 2022. She was 7 years old and her big sister had just turned 8.

Watching them together for the first time was really beautiful and something I’ll never forget.

This is proof that good things can come from really terrible things.

Adoption is far from perfect, but it’s so much better than the alternative: no family or safe place to call home.

10/18/2026

There are circumstances where these first 2 scenarios could be appropriate like if your child has a food allergy or medical condition which makes some of the candy unsafe.

Hiding candy may work for some young kids, but chances are, your kids will wonder what happened to their candy. This can lead to a lack of trust and hoarding candy when they do have access to it. Or it could lead to overeating candy thinking, “this may disappear, so I need to eat as much as I can while it’s in my sight!”

I understand that some kids may have a diagnosis or condition which would require more of a parent-controlled approach to candy. This is when I think the “switch witch” concept can be helpful.

Limiting it to 1 piece at a time may be appropriate in some instances but is usually not necessary for special events. Having autonomy over what and how much your child eats fosters a sense of control and safety, especially important for children who have had little control in most areas of their lives.

Eating dinner before you go trick or treating, or at least a filling snack with protein is a must. This will help reduce the likelihood of overeating candy and a stomach ache.

PLEASE do NOT lie and call candy poison or toxic. This language creates so many anxious feelings for kids and is very misleading. You can call it what it is: high in sugar, sweet, yummy… but don’t lie.

Try not to put too much focus on the candy. There are so many other fun parts of the holiday — costumes, pumpkin carving, special recipes, movies, crafts, etc.

Allow your kids to enjoy the special occasions and be a kid! 🎃

10/17/2026

Hi 👋 I’m Madison, a trauma-informed dietitian & mom passionate about lowering mealtime stress and improving health for the whole family.

Most parents want their kids to be healthy and eat healthful foods, but getting that to happen can sometimes be tricky.😫

❌Forcing bites and pressure always backfire.

✅ Allowing kids to feel safe exploring new foods by serving family-style meals leads to healthy kids in the longterm!

As a trauma-informed dietitian, I talk about this a lot, so make sure to follow for more feeding support!✌️