I am a mom of three teens. Here's everything they played with as they came in and out of the house doing their teenage thing.

The Sunday roundup/ toys for teens/ my skin care, favorite pants for short girls and the sneakers I can't stop wearing

I just spent a solo week in NYC for work, and I’m writing this on the train headed back home to Boston.

This week pushed me out of my comfort zone. There were many moments of “why do I do this to myself? I could just stay home, keep grinding, stay comfortable.”

But then I think of my kids.

I want them to see me scared. I want them to see me getting uncomfortable and doing the damn thing. I want them to eventually find the thing that makes them want to be uncomfortable and make an impact in their world, whatever that looks like for them.

And so, when I am absolutely shitting my pants with nervousness to do an in-person podcast interview, or about to sit at a dinner table with 30 high-achieving, very powerful women, I dig deep.

You guys, as a child and even as a young adult, I was not “high achieving.”

I was the kid who always got in trouble for talking in class. I could not ever find my homework assignment to turn in, and even if I could find it? I probably didn’t understand it, so I didn’t do it.

My handwriting was so bad that I remember in first grade getting yelled at (on repeat) for erasing so hard I ripped the paper. I failed every spelling test, and I was the only one who had to use the fat red pencils with the finger grooves.

Anyway, all this to say? My inner child is still alive and well, and sometimes she makes walking into rooms, feeling like I belong, really freking hard.

And I am going to keep doing it.

And this week? Whatever that room looks like for you, I hope you walk in too.

Here is this week’s roundup: