Hey! I'm a fire wife, mom of two, bonus mom to three, and an autism parent just soaking up the sun in California. ☀️

I got married at the super-wise age of 21 (ha!) while my husband was still in the Marines, and just like that, I was a bonus mom to three kids under four. About a year later, surprise—pregnant with our fourth!

I stayed home with the kids until my daughter turned two. Felt totally lost in the mom-life shuffle, so I went back to work and school and grabbed a degree in Psychology—thought it would help me find myself again, but nope.

Tried working for a family business, but honestly, it was rough—long commute, missing the kids, not my thing.

After a really tough pregnancy loss, I realized what mattered most was just being there for my family. So, I quit. Six months later, surprise—rainbow baby! 💙

When my little guy was about six months old, I noticed he wasn’t hitting his milestones. With over 10 years working in autism, my gut just knew. By 18 months, we had the official autism diagnosis.

Between therapy appointments, endless phone calls, all the paperwork, and parenting solo most days, I was totally running on empty.

I gained 100 pounds and my mental health tanked. Once again, I felt lost in motherhood, and the emotional load of raising a kid with special needs was just a lot.

One day, I just woke up and thought, "Okay, something has to change." I lost 100 pounds, started working on my mental health, and, honestly, stalked PDM for over a year while failing (a lot) at other stuff.

Then, out of nowhere, I decided to stop letting fear run the show and finally signed up for PDM.

To all the moms, dads, special needs parents, caretakers, students, mental health warriors—anyone just tired of the 9-to-5 grind:

Take a leap of faith.

Do it for you—you’re worth it.

You totally deserve it.

Holly🖤