There’s always hope that this will be the year

Spending the last day of 2025 with @stevevladeck.bsky.social recording a bonus podcast episode of One First, which will drop tomorrow. Happy new year, everyone. May your 2026 be filled with good health and peace.

Watching The Eras Tour documentary and all I can think is I should have gone to even more shows than I did.

When you play Ado Annie in your 1998 8th grade play these are the texts you get from your mom in 2025

Live somewhere with seasons, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.

Really interesting thread on the Netflix/WB merger from an antitrust perspective. 👇

No matter how tired he is or what an insane week he has had, Steve takes our daughter to every single early morning skate. And for that, I am very grateful. Next step: mastering the figure skating hair bun (and writing another book).

Idk what mom of very young kids need to hear this but when mine were very little, I used to dread (and I mean DREAD) winter break. They are now 7 and almost 10 and I cannot wait. Truly counting down the minutes until it starts. If you’re in the trenches, just keep going. It gets better.

Do they allow popcorn in Dirksen? Asking for me.

Home for the holidays

I saw Cady Heron wearing army pants and flip flops, so I bought army pants and flip flops.

Lindsey Halligan finding out she actually had to show the Comey indictment to the *entire* grand jury

Steve [to our children]: “My Substack newsletter is about to reach 100k subscribers. Isn’t that cool?” 7-YO: “How is that even possible? Who on earth would want to read that thing?!?” The Vladeck Girls — keeping @stevevladeck.bsky.social humble always

Overheard conversation between our daughters watching the Bejewled music video: 9-YO: “She gets the prince in the end but ditches him because she has the castle. Smart.” 7-YO: “Well yeah. Who needs a prince when you have the whole castle.” We are doing ok, @stevevladeck.bsky.social ✅

Spent today not feeling completely insane for the first time in a year so that was good.

Follow along for @stevevladeck.bsky.social’s real time analysis of the tariff arguments. Our girls criticized all his clothing (and other) choices this morning so he could use the love. www.cnn.com/politics/liv...

The men are quaking in their boots, ladies. Keep it up 💪

What are they saying over on Fox? Elections were rigged? Yelling about something Biden did in 2021? All of these are D states anyway so who really cares? All of the above? I’m curious but not curious enough to actually turn it on.

Populist Dems won. Moderate Dems won. We won in blue states. We won in purple states. Maybe the take is that (a) people think Trump is out of control; and (b) people like Dems when we're taking a stand and fighting for what we believe in - as we have been for the last month.

Let’s gooooo!!!!! 💙💙💙💙

Our DC community showed up this weekend at our daughters’ food drive and bake sale. $450 raised (which @stevevladeck.bsky.social and I will match) and TONS of food heading to the Capital Area Food Bank. Trying to make some light during these dark times. 🩷

Great night trick or treating in the neighborhood, which goes all out! Now home, watching Hocus Pocus 2, and letting kids eating as much candy as they want. Perfect Halloween. 🎃

Things in our 7-year-old’s word search book just took a dark turn

Me: “Girls, do you know why the protest is called ‘No Kings’?” Sydney (7): “Yeah because none of these people want a boy to be President and we should have a girl instead.” Close enough!

The 7th Circle of Hell is the Southwest boarding area in Orlando on the Monday of a holiday weekend.

DC mini libraries just hit different

It’s just a joke, it’s just a joke, it’s just a joke…

I wonder if Edith Jones will show Dhillon’s Tweets at the next Fed Soc convention.

Every eldest daughter Swiftie right now

The free speech at all costs Republicans are awfully quiet these days

The level of pettiness of the administration is honestly comical. They’ve changed the avatar on LinkedIn for the White House to a picture of Trump so now every person who ever worked at the WH in any administration has Trump’s picture in their employment history. It’s so dumb.

The gaslighting is wild. THEY control the White House, the House, and the Senate—yet always find a way to blame Democrats for their mess. The so-called “$1.5 trillion wish list” is about protecting health care, food assistance, and housing. (1/2)

When you’re walking downtown and say wait I know that guy!

Wishing this awesome guy a happy 46th birthday with an enormous ice cream cone and a stroll on this beautiful D.C. night. He’s the best.

Imagine having gone to undergrad, medical school, residency, and fellowships only to have to listen to a parent that wants to change a vaccine schedule based on an unhinged rant on Truth social. Never thought I would say that being a pediatrician is not for the faint of heart but here we are.

If you needed any more proof that pure psychopaths walk amongst us every day, watch Unknown Number on Netflix. Hoooo boy.

If I see one more white dude out here canonizing Kirk I am going to lose it. We can stand against all gun and political violence without making the guy who spewed so much hatred into a saint. I promise it’s possible.

Everything @bessbell.bsky.social writes is perfect but especially this.

We need a school nurse form to tell them the level of severity that necessitates a phone call. We all know the working mom stomach drop when the school number shows up on our phones. If we aren't in fever or broken bone territory, I'll find out about the playground fall at pickup TYVM.

I just cannot, @nytimes.com. I cannot.

“The Court We Need” by @stevevladeck.bsky.social drafting live shot!

When people ask me I work so much I can't say "to build generational wealth so my daughters never have to work for mediocre white men" so I just say oh because I love it.

When the one dad in a suit and an American flag pin at Back to School Night asks the teacher why the class doesn’t do the pledge of allegiance every morning

We got our kids an encyclopedia about the Presidents. Questions I have now been asked: “How did John Tyler get all 15 of his kids to sports practice?” “Did Martha Washington wear Lululemon?” “How did James Madison get elected if he is THAT ugly?”

We are all just repeatedly practicing the opening line of Wicked right?

OMG THIS IS HAPPENING IT IS NOT A DRILL WEDDING OF THE CENTURY IS UPON US

At the Washington Mystics game with the kids. The “DE-FENSE” cheer starts up. 7-YO: “Why is everyone chanting the word Jesus?!?”

Between this and having to explain how one SCOTUS opinion can have 8 dissents, @stevevladeck.bsky.social is really just hanging by a thread over here

Me: “Sometimes on the first day of school you have to share some fun facts about yourself. What will you share?” 7-YO: “My name is Sydney. I live in D.C. And I LOVE to curse.”

I missed my calling as a real estate appraiser. Imagine a job just walking around a stranger’s house being nosey as hell and getting paid for it?!