Jackie Goldschneider: My Proudest Achievement Is My Children

Some might say that alcohol and hatchets are a bad combination, but they can all kiss my ax. Dolores’ hatchet throwing event was definitely one of the most fun nights I’ve had with my Jersey girls, and it’s not only because I landed a perfect bullseye (That was hot, huh?). I was just getting to know everyone, and although I already spent some time with Melissa and of course, Margaret, I loved really hanging out with Dolores and Jennifer for the first time. Everyone let their guard down, had some wine...and nobody got into a fight! That’s a winning night right there.

You also got to meet my amazing family! Whatever nerves any of my kids had about meeting a new family was gone the instant we walked into Melissa’s house. Those kids took to each other like they’ve been friends for years. It’s hysterical to see Melissa telling her kids to take it easy on mine because I had the same conversation in our minivan on the ride over. I told them to behave calmly, say please and thank you and not to run around too much. As we say in Jersey – fuhgeddaboudit. It was like a frat party in that playroom, but we all had the best time! The kids were planning sleepovers by the time we left.

Now, about that minivan...I catch some sarcasm about my frumpy car but truth be told, it’s just a freakin’ car. Yeah, I can afford an Escalade AND a Range Rover, but guess what? When my kids' filthy cleats leave a load of mud on the car mats, I don’t give a crap! Have you ever seen what a small bag of goldfish can do to a car floor? Trust me, when its pouring rain and your kids sprint to the car way faster than you can get there, doors that slide open from afar are a priceless gift. Do I prefer my fancy Audi for nights out? Yes. Do I like finding disgusting spilled Slurpee residue in the cup holders of my fancy Audi? No. There’s my point.

My proudest achievement is my children. Four young kids can be a handful, and I do my fair share of barking at them as most moms do! But our days are filled with love and laughter, and they are kind, generous, amazing little people. Their daddy, my husband Evan, is also to thank for that. He is everything I ever wished for – and not bad to look at either! He respects my independence and my career, shoulders his fair share of parenting duties even after long days working in finance, and always supports my professional and personal goals.

Outside of my family, writing is my second great love. I always wanted to be a writer but I had absolutely no background in it. No journalism school. Nothing ever published. One day, about five years ago I just said f--- it and started writing and submitting my pieces to publications. And it turns out, I was pretty good! Today I write freelance for a lot of places, but my weekly newspaper column, Minivan Musings, is my baby. As you watch this season, you’ll see that I’m not scared to go after what I want.

I hope you had as much fun as I did watching this episode! Hit me up on Instagram @jackiegoldschneider and let me know what u think! And check out some of my articles by googling my name and Huffington Post, Scary Mommy and Northjersey.com. See y'all next week!