By Carrie-ann Pishnak
Executive Director of the Youth Academy of Dramatic Arts
As the summer sun paints the sky with hues of warmth and possibility, parents across Los Angeles find themselves embarking on a quest to enrich their children’s lives with experiences that foster growth, creativity, and confidence. For many, the journey begins at the Youth Academy of Dramatic Arts (YADA), where the magic of musical theater summer camps has flourished for the past 27 years, producing alumni such as Lily Collins, Kiernan Shipka and Lilla Crawford.
Before We Held You in Our Arms is a recently released children’s picture book that draws on the love and desire of parenthood long before the baby cuddles and snuggles. Emily Feit, a Los Angeles native and licensed clinical social worker, wrote this book after her long personal journey with infertility. After having her twins through multiple rounds of IVF and her son through surrogacy, she was inspired to write this heartwarming story after she noticed that many children’s books about infertility did not touch on the emotions that go along with the infertility journey. Authoring this book is Emily’s way of helping to open the conversation between parent and child about how much the child was desired before they were born. Gentle and age appropriate, the book is a love story between parent and child. 
This is a super easy marinade that can be blitzed together in just minutes. Orange and sage make a wonderful combo, add the wine and honey, and it becomes next level good! Sometimes, when I’m feeling risky, I throw in the whole orange, unpeeled into the food processor – this adds great, vibrant color and just the right amount of bitterness. 
Dear Dad,
We’re all familiar with finals season. Most teachers give you notice all year about their final exam. They tell you the things that might appear, give you a multitude of study guides, and yet the final exam always sneaks up on you when you’re least expecting it. It’s important to remember that you’re not alone. Everyone feels the antsy, jittery rush of May and June. 
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Inflammation is the body’s way of signaling us that it’s lacking balance. And when we lack balance in our lives, the first things to address are our sleep, hydration, movement, and nutrition. 
Whether your child is developmentally ready to make the move from preschool to kindergarten may depend on whether they are successfully mastering some very adult sounding competencies called “executive functioning.”