Last year, Monday Mornings was one of the most popular series on my blog, with readers repeatedly telling me how much they looked forward to the weekly glimpses into homes across the country documenting different families’ morning routines.

This year, we have extended the series to focus on Wednesday Evenings, to see what goes on in homes with children during those witching hours of 6-9pm. Do they eat dinner together as a family? Do they put the kids to bed on a strict bedtime schedule? Do they let them stay up late?

With an open-ended evening, I believe it should be even more interesting how different moms and dads handle these precious hours. And I’m curious to see what beautiful moments we can pull out of the picky eating, the reluctant tooth brushing and the bedtime time stalling.

Allstate was an incredibly supportive partner last year who encouraged me to be true to the nature of the series I created, so I could not be happier they have signed up with me again. As an insurance company dedicated to keeping families in good hands, I fully trust Allstate will continue to protect the integrity of this series and thank them for their partnership. It is not only valuable to me, but countless readers who told me last year’s series helped them see the beauty in their otherwise chaotic, stressful routines.

I truly hope Wednesday Evenings will do the same for the end of the day as Monday Mornings did for the beginning of the day. God knows, making dinner, monitoring homework, giving baths and putting the kids to bed is never easy.

Over the last month, Allstate and I have been pouring over your entries to find the 12 families (3 families per each of the 4 different locations across the United States) that lifestyle Raquel Langworthy will shoot for the series.

San Francisco area: Marcy L, Stephanie P and Amy M

Alabama: Jessica E, Rachel G and Elizabeth H

Boston: Melisa K, Melissa Q and Natasha O

Chicago (Allstate’s hometown): Laura D, Allison H, and Shira I

What those families will show us or teach us, I have no idea. We have not seen any photos of the moms, dads, their children or their homes. We did not Google them for additional details. We based our selections purely on the comments left on my blog post, which included brief details about their typical weekday evening routine. The idea is that beauty exists everywhere and the only way to prove that is by selecting people and places without visual reference.

Last year, each family surprised us and enlightened us in a different way. Some because they were eager to show us their lives and some because they were not.

I cannot thank these brave women enough for inviting us in to see their Wednesday Evenings. My hope is that the experience is as positive for the participants as it is for the readers.

Stay tuned for July 29th when we will feature the first Wednesday Evening in the series!

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This post is part of the “Wednesday Evenings” series sponsored by Allstate. From bath time to bed time, every family has a special evening routine. This series aims to show the beauty in the day winding down. As the nation’s largest publicly held insurance company, Allstate is dedicated not only to protecting what matters most—but to guiding families to live the Good Life, every day.