• Family - Throwback - Travel

    Blue Jeans and Plaid Shirts

    January 20, 2019 - By 

    1999 marked the beginning of the end for mall culture. I should know. I grew up as a teenage girl in its heyday. I still remember the Britney Spears poster displayed in the window of the record store, and the glitter eyeshadow at Claire’s. My sign-language class performed Frosty the Snowman on the mall stage during the holidays (Fun fact: to this day, I can still sign the entire lyrics to that song). When I was 14, our girl scout troop did an overnight sleepover at the mall with hundreds of other lucky teenage girls. These were the years that…

  • Family - Parenting

    Pitter-Patter

    November 13, 2018 - By 

    Just another weekday-night. 7:30 PM. Begin a very relaxed, unhurried bedtime routine. Get little faces and hands washed, teeth brushed, pajamas on, and bedtime stories chosen. 8:00 PM. Finish reading the last story. Tuck the boys in and kiss them goodnight. Manage to get downstairs without any extra requests for water, night-light adjustments, hugs/kisses, songs, questions about tomorrow’s schedule, etc. 8:30 PM. Sitting on the couch and hear the creak of a door being opened, and the pitter-patter of little feet. Assume someone has a sudden urge to pee, and ignore it. The pitter-patter continues and then, two little boys…

  • Family - Parenting

    Milestones

    November 9, 2018 - By 

    There are many important milestone’s in your child’s life. We all discuss the firsts: first words, first steps, first day of school. We compare accomplishments: ditching the diapers, eating solid foods, learning how to ride a bike. But there are some milestones that, while not often discussed, are just as important. Here is a selection of them, to give you an idea: When they are old enough to tattle on you to the other parent (Mommy hit the mailbox with the car!) When they outgrow the baby hangers and you have to buy them full-sized ones (how did my little…

  • Family - Parenting

    Two Simple Things

    July 17, 2018 - By 

    I’ve read a lot of parenting books.  This doesn’t mean that I’m an expert on parenting.  In fact, it doesn’t even mean that I really know anything extra about parenting.  It doesn’t mean that I am the perfect parent or have all the answers.  It simply means that I like to read and have ambitions of being a good parent. I believe that I succeed more than I fail, and my kids love me, so I must be doing something right. But in all those books and blog entries and articles that I’ve read, I’ve noticed a few common themes.…

  • Family - Food - Parenting

    Mealtime with Small Children

    April 4, 2018 - By 

    I wrote a poem about how our dinner usually goes these days. Enjoy. Conducting a Meal I am the tuner of the room I am Magnanimous of patience I am calm, cool, and collected until I am not. Stop, I say, don’t whine. Don’t throw your fork On the floor don’t smear yogurt on your face. Wait, I say, come back here. You’re not done eating And the cat does not like to be pulled by her tail. I pause. Deep breath to fold in the yelling and I Take out my imaginary conductor’s wand Directing two small bodies back…

  • Family - Parenting

    The Trade-off

    February 3, 2018 - By 

    Chris and I were laying in bed this morning, listening to the boys chatting with each other in the living room. Chris: Is Aiden making breakfast for both of them? This is nice. I could get used to this. Me: Yes, but there is usually a trade-off. Like cereal all over the floor or two cups of milk on the counter. After a short while longer of listening to their sweet voices, I get up to find out how they are doing. I notice small wrappers scattered all over the floor, and immediately piece together what has happened. They had…

  • Family - Food

    Lucky Charms

    January 11, 2018 - By 

    Another cold winter day means school starting time is delayed 2 hours. I decided to take advantage of this and sleep until the boys woke up. Around 8 am, I heard Aiden in the living room, but he was being quiet and not demanding anything of me, so I proceeded to lay in bed for a while before deciding to get up.  After almost 30 minutes of this, I began to get suspicious. He had to be up to something. “Hi mom!” he chirped when I entered the kitchen. “I made breakfast for me and Connor.” And sure enough, he…

  • Family - Fun

    A Parent’s Summer Bucket List

    July 18, 2017 - By 

    Apparently, some teenager wrote down her summer bucket list and then forgot it in an Urban Outfitters dressing room.  The bad news is now all the internets knows that she wants to pet a giraffe and other, less-PG things, although the good news is all she has to do is log on to Twitter to remember what she wrote. While I can identify with some of the things on her list (binge new Netflix series? check.  eat cotton candy? check), there are some that, sadly, as a thirty-something mother of two I just do not identify with.  (have a super…

  • Family - Food

    Oh, Sweet Innocence

    June 24, 2017 - By 

    I left off one of the best moments from yesterday’s Cupcakes and Confessions post. I had put Connor to bed upstairs for his daily nap. While I was doing so, Aiden was in charge of stirring the cupcake batter. He takes after me, in that he’s a terrible liar. Just stick to the truth, kid.

  • Family

    Cupcakes and Confessions

    June 23, 2017 - By 

    I made cupcakes using a generic store-bought mix and frosting out of a can.  Instead of making them from scratch using one of the many Pinterest recipes I’ve saved. And something else: They were pretty darn tasty. This is not because I have excellent culinary skills. I mean, I’d like to think that they’re halfway decent these days, but that’s not why the cupcakes were tasty. I’m going to guess it had more to do with these three things: Sugar Oil (aka FAT mmmmm) Years of product testing and research Okay, so yeah I’m sure my $1.99 cake mix is…