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Limit Setting for the Squeamish
http://careergirlnetwork.com One minute they’re debating whose Barbie sleeps in the Diamond Castle, the next they’re giggling over the cute members of the band One Direction and planning sleepovers....
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How To Be A Popular Mom
We have enough toys and games in our home for any self-respecting little kids to lose themselves in our playroom for days; certainly enough dolls, dress-up clothes, ride-on toys, sports equipment and...
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Turns Out, Winning Is Everything!
After last weekend’s Super Bowl, while everyone else is talking about the implications of Beyonce’s pole dancing performance, I’m left wondering if the San Francisco 49ers knew they weren’t only...
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Parental Redemption: The Coach Mike Version
Walking into the gym last Friday for our daughter’s weekly gymnastics lesson, I anticipated an hour of uninterrupted time with free WiFi while our four year old somersaulted herself into a state of...
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Basketball, B Teams & FGOs*
Photo by J. Smith via Wikimedia Commons Every weekend for the past several months, I’ve sat on the sidelines of my daughter’s basketball games, cheering her 4th grade team to victory. I’ve enjoyed the...
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And That’s Why God Created Doctors
Where did I get the idea that as a mother I have to be an unmitigated expert at everything? I blame Google. I’m honored to be guest posting over at The Mommy Mess today talking about our family’s...
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Guess Who’s Having a One-Year Blog Anniversary?
I planned to write a wise, funny yet gripping one-year blog anniversary post featuring a riveting celebrity-type interview (think Vanity Fair or Oprah Magazine) of me (playing the celebrity) by my...
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Ancient Chinese Secret
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons I made the appointment with Dr. W on a whim. After more than a year of fertility treatments and three devastating miscarriages, I was desperate for fresh hope....
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Life Patterns
Our four year old is learning about patterns in preschool and beginning to notice the many patterns of life all around her. Seemingly overnight, our budding student (who has yet to embrace the useful...
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Never Underestimate the Power of Bacon
The bacon was the best part. Everyone agreed – even George, the shelter resident whose weary black eyes belied his quick smile and spritely demeanor. Initially partial to the homemade, vanilla-infused...
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If You’re Happy & You Know It …
While I’m tramping around Florida vacationing with my family, I’m re-running this post from last year detailing our family’s Spring Break exploits. Not much has changed this year … but there’s still...
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Parenting Through Tragedy
I had the opportunity last week to attend a workshop at my daughters’ school about talking with kids about tragedy in the world and its portrayal in the news. I chose not to go; convinced my husband...
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Step, Step, Slide
As I wrote about in Life Patterns, our four year old has a new fascination with patterns. Her face routinely breaks into a smile as she spots a series of colors or shapes and gleefully shouts, “I see a...
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There Will Be Blood
Do any young girls react positively to the news that they’ll bleed for several days each month for the next forty-plus years? When I recently explained the basics of menstruation to our daughter, Ava,...
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I’ll Be the One Screaming: Around the Bonfire
I am one of those people. The type who on the outside looks pulled together, in control, on top of things in life. And sometimes, I am. Mostly on Tuesdays. The rest of the time, my calm exterior hides...
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Why I Should Be “Mother of the Year”
Unlike my dear blog friends Ilene from The Fierce Diva Guide to Life and Chris from The Mom Cafe, I have not been officially designated “Mother of the Year” by any governing body or election committee,...
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When Does Parenting Cross the Line From Encouraging to Controlling?
The plan was to jog the 5K with my daughter’s Girls on the Run teammates. Instead, Ava and I sat in our car for ninety minutes inching the final two miles to the event parking lot and missing our race...
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Souvenirs For Everyone
I was fanning my neck with the Shedd Aquarium map, searching the signs overhead for the entrance to the dolphin show, oblivious to the dangers lurking behind me on row upon row of overstuffed, expertly...
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End of Summer Directive: Make Memories Or Else
I love countless things about summer: the sweet juiciness of a ripe peach, the freedom from all the gear necessary to survive Chicago’s other seasons, the hot sun on my car’s black interior. What...
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