I grew up in Pennsylvania Dutch county, otherwise known as the land of the baked good.  Okay, so I just made that name up, but the truth is that most of my memories of my grandmother involve her standing in the kitchen, handing me little cups with semi-sweet morsels, baking me tiny milk pies with…

I have heard from many of you in response to my participation in the #Ashamed movement asking Strong4Life to remove the following and similar billboards from Georgia streets: Nearly every single person who has reached out to me in email or via comments has been in support of what we were trying to do –…

Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. ~Elizabeth Stone

This morning as my seven year old was eating breakfast, she announced to me that her 2nd grade teacher had told the kids the day before that they should wear spring coats, not winter coats the next day.  I knew that the weather report called for unseasonably warm weather today, but it’s February in the…

When we left the story, our hero was eating cold pizza and mourning over the realization that the Dominos Pizza Tracker was not real.  And now, the conclusion of the tale… Apparently while I was looking out the window and hoping that my lunch would arrive, communications were being sent around the food chain within…

If your kids are like mine, you have likely spent more time than you’re willing to admit publicly staring at the Dominos Pizza Tracker, waiting to watch your doughy goodness go from order placed to prep to bake to box and then – squee! – out for delivery.  Last month during a school holiday that…

Birthday party preparation was far less complicated in the days before Pinterest… Wordless Wednesday Want more Wordless Wednesday?  Check out:  The Bonafide Life, Better in Bulk, Shanamama, From Dates to Diapers, Not Your Momblog, The Divine Miss Mommy, Colorado Moms, Rajean Blomquist, Brain Foggles, Lil Kid Things, The Centsible Life, Rachel Ferruci, and Zensible Mama. Don’t forget to link your own photos below!

As most of my readers know, I’ve been working hard for the last eight months to transform myself into a thinner, healthier version of me – a new me!  Some of the most gratifying moments on my journey have been the times that I needed to purchase new clothes in smaller sizes, dropping a total…

CAUTION: This post may contain references to vampires and sex, though not necessarily in the same sentence. Early in our marriage, my husband and I decided to spend a Saturday at Mt. Vernon, George Washington’s estate in Virginia near Washington, DC. It was the weekend after the World Series, and so we used our little…

When I was twenty-three I taught at a private school where I was part of a team of three teachers who taught all of the same classes and worked very closely together.  It was my first teaching job and I became close to the other teachers, celebrating with one when she shared news of her…

A little over a week ago I partnered with Leah from Mamavation along with many other bloggers and their blogging communities to ask Strong 4 Life to take down their anti-obesity commercials and billboards that feature images of overweight children with slogans like “Get a Life.”  We called the campaign #Ashamed, and sent the message…

In February of 2009 I attended my first weekend blogging conference, Blissdom, where I spoke about social media marketing. One evening we were told we were going to enjoy a very special performance from an up and coming artist named Chris Mann.  Having played the piano since I was three and accompanied many singers and…

Wordless Wednesday Want more Wordless Wednesday?  Check out:  The Bonafide Life, Better in Bulk, Shanamama, From Dates to Diapers, Not Your Momblog, The Divine Miss Mommy, Colorado Moms, Rajean Blomquist, Brain Foggles, Lil Kid Things, The Centsible Life, Rachel Ferruci, and Zensible Mama. Don’t forget to link your own photos below!  

When my husband and I began dating, he had just moved into his first apartment and was living on his own for the first time in his life.  His diet consisted of three things: microwave pizzas, frozen chicken nuggets with fries, and chips with queso.  My first experience living completely on my own involved almost…

My daughter is turning eight in one month.  Eight.  We have now entered the age of Taylor Swift albums, sleepovers, giggles and whispers in best friend’s ears, eye rolls at boy…eye rolls at everything. I love that she can tie her brother’s shoes and usually helps him without being asked.  I love that she feeds…

  Wordless Wednesday Want more Wordless Wednesday?  Check out:  The Bonafide Life, Better in Bulk, Shanamama, From Dates to Diapers, Not Your Momblog, The Divine Miss Mommy, Colorado Moms, Rajean Blomquist, Brain Foggles, Lil Kid Things, The Centsible Life, Rachel Ferruci, and Zensible Mama. Don’t forget to link your own photos below!

Slip slidin’ away Slip slidin’ away You know the nearer your destination The more you’re slip slidin’ away – Simon and Garfunkel Ever since my birthday in the beginning of November, I’ve been lazily “maintaining” rather than working to achieve fitness and weight goals.  I still walk a few times a week, but I can’t…

I’m that girl. You know, the one who finds a quiz in Redbook and suddenly has her husband trapped, forced to provide answers to questions related to topics he knows nothing about like threadcount preference or his favorite Jackson 5.  At the end we’re able to tell if our marriage is going to last forever…

The castle at night, covered in “ice”… time with Tigger… three fun and crazy people riding the boat into the Magic Kingdom at 10:00 p.m. to shut the park down with a few more rides… Walt and Mickey, saying goodnight as we say goodbye to the Magic Kingdom one more time. Wordless Wednesday Want more…

I spent the second half of 2011 as a Ragu Mom’s the Word on Dinner ambassador because not a single week goes by without us using Ragu in at least one meal.  I truly love this product, and through this program I have had the privilege of learning more about not only changes made to…

Even when the rain falls Even when the flood starts rising Even when the storm comes I am washed by the water needtobreathe, “Washed By the Water” I like to love people. A friend once said that she could see herself falling in love with just about anyone because that is what she does ~…