Last week Noah was supposed to start pre-school. He went one day and then he got sick. And I was sick. And Emma still went to kindergarten every day, leaving us trapped in the house, bored…He chose the pearls. 🙂

Daddy took less vacation days, Emma began kindergarten, and then there was one. Monday he started pre-school… …and mommy’s heart broke just a little (from swelling with pride?)

Emma: “Mommy, I tried to hug your legs, but they were…spiney.” Me: “Sorry honey. Mommy has to take quick showers lately.” Moms – find some time for yourself today! No one likes a cactus mommy. 😉

A little over a year ago, I wrote a post called “Lessons From a Miserable Pregnancy: Choose Your OB Wisely.” After I received a call from a friend a couple of weeks ago, I realized that it was important to re-post this information. This friend called upset, suffering from a serious condition common in women…

Going… Going… Going… Going… Almost gone. Just five days until kindergarten…

I just returned from a very quick trip to Orlando for work and had the chance to stop by the Magic Kingdom for the parade and fireworks. While Cinderella’s castle in the summer is still stunning, there is nothing like the Magic Kingdom – all of Disney, really – around the holidays. So even though…

…and we’re savoring every last bite.

“Much ado about the new dog. Much ado about the kids. But I was here before them and it’s my house. Glad to have cleared that up…”

Sunset over the Appalachian mountains…   Meeting my best friend’s 10 day old princess… Watching my mom light the sparklers far away from my children and their over protective mother… My nephew’s blueberry pie mustache… My crazy new rescue dog finding peace among family… Watching my son wash dishes with his Pappy… And seeing my…

(photo by Migraine Chick)I remember how excited I was to meet like-minded people in college after spending 17 years in a rural town where I often felt misunderstood. College orientation introduced to me all of the social options for a literature major honors geek like myself – including the Literary Magazine. I went to my…

In the event of an emergency, passengers traveling with small children should place their own oxygen mask securely on their face before assisting their children. That warning never bothered me until the first time I flew with my daughter. 10 months old and all smiles, she looked at me trustingly as the plane took off,…

I’m a little late in writing this post, seeing how there are only two hours left in Father’s Day, but I thought it was still important to say Happy Father’s Day to the Resourceful Daddies in my life. These pictures epitomize my dad. While waiting to ride Cinderella’s Carousel at Walt Disney World last December,…

This is not a story of “I was fat all my life.”   I’m not going to show you pictures of an obese 4 year old girl with an ice cream cone in her hands. I was healthy. I was active. Then something went wrong… I don’t think that any of us know how these…

Thank you, Disney!

photo credit: Dimsis Last night as my husband was getting the kids ready for bed, I sat downstairs in the relative quiet and worked on my laptop. Bath had ended and while the children got themselves dressed, I knew my time to help with tucking in was fast approaching. While I worked frantically I overheard…

Alyssa from Life from My Laptop recently asked: “How much money should we save before even booking a trip to Disney?” If you are looking just at what the trip costs and not at options such as financing, you might be surprised at how affordable a trip can be! For the sake of discussion*, I’m…

Sarah from Real Life asked: “Is it better to get a package deal or try to book the hotel away from the park?” I’m going to begin with the exceptions to the rule in this case. If you belong to a hotel discount club program, you may do better financially booking a hotel away from…

One of the online places where I write weekly is Type-A Mom, where I am the Child Development editor. I’ve written articles about everything from a hearing checklist to Kindergarten readiness to children’s growth statistics. But here I sit, with my baby boy just turned three & trying so hard to potty train, and my…

…and I would also say there was a healthy dose of bitter. I was one of those girls who decided people in high school probably didn’t like me…because I was too smart. (hold the laughter, please) I listened to an awful lot of Tori Amos in college, and an unhealthy overload of Ani DiFranco in…