Okay, I don’t really expect much special treatment because I have two small kids so close in age. My theory is: two hands, two kids. It’s what I can handle. I get offended by the stranger who says to me, “boy, you sure have your hands full,” as if I am in over my head. [...]

Okay! We are just thisclose to success with the potty for Pea. Last night I caught her on her potty. No action, but she was on it. And this morning, she woke up screaming “mama! doodah!” which is a big deal, because until this day, when I’d ask if she had a doodah, she’s say [...]

When I take Pea to camp in the morning, we go in the front entrance and there’s a big board there with all of the kids’ name-tags on it. They are simple pieces of construction paper with their names written on them and they are laminated. On the back is a small piece of velcro, [...]

Tee-tee is Pea’s term for “pee-pee.” Every time one of our dogs goes outside, she says “tee-tee!” So I know she understands the concept. But imagine my surprise when a few hours ago, she announced to me while in the bathroom having one of her boo-boos bandaged, that she wanted to go tee-tee and insistently [...]

Coco is just like her father. She likes to sleep in. I heard her first rumblings this morning while I was feeding her sister, at about 7:30. And then, silence until almost 9! When I snuck into her room to check on her, she was sound asleep, sucking on her little thumb. It amazes me [...]

Oh, I can’t take another day with this head of hair. I’m now in that phase of post-baby-delivery where my hair is falling out. And not just a few strands here and there, we are talking major shedding. My family has been finding my hair in the weirdest places. And by weird, I mean weird. [...]

Her first popsicle. Note the “Dora the Explorer” juice-box holder. We do not watch Dora in this house. My daughter has no idea who Dora is. And yet my mother-in-law keeps giving her Dora-related stuff. Dora dominos. Dora bowls, cups & spoons. Dora dolls. Dora books. Dora back-packs. I don’t get it. Besides, anyone who [...]

Ugh. What a day. I noticed this morning that Coco had a lot of what looked to be ear wax in her little ears. Only I later realized it wasn’t ear wax, but more likely it was spit up and drool that has pooled in her ears. Probably happened when she was sleeping. And so [...]

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what family means to me. My father relocated our family to Chicago from New York when I was six and my brother was two. Two years later, my parents were divorced, my father went on to remarry, have another child with his new wife and move his new [...]

Jeez, am I tightly wound. I sent my daughter Pea off to camp this morning with her usual amenities – towel, bathing suit, lunch. And she came home with someone else’s towel. And I can’t stop worrying that I’m not going to get her’s back. My husband says to “relax… you’ll get it back.” But [...]

I’d say my husband had a great Father’s Day. For years now, I’ve been trying to make up for a disastrous birthday in which I gave him a humiliatingly lame gift, found in a last-minute shopping frenzy. Because he is impossible to buy things for, if you ever want to give him something other than [...]

I like to cook. No, I love to cook. I cook every day. But on special occasions, I really like to go all out. My cookbooks are all marked up with the names and the dates and events that I’ve cooked certain dishes for. One of my most-requested meals is Beef Bourguignon. Ina Garten, my [...]

New Neighbor Alert. Two houses down. Whoa. I feel like I’m living near today’s answer to the Clampett’s. People out front smoking, motorcycles parked on the sidewalk, monster trucks taking up all of the parking up and down our street. And did I mention that when they moved in, it was 10:00 AT NIGHT. Ugh. [...]

At night, before Pea goes into her crib, we’ve started reading to her in her big white chair. It’s a routine I remember from my own childhood, and we were so excited when she became interested in anything longer than the typical board book she’d been addicted to. She has two current favorites on her [...]

I feel like I talk non-stop about my 2-year old and rarely about my almost-3-month old. I’m sure it’s normal. My two-year old, Pea, is so active and interesting and busy. Which is not to say that my infant daughter is boring, because she’s actually starting to show signs of a really cool little girl. [...]