Before my parents divorced, when I was 8 or so, we lived in a beautiful home in the suburbs of Chicago. I went to an elementary school that can only be described as ‘sweet.’ I was shuttled in by one of several mothers, including my own, who were part of a carpool. And the entrance [...]

Pea’s little Ducky Lunch Bag was lost today, at a park. She went with her camp on a little picnic, and it simply went MIA. Not a big deal, at all. This is the first item of hers that’s ever been lost, so I’d say we’ve done pretty well. But sentimentally, it’s tugging at my [...]

Yesterday, after dropping Pea off at camp, Coco and I headed to the other side of SLC, to IKEA. I’ve only been in an IKEA once before, years ago, in New Jersey. My husband and I stopped on our way to visit my half-sister at school. And it was so crowded I nearly died. So, [...]

Love & Logic? Jim Fay? Foster Cline? I love you. So much. So very, very much. The past couple of weeks, taking Pea to camp, have been brutal. A place that she loves and by her own admission has so much fun at has become, apparently, some kind of torture for her. Starting first thing [...]

Early this morning, about 6:15, we were woken up by the sound of our dogs barking incessantly. And that can only mean one thing… The return of Juicebox! And this time? She brought us a big surprise… Her babies! Whom Pea has named Juicebox, Jr. (aka JJ) and Sammy… They ate some shrubbery, chewed up [...]

I have over 22,000 photos stored on my computer. And those are just the shots from my digital camera. In a closet, I have 10 more storage containers, each larger than a shoe box, that I have pictures in that were developed from film. Remember the good old days? I much prefer the digital storage [...]

During my first pregnancy with Pea, I was reading every book under the sun about pregnancy, childbirth, parenting, etc., I was always reading about this intense urge to nest that was going to come over me, presumably in my third trimester. But it never happened. I was pregnant, and then I wasn’t. There was no [...]

Not that long ago, I wrote a little bit about my quest for a spiritual life for my family. It’s been a long road, we’ve dabbled here and there in “organized” religion, and while we just haven’t found our place, my husband and I do have ideas and beliefs that transcend what what we have [...]

So this is going to sound cliche, I’m sure, But cliche? Not so bad if it’s actually doing something good, right? Here goes… I’m trying so simplify life over here. Yes, you read that correctly. The ultimate consumer is on a down-scaling binge. It’s too much. There’s just too much stuff in my home. In [...]

My husband loves pizza. Almost as much as I do. And although his preference is for deep-dish, and my preference is for a simple New York slice, we do see eye to eye on one thing… It has to be good. Really good. No Tombstone frozen pies over here. And so as it happens, right [...]

My husband left very early this morning for Beijing. As in China. For six weeks. He’s on his way over there for the Olympics. And it was a really tough goodbye. We didn’t have a lot of time to make the decision whether or not he should go, so I’m not sure how much thought [...]

Alison Jay’s illustrations are my absolute favorite. I cannot get enough of them. In fact, for the longest time, I was determined to remove the pages from “If Kisses Were Colors” and have them matted, framed and hung in Pea’s room. And that book? I always give it as a gift to a new mom. [...]

My husband’s new barbecue grill arrived on Monday. He couldn’t get it into the backyard fast enough, he just had to fire it up and test it out. What is it with guys and grills? I won’t get near the thing; it’s intimidating. Gas. Matches. So close to the house. Not for me. But I [...]

Several weeks ago, I ordered a bunch of shorts from J Crew. It was getting hot, and I needed to get out of my jeans. I was so excited for them to arrive. I tracked the package obsessively every day on the UPS site. And finally, they arrived. And I tore into the box, pulled [...]

With summer in full swing, and Pea in day camp all week long, she’s looking so fresh and healthy and… tan. Interesting, since I lube her up with a very high SPF every morning before she leaves the house, and I know they continue to apply sunblock at camp to the campers, throughout the day. [...]