Years ago, my husband gave me a book on gardening that was part of a series called “K.I.S.S.” As in “Keep it Simple, Stupid.” And while the book didn’t do much for me, the acronym? It’s been rolling around in my head now for just short of a decade. But it hasn’t been until very [...]

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 [...]

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 that tree in [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

I can’t remember exactly how I found out about the online magazine Sprig. I know it was via Meredith, but I can’t recall if I saw a link to it on her site or if she emailed me about it. But however it was, it was a really great find. I am in love with [...]

After I wrote last about my passion for Love & Logic, I received quite a few emails asking me to go into further detail about what this theory of parenting entails. And now that it’s been about one month since my last post on the topic, I can say with delight that it’s really working [...]

And I don’t mean family planning in the way that you might think that I mean family planning. No, we are not having another kid. I’m talking about keeping the schedules of the kids that we already have in order, along with my husband’s insane travel and work schedule. And the dogs having to go [...]

There are currently two programs on our TiVo record list for Pea. Both are recorded from the channel Noggin. One is “Dora the Explorer” and the other is “Max & Ruby.” Yes, she’s still in love with Dora. And now, I hear her counting more often in Spanish than I do in English. I’m not [...]

My mother-in-law once told me, during a rather heated discussion on organized religion, that if I “didn’t stand for something, I’d fall for anything.”
She was implying that I was a heathen, apt to be led down the “wrong” path, because I did not have religion in my life. Believe me, I know this is what [...]

So technically, Pea turns three today. But… we celebrated her birthday with a party yesterday. The theme began as a tea party, since she’s all about her various tea sets right now. She has three that are currently in rotation, one is made of melamine from Target, another is porcelain from Chasing Fireflies and the [...]

I’ve made mention before of Pea’s absolute favorite book “in the whole wide world.” “Mouse Cookies & More: A Treasury.” It’s a rare night when we don’t read at least one of the stories in this collection. Of course, it goes without saying that the most requested story is the one about the moose and [...]

For the record, I am not a fan of registries. For weddings or baby showers. It’s just not my thing. When Sephora offers you an option to create a gift registry, you know that something in the universe is amiss. I love make-up. I do. And I’ve given beauty products as a gift before. But [...]

I thought I should write a little follow-up regarding the Love & Logic class that my husband and I are taking. Because I had such high hopes for it. If you recall, I had already ordered the book, which has spent, more or less, the last month lost in a huge stack of books on [...]