We just returned home from a weekend soccer tournament. Three games and no wins—one tie and two losses. The second game was a bad loss, one where none of us were quite sure what the final …
On Having a New Baby and Breast Cancer
I was explaining to someone a few months ago that I was in chemotherapy and she looked in confusion at my five-month-old in the stroller right next to us. “But you have a baby!” I know, I …
Have You Affirmed Your Family Today?
Last week at dinner my younger son casually turned to me and said, “These are the things I like about you, Mommy, that you play Legos with me, that you play puppies with me, that you hug me and that …
Mom of Boys and. . .
I often tweet with the hashtag #momofboys. I’ve realized over the past (almost) nine years of being a mom of one and then two boys how much a part of my identity this has become. I think of myself as …
How to Help a Depressed New Mom
I’ll just come out with it: I’m an eavesdropper. I love to write and edit in coffee shops, partly because I can’t procrastinate by doing laundry and partly because I love to hear the snippets of …
Driving Like a Christian
Today I actually stuck out my tongue at another driver. He blew around me and then cut into my lane, and I was so annoyed that’s how I responded. It could have been worse, I know, but …
Confessions of a Soccer Mom
Over Thanksgiving weekend we all got up crazy early, not to engage in Black Friday shopping, but to drive my son many miles away to a Thanksgiving soccer tournament. Such a practice was not …
Are You (And Your Kids) Looking for Silence?
A couple of weeks ago, I was on carpool duty for summer camp. So I had my 7-year-old son, my 4-year-old son, and then two spare 7-year old boys in the back of my car as we drove to pirate camp. One, …
The Joy of Parenting
I've seen A LOT of Shamu shows. Living as we do in San Diego, we often find ourselves stopping in at Sea World to feed the seals and sea lions, check out the sharks, and of course, see the …
Five Tips for Flying with Small Children
We live in San Diego, and my parents live in the St. Louis area, so ever since I became a mom, I’ve racked up quite a few frequent flier miles just going back and forth. We even fly up to visit my …
Three Goals for a Simpler Summer
School ended on Friday, and we are now officially on summer vacation, as my 4-year-old keeps excitedly reminding us. We celebrated with a family trip to the drive-in to see How To Train Your …
Why Writing about My Family Makes Me a Better Mom
I recently saw the new movie Mom’s Night Out and loved it. Very funny and a great expression of what so many moms struggle with—the meaning of all the stuff we do, the way we feel that we’re not very …
Moving Past “Good Enough”
Last month the first grade project was building a diorama to display an animal of the student's choice. My son came home all fired up to get started, and after I got him a shoebox, he pretty much went …
Everything Is Awesome
We went to see The Lego Movie at the drive-in a few weeks ago. Popcorn, Reese's Pieces, beanbags and blankets in the back of the car--it was a sublime evening. The whole way home, …
Three Ways to Keep You (and Your Family) Sane on Road Trips
Learning to Enjoy the Journey We just got back from a road trip to Yosemite. On the way out it was just the boys and me for the roughly 8 hour journey. (My husband met us there.) I was more than a …
Three Ways to Keep You (and Your Family) Sane on Road TripsRead More
Goodbye to the Diaper Bag
I've been carrying a diaper bag around for a long time now, almost seven years to be exact. I've gotten used to hauling this monster around-- to the …
Four Tips for Potty Training
My three-year-old just ran past me, chanting, "Pee-pee, don't come out yet! Don't come out yet, Pee-pee!" He's in the bathroom now, and hopefully all is going well. His recent …
“You Will Miss It”: The Back-to-School Blues
With my younger son starting preschool today and my older son in his second week of first grade, I now have three mornings a week all to myself! Celebration time, right? You …
A Very Boy Vacation
We just got home from a visit with my parents. Something I love (and miss) about the Midwest are the summer thunder showers. The boys loved lying in their beds and watching the lightning flashes and …
The Art of Housekeeping
A few months back I reported on my resolution to let my house be dirty. And to not care. So I thought I'd let you all know how that was going. And the answer is . . . pretty well, …
