If you're new 'round these parts, you may not know that I recently expelled a tiny human from my loins. Baby Girl, mine and the husband's third creation, joined our family in April, but not before an interesting hospital stay. I am somewhat of a self-proclaimed expert on hospital stays, having had a ... » Learn More about The 10 People You Meet In the Hospital
DIY
Kindermint Saves & Makes You Money
I often joke that my husband is General Norman Schwarzkopf with a spreadsheet: when it comes to managing our family budget, he takes a no-nonsense approach. I once found $20 in a coat pocket and he deposited it in the kids' college funds. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but he really is nuts ... » Learn More about Kindermint Saves & Makes You Money
Why I Put My Husband (and Sometimes Myself) Before My Kids
Before I had my own babies, I envisioned the kind of mother I would be: cool-headed Carol Brady mixed with the high-energy Claire from Modern Family and a pinch of Married with Children’s Peg Bundy just for fun. I could never pull off the June Cleaver type; it’s simply not in my DNA to make dinner ... » Learn More about Why I Put My Husband (and Sometimes Myself) Before My Kids
A Distraction Is Not An Accident
"I trust you, just not the other drivers on the road." Even though I got my license about 106 years ago, after failing the permit test once don't judge me, my dad's words are still bouncing around in my brain. Since the day my fat head was printed on a little plastic card, my parents have had ... » Learn More about A Distraction Is Not An Accident
I’m Cheating On My Computer With My Loose-Leaf Notebook
There's this fun thing going on each Monday with some of the pals in my computer; we're talking about our writing processes. It's a blog tour about writing, people! SWOON! As an English teacher, I've taught the writing process several times: pre-write, draft, revise, etc. It was always very ... » Learn More about I’m Cheating On My Computer With My Loose-Leaf Notebook
Say CHEESE!
“I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Arla Dofino. I received product samples to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.” The other day I overheard my son asking my husband why "Mom has a fat face." After ... » Learn More about Say CHEESE!
10 Things I Will (or Won’t) Do For My Husband This Father’s Day
I often rely on my writing to take attention away from the fact that I am the world's worst gift giver. I'm the one who buys you a sweater in July, but the sweet words in your card totally make up for it. Unless you're my husband. Once, I bought him a round of golf at a course that had ... » Learn More about 10 Things I Will (or Won’t) Do For My Husband This Father’s Day
Here, Have a Free Vacation. Really.
Dimpled knees and chubby hands. Sweet smiles and coos. Snuggles and soft sighs. Babies. I'll pause for a collective awwww... Done? ... » Learn More about Here, Have a Free Vacation. Really.
One Teacher’s Sixth Sense: I See Dead Dogs
I was teaching Homer's "The Odyssey" in my sophomore English class: the epic poem that can also be an epic fail because of all the weird sex stuff and because sophomores. But my team teacher and I were killing it, no pun intended, when something outside caught my attention. A lump half buried in the ... » Learn More about One Teacher’s Sixth Sense: I See Dead Dogs
That Kind of Teacher
My first teaching gig wasn't easy. The first year was especially daunting what with a boy being thrown through the glass of my classroom door and all. I huddled around the "haters" (teachers who hated their jobs and, clearly, our students) in the Faculty Lounge, contributing to the bitch sessions ... » Learn More about That Kind of Teacher