When my youngest son gets angry, he often gets dramatically pouty. It may start with something as simple as my refusing him one more...

Last week the alternator in my husband Brent’s truck went out, and we had to get it towed. I met Brent in the parking lot down the road...

On these hot summer days, it can be difficult to find relief from the heat. Most of us have become so accustomed to A/C that even the...

I didn’t always love to read as I do now, but I have always loved to be read to. My mom was a natural read-aloud reader. She used...

For as long as I can remember, I knew I wanted to be a mom, partly because I always enjoyed being around younger kids. I transitioned...

When my children were younger, I taught them to look at adults when they spoke to them. “Give her your eyes,” I would say when someone...

To the baby of the family, Ezzy Bear, Lieutenant Happy Face (more of a reminder to cease complaining than an actual title), Ez, Lil Man,...

I’m attempting to implement a more disciplined writing schedule for myself. Seeing as how it’s been about a week since I’ve added...

At the end of February, I was given the opportunity to speak at a Family Reading Night at my son’s elementary school. I spoke for about...

I have found that the best way to get to know my kindergarten son’s friends and classmates is by making a weekly visit to eat lunch with...

When I was in high school I was very involved in our drama club. I did just about everything for our school theater group—built and...

I’m not going to be that mom who complains about having her kids home for snow days. I’m not going to mention how they start the day...

Per our family’s tradition, I asked our soon-to-be 7-year old son where/what he wanted to eat for his birthday. With our other kids,...

Have you ever thought about the purpose of a blanket fort? You’ve probably made one before: blankets strewn across chairs and pillows on...

With Christmas right around the corner—houses lit with blinking red and green lights, wreaths on doors, and bell ringers in front of...

Mr. Hopper was universally regarded as the meanest man in town. He just didn’t like kids—not in his grass or near his car or close to his...

I have a kind of love/hate relationship with birds. I’ve written posts about them working together as a group, eating from our bird...

One mid-morning last week the power went out at our house unexpectedly. There were no storms or other obvious reasons for the outage. I...

When Ezra, our African-born son, was struggling with his new language last year, we signed him up for speech lessons. At first it was...

Earlier this month, I volunteered at my son’s elementary school Book Fair. Since I haven’t worked retail in 20 years, this felt like I...

I feel like I lost a good friend this week. My vegetable peeler broke. To the untrained eye, this kitchen tool looks like any other, but...

This morning my 6-year old Ezra woke up on the grumpy side of the bottom bunk. In his defense, it was a dark, rainy Monday, and none of...

When our family of 6 recently toured New England, we learned a lot about history, geography, and regional customs, but we also learned a...

When our family takes a vacation that requires a lot of walking, we have an unwritten rule about how we line up. Whether it’s Disney or...