My daughter was born in July, and (heat stroke pregnancy aside) it’s the beeeest. But it also means hosting a gaggle of hot, sweaty children who have no concept of “dehydration” or “don’t touch that AC unit by the side of the house, you’ll lose a finger, kid.” Lucky for...
I love summertime. I mean, who doesn’t? Come onnnnnn. It’s awesome — popsicles and pools and jorts, what more could a girl want? Fine, a personal bubble of air conditioning at all times would be nice. But I don’t see that happening, so I’ll bask in all the other summery...
For a long time, i felt like I couldn’t explain the concept of hope to my daughter. There are a lot of things in this world I want to — need to — talk to the kids in my home about, of course. Things like kindness. Love. Patience. Confidence. Empathy....
Ah yes. The first days of summer vacation — can you smell it? That unmistakable scent of longing and anticipation and blissful freedom and abandoned lockers with lingering gym socks left behind to rot. But let’s not get too excited about all the ice cream dates and zoo trips and...
Every time I try to boil down what I’ve learned by being a foster mother, I start to feel overwhelmed. There are so many layers to foster parenting, and just when you think you’ve discovered all the layers, still more layers present themselves. It is nuanced, tricky, emotionally complicated, socially...
Dear Potty Training Mama, You’re ready. At least, you think you are. You’ve got your sticker chart, your dog-eared library copy of Oh Crap!: Potty Training, your sense of grit and firm resolution hardening your lips into a stern line. A box of Franzia from CVS. You know nothing, Potty...
The rain, rain, rain Came down, down, down In rushing, rising riv’lets ‘Til the river crept out of its bed And crept right into piglet’s To say that this past Memorial Day weekend’s vacation with the kids (a longed-for trip after a year of layoff woe and contract work sans...
It wasn’t just a rainy night. It was a dingdang monsoon. And it wasn’t just any night. It was the one night I’d gotten a babysitter set up (aka, grandma and grandpa’s house for the kids to have a sleepover) and actually purchased tickets for an art festival show out...
There comes a time in every mom’s life when she realizes she’s too old for something. Maybe it’s a trip to American Eagle with a niece that triggers the feeling…that feeling that maybe you are no longer the intended audience for something. For some people, this might bring on feelings...
Sometimes, I think back to friends who had children before me, and I realize looking back on all our interactions that oh, they must have been so much more exhausted than I was then. Because now? Hello, now I’m a person who will literally fall asleep anywhere if given a...