It is really nice to come across something that actually works–it seems like it doesn’t happen very often, so I thought I would share it with you when it did.  The other day my son was coloring, with markers, on the couch, and we ended up with a thick dark marker line across the upholstery.  [...]

Or ice day, as the case may be.  Where I live, we get very little snow, but a ton of ice.  The effect is the same, though–5 people stuck in the same house together for 72 hours or more.  Usually we consider it a nice, roomy house, but on these days, it starts to feel a [...]

Middle school is such a strange time for kids.  A therapist friend recently told me about “latency,” which is apparently the stage of childhood between the rapid development of early childhood and the rapid development of adolescence, about ages 9 to 11…and not a lot happens here.  Kids don’t make great physical or intellectual leaps [...]

Are you one of those parents that checks to see if your sleeping child is breathing?  Do you feel silly sometimes, but nevertheless can’t stop yourself from just checking one more time before you turn out your own light? 
That’s me, and it’s even worse when they’re sick.  My kids aren’t babies anymore; one turns 6 [...]

Do any of you out there use these adorable things for your infants?  They’re precious; I mean, look at that picture!  That’s what we think of when we think of babies in baskets or carriers.  And of course, these things have been around since…well, Moses.  They’re so traditional and cozy and picturesque; exactly what we [...]

You’d have to be living in a hut on Antarctica not to know that Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States of America just a few hours ago.  About a million people are in Washington, DC, dancing in the streets and celebrating joyfully.  Others aren’t so thrilled, but are taking [...]

How many people reading this post can say that their lives overlapped Dr. King’s?  I can’t.  I was born in 1970.  Now, I did grow up knowing about the things of the 60’s, such as Dr. King and JFK and the moon landing and, most especially, the Vietnam War, where my daddy was an Army [...]

I love a lot of popular music.  I freely admit that I crank up the car radio so loud that my kids have to ask me to turn it down.  One of my recent faves is Nickelback’s new “Gotta Be Somebody,” a song about loneliness and seeking someone to share your life.  It’s driving, energetic, [...]

Some one-piece baby outfits (pretty adorable ones) made by Rashti & Rashti have been recalled because the snaps come off too easily and the baby could choke on them.  I know we check out every little thing about the clothes we buy, but would any of us have noticed that the snaps detatch too easily?  [...]

…at least in Washington State.  The article is here.
I have extremely mixed feelings about this.  When I was in high school, it made no sense to me that the law said that people have to be in school until age 16, but that 18-year-olds could still be punished for non-attendance.  If we didn’t HAVE to [...]