As I stand at the top of the mountain, I can barely see my teens in the distance. In fact, as I watch their brightly colored coats zig zag along the crisp white snow, I take a deep breath and pull down my snow goggles. Tentatively, I inch myself forward and feel gravity start to […]
I Wasn’t Prepared For My Son’s Grown Up Smile
We paused outside of the orthodontist’s office for one last picture of my son with his braces. Today was two and a half years in the making: his braces were finally coming off. Though he’s used to me documenting his childhood milestones with silly selfies and pictures of him with his friends, my son still […]
When Your Teen Is Testing Your Patience, It Makes You Miss “Time Out”
Everyone tells you toddlers are a lot of work. The minute you announce you are pregnant, in fact, people start warning you that the toddler years are fraught with tantrums and noisy outbursts over unpeeled apples and socks that feel funny. Three year olds have just enough vocabulary to make it very clear that they […]
Since Moms Have To Do Everything Anyway, I’m Writing My Eulogy, Too
When you die, what will people say about you? What will the people around you choose to fit into a teeny tiny column in the paper in the midst of their angst over your untimely demise? Will your eulogy be the standard issue “He was born, he was an engineer, he was a Knight of […]
If You Ask Me What I Do All Day, I Will Junk Punch You
When the Fruit Loops were small, I was a stay at home mom. Mostly. By “mostly”, I mean that while yes, I started my blog and worked part time as a nurse, for the most part, my main job was keeping the Fruit Loops from completely spilling out of the box. And, it continued that […]
The Things I Didn’t See Coming When I Became A Mom (But I Know Now)
When we brought Fruit Loop #1 home, I knew NOTHING about motherhood. Zip. Zero. Zilch. Alright, maybe not NOTHING necessarily. Fact: I knew how to be mothered but not how to be an actual mom. Man, did I have A LOT to learn when Fruit Loop #1 came across our threshold. When I think back […]
My Messy Beautiful Depression
The piece I’m about to share with you is a complete and utter departure from my usual hilarity. It’s a piece I’ve thought about, mulled over, and rejected more times than I can count. I’ve written and rewritten it a thousand times in my head and have been waiting for the perfect time to put […]
10 Parenting Truths Other Mothers Won’t Tell You…But I Will
When I joined the ranks of Mommyhood 15 years ago, I was blindsided by the truths that become glaringly apparent the day you join the club. And, as these truths became more evident, I sometimes felt like the other mothers who already knew them were giggling at me next to their lockers and whispering behind […]