I've been thinking about this weekend for almost a year.It's funny, because I've never been big on holidays or anniversaries or dates marking major milestones. I can't tell you when Tenzin and I had our first kiss. I have to pause to recall the kids' dates of birth. And if we have to celebrate a [...]

We've been watching Life, the behemoth new documentary series about animals, and we just saw the "Mammals" episode. There's a section where a baby elephant gets stuck in a watering hole and her young, inexperienced mother tries to get her out. Things keep getting worse until finally the grandmother comes over, pushes the mother out [...]

I cleaned my house today. It was my birthday, and I cleaned my house.Now, some people may think this sounds like the absolute worst possible birthday they can imagine. I say "some" because I already know that there are plenty of other people (mostly friends of mine with kids, big houses, and busy lives) who [...]

For the past week or so, Newt's been acting, how should I put this. . . like an asshole. He blows up for no apparent reason, has lousy manners, and talks to me in "teenager" tone. But here's the rub -- when I call him on his behavior (which I almost always do without fail), [...]

Dear Mom,I had a dream this morning that I was talking to you on the phone. Not about anything important. I think we were discussing something you'd seen at Costco. It's only the second time I've dreamed about you since you died, so we're not talking mass visitation here. I've always told the kids that [...]

Yes. Christmas. If you've lost a loved one, you have to "make it" through two big things: the funeral and the holidays. The former is like a party you've worked really hard to plan at a church you don't attend with all of your best friends who are crying their eyes out. This is all [...]

I have the equivalent of Toy Purgatory in my laundry room. It's where I stash stuff that I want to get rid of and am pretty sure the kids won't miss but am too afraid to actually toss or give away for fear of having one of them ask for it one day. This may [...]

Dear Mom,Newt finally learned to ride his two-wheeler this weekend! On the last official day of summer vacation, days before stepping into his first grade classroom, he pulled it off. That's such classic Newt. Remember how he took his first steps a week before his first birthday? With him it's all about due time and [...]

Today has been one of those run-around-like-a-crazy-person days. The kind where there's so much to do in your house that you keep getting distracted by equally opposing forces (I'll just put this leftover pizza in the fridge so it won't spoil. That is, after I take the clothes out of the dryer so they won't [...]