Why has winter lasted six months this year? Being trapped inside with the kids while the snow is thigh high is not my idea of fun.

My husband confessed to wearing long underwear to work. He says his office is heated, but when he leaves his coffee unattended for a few minutes it changes to brown slush.

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I’ve always been a bit of a Nervous Nelly. It’s why my feet stay firmly planted on the ground at amusement parks. You just never know when one of those twisty, upside-down, spinny things is going to fly right off its track.

Sure, sure. I know statistics say I’m more likely to be in a car accident than hurled from a roller coaster, but I’ll take my chances in the car.

There’s no doubt I’m a worry wart. Always have been. But worry took on a whole new meaning the moment I became a mother.

Is the baby warm enough? Did I switch to solid foods too early? Is this a simple diaper rash or malaria? (more…)

I’m ready for Super Bowl Sunday. More ready than I’ve ever been before, and not because I’m a huge football fan or got a great deal on potato chips.

I’ve been learning the language of football from my 7- year-old son. It all started in August when he played on a flag football league through our local leisure services department.

The only requirement for the league is that the players need a mouth guard. I, the over-protective mom, didn’t seem too concerned with that. After all, they need to protect their teeth. Then I read the part on the package about “to protect against concussions,” and I felt a little faint.
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We sent the fourth child off to college this past August. Only six left at home. And while some might think “only six left” to be an oxymoron, at our house life seems a tad quiet. Even the kitchen table appears forlorn with a mere eight place settings at each meal.

I am adjusting to the change, even though it means accepting additional chores. Take the dishes, for example: it was all so neatly arranged amongst the children, with no one having to operate the dishwasher more frequently than once every other day. But with the 18-year-old gone I am somehow loathe to replace her with my kindergartner. Would you trust your Corelle to a 5-year-old boy barely at eye level with the kitchen counter? (more…)

On Christmas Eve, a new baby arrived at our house. He’s a beautiful baby boy with golden hair and brown eyes. Rudy, a scrappy little golden retriever, was given to us as a Christmas gift from my daughter and her beau. Having lost our cocker spaniel a few months ago to sudden illness, my husband and I were ecstatic to receive this tiny ball of fur.

We talked joyfully about having another loyal companion, one who would walk with us and sit on the sofa with us while we watch TV. One who would lie at our feet under the dining room table as we read the newspaper.

Funny how we forgot all about puppyhood. (more…)

They say people can change. I did so, literally overnight. I was once a collected, stable-minded, laid back person. Then I became a mother.

My whole life changed 7 years ago at Covenant Medical Center when I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. He was born six weeks premature. Luckily, the prematurity didn’t affect his health in any way and I got to take him home 11 days later.

It wasn’t until I stepped outside of the hospital doors that I realized how my world had changed. Even though it was mid-June, I felt a chill in the air and had to make sure my child was bundled correctly so he wouldn’t catch cold. (more…)