In the wake of the controversy surrounding Jennifer Lopez’s scandalous Super Bowl performance, I’ve seen many comments and concerns over what is and what isn’t appropriate for families to watch. This handy guide should help clear up your confusion! OKAY: Olympic pairs ice skating.   NOT OKAY: Jennifer Lopez’s Super Bowl performance.   OKAY: The […]

Each afternoon when I pick up my 12-year-old son from school, we perform a time-honored ritual that’s shared by millions of moms and sons every single day. (begin scene) “How was school?” I ask him. “Fine,” he answers. “What happened today?” I ask him. “Nothing,” he answers. (end scene) Of course, I usually press him […]

You can’t look at TV or social media today without seeing the name Kobe Bryant. The death of Kobe, his 13-year-old daughter, and seven others in a helicopter crash shocked the nation and brought many to tears. Yesterday, most of the posts and stories I read portrayed Kobe as a sort of angel on earth […]

There are many things I’m sure I’ll miss when my children are grown. I’ll miss their laughter and noise and chatter. Their companionship, their hugs and hand squeezes. There are also a few things I won’t miss — I won’t miss driving the kids to school and doctor’s appointments and practices, and friends’ houses. Or […]

2019 definitely was a year of transition for my family. This has a lot to do with where we are now in life — Our youngest two kids have reached the tween/teen years, our parents are getting older, and so are the rest of the adults in our extended family. We’ve had to handle some […]

It was a good year for books. I read/listened to 60 this year and I’m happy to say there were very few bombs in the bunch, which is a very good thing. When I came to the end of last year, I decided I’d followed the herd and read too many new releases, so this […]

  The Most Wonderful Time of the Year is almost here. No, not Christmas, silly! I’m talking about MONSTER JAM TIME. I have rhapsodized about Monster Jam on this blog many times before and no one is more surprised than me that I’m a fan. Dennis convinced me to go to a show several years […]

To know me is to know I have turkey troubles. The story of our Gas Station Turkey several years ago spread far and wide after I shared it on Facebook, and the end result of that snafu (along with dinner that year not taking place until nine-freaking-thirty PM) is that we never outsourced our Thanksgiving […]

A few days ago, I did something I generally try to avoid — I bragged about my kid on Facebook. I hadn’t bragged in a while, mostly because my Facebook feed is already filled with other parents’ brags, and I think that stream is polluted enough already without me adding to it. Don’t get me […]

Cooler weather is (finally!) here, which makes it the best time of year for weekend family field trips. I’ve always had two ulterior motives when planning weekend activities for my family — No matter what we do together, I want my kids to get active or I want them to learn something. Fortunately, there are […]