My husband recently gave me a wonderful gift. It didn’t glitter or have leather seats, or come with champagne. It was the gift of peace. And quiet. I got sprung from the big house and three boys younger than 6 for 48 hours of R & R, where the only…

Photo by SHVETS production from Pexels A not-very-funny thing happened to me on the way to having three children in less than five years. I had become quite chubby. Not just plump but soft, jiggly, mushy. Seeing myself in the mirror, my ample, rounded shoulders reminded me of my dearly…

Photo by ThisIsEngineering from Pexels “Watch out for mommy’s tummy!” I’d yell in vain as my son came flying at me, preparing to execute a swan dive onto my prone and vulnerable pregnant belly as I dared to rest my feet on the couch. “Who’s my sweet little man?” I’d…

Photo by Emma Bauso from Pexels “I have an idea for a column for you,” my sister said to me on the phone the other day. “I was trying to tickle my son,” she continued, “when it struck me that I really had no idea how to tickle him properly…

Photo by Ketut Subiyanto from Pexels I went to bed at 8pm last night. I was pooped, tuckered out, had hit the sleep wall. Sleep is an incredibly precious commodity in a house full of small children. When everyone is sleeping soundly through the night on a regular basis, the…

Much respect for stay-at-home Moms “So what’s new with you?” one of my few remaining single friends would ask me after we had sufficiently covered her dating life, professional developments, and latest shrink appointments. “What’s new with me? I’ll tell you what’s new with me. I live in Indiana, I…

“Is anyone watching?” I ask myself as I slink to the pantry to get an afternoon pick-me-up in the form of leftover Halloween candy. With the holiday long since past, the candy is off-limits to the kids except for special occasions. How to explain my shame of surreptitiously eating Reese’s…

Neighbors. They lend us eggs and sugar and tools in a pinch, buy cookies and wrapping paper they don’t need for endless school fundraisers, and take out our trash and pick up our mail when we’re out of town. If you’re lucky, the relationship with your neighbors is respectful and…

Going to a carnival with little kids — good in theory, not so good in reality. How do you say to a little kid with a dream, you will NEVER get that ball to drop in the red glass. NEVER. When pigs fly. Let mommy teach you a word: S-C-A-M…