I can pretty much guarantee that my husband and I won’t be adding a fourth child to our brood. And while I have plenty of physical, emotional and financial reasons to keep that promise, my grounds are really driven by aesthetics. We have three kids. We have four bedrooms in our house. We have no [...]

There’s a little bit of Brady Bunch envy still lurking within me. And part of it has to do with those big awesome bedrooms they shared, one for the three boys, and another for the three girls. OK, so their dad was an architect. And each room looked like it was the equivalent of two [...]

Building a nest of toilet paper. Check. Talking about stranger danger. Check. The perfect backpack and lunch bag packed with crayons, sharpened pencils and a marble notebook. Check. Colors, counting to 100, letter sounds. Check, check, and check. Being convinced of the importance of wearing sneakers instead of “heel shoes” on the playground. Check (finally). [...]

Dear Amanda and Suzanne: My granddaughter Leila will turn 3 in a few days. Since she was born my wife has been the happiest grandmother anyone could imagine. Our son only lives a few miles away so we can pretty much see Leila anytime we want. My problem is that it seems like we see her too [...]

I’m a Fifty Shades of Grey convert. There, I said it. Until Tracey recently asked Amanda and me if either of us had read it, I wasn’t admitting to anyone (except my husband) that I not only read Fifty Shades of Grey, but Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed. Just two months before, I had openly and [...]

Let’s start with a fun fact, shall we? Did you know that Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy author E.L. James originally published the work as a piece of Twilight (don’t get me started) fanfiction under the name Snowqueens Icedragon? Book. Cover. Judged. *************************************** One afternoon about a month ago, I was sitting at my son’s batting practice [...]

If, for whatever reason, I am ever asked to come up with a way to torture someone, and I mean, really inflict maniacal psychological warfare, I have the perfect method. I will infest my victim and everyone who lives in their house with lice. Think I’m being a little, I don’t know, soft on my [...]

Reading books ranks right up at the top of my priorities along with fulfilling basic needs and good oral hygiene. My husband and I enjoy all media and so my children are exposed to practically every form of entertainment that is available and age appropriate. With so many entertainment options – apps, books, magazines, movies, [...]