My deepest condolences go out to the families at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT. This senseless, gruesome tragedy makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I’m sickened and deeply saddened by Friday’s events. I’m mourning with the families. To be honest, I can’t make sense of the situation. I believe

“Oh, crap,” I realized in horror as we walked into the country club––this is a no-kids event. My husband and I decided to drop by his golf club for the holiday sale they were having at the pro-shop on our way out to dinner with our children, thinking we could knock a few gifts off

“An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast; a wild beast may wound your body, but an evil friend will wound your mind.” – Buddha Do you hang onto friends who suck out your energy or make you feel miserable about yourself? Parenthood has a way of bringing these

How to Handle Hot-Button Conversations Headed to a party or social get-together in the next few weeks? Ghosts and ghouls may be floating around causing mischief, but a friend’s political wisecracks might spook you more. It’s easy to ignore Facebook posts and that’s exactly what most of us do. Pew Research Center’s Internet and American

Here in the midwest, the leaves are changing into brilliant orange and red colors, the air is crisp, dry and smells of wood burning fires and dried leaves. But, there’s an underlying, almost electric, tension in the air. Have you noticed it? With the presidential election only a few weeks away, many of us are

September is National Literacy Month so let’s talk about my favorite subject – books! I love to read and in an effort to raise readers, I started reading to my children when they were infants. Rarely does an evening pass where we don’t read books together. The house is littered with books, magazines and newspapers.

Grandparents Day is on Sunday, September 9. I don’t know about you, but whenever I reminisce about my grandparents, I think of their stories and the stories my parents shared about them. Even though I didn’t see much of my grandparents when I was growing up, my parents did a pretty good job of filling

A home without pets feels foreign to me. I’ve known people who sneer at us crazy dog people and can’t understand why we love our dogs so much. My dogs are important members of the beautiful chaos of my family life so this attitude is hard for me to wrap my brain around. Would life