I keep thinking about how I want to come here and tell you thank you.  I want to express how grateful I am for the kindness of loved ones and strangers and how all of it has reminded me that there is good in the world.
And then, before I get a chance to flex my [...]

There is an ornament that hangs on my mother’s tree that is little more than yarn and popsicle sticks.  There may be a small strand of silver garland attached to it, although I’d be surprised if that part has survived the years of holiday packing and unpacking.
I made it when I was about Devin’s age, [...]

My family is having Thanksgiving dinner without me today.
My mom and my brothers, along with the rest of their families, will gather around a table and turkey, 1400 miles to the north of me in a small ranch house in Iowa.  They’ll laugh and they’ll eat and they’ll make fun of one another.  They’ll take [...]

Things That Are Not Cool:
>> Having both of your children sick at the same time.
>> Waking up in the middle of the night to find one of your children throwing up in your bed.  On your sheets.
>> Having to change the sheets in the middle of the night while one of your children sits on [...]

This is what Emma looks like when she needs a haircut:

This is what Emma looked like last week, when she was way beyond needing a haircut:

This is what Emma looks like after she has finally gotten her hair cut:

And this:

And this:

And, OK, actually more like this:

Oh, so cute!  So short and not tangled!  So “yes, [...]

“I watched them, thinking that little girls who make their mothers live grow up to be such powerful women.”  -Elizabeth Gilbert in Eat, Pray, Love
I read those words and stopped for a second, wondering if an editor in some glass New York City office building had missed a typo.
“…little girls who make their mothers live [...]

“Is being a mom hard?” she asked.
“Yes.”
I answered without hesitation.  Fear and a desire to understand better washed over her face almost imperceptibly.  She mentioned something about working and the things we do.
“It’s not taking care of them that’s hard.  I mean, you figure that out pretty quickly, just like with anything else.”
“Right,” I saw [...]

“Alright, Mom.  I have to go.”
Our morning conversation was beginning to bleed into my working hours and I could no longer ignore the screams from my inbox.
“OK, baby.  I love you.”
“I love you, too.  Thanks for listening to me be a raging whore all morning.”
“Mmm… I’d say raging bitch.”
“Oh.  Right.”
“Technically I don’t think I can [...]

She answered the door wearing neither makeup nor shoes.
She wore a t-shirt and cut off denim shorts and a closely cropped haircut that was devoid of any styling product.  She smiled as she opened her home to me and quietly invited me in.  She seemed a little meek and unsure of how to greet me.
Shit, [...]

I don’t know if other mothers do this, but I’m constantly thinking about how my children will remember their childhoods.
We’ll be in the middle of our lives, and suddenly I see it all as a snapshot.  I look at the people and the surroundings, the faces and the details of what we’re wearing, and I [...]

The other day on twitter I informed the Internets that I was finally working through all of the pictures from my Dad’s visit to Florida a couple weeks ago.
Because that is the kind of interesting information I like to share with the world with modern technology.
And while you are mocking me for my mastery of [...]

I’m not usually a zoo person. In fact, if it wasn’t for the kids I would never set foot in a zoo again. I’ve talked about this before but the short version is: my mother ruined zoos for me.
Zoos and Indian Pow Wows. Scarred for life. Thanks, Mom.
ANYway, considering my aversion [...]

There are two things you need to know to understand what I’m about to tell you:
1) Once in a while, I wear a thong. As in that underwear that is mostly loin cloth in the front and string up your butt in the back.
2) I haven’t been alone in a bedroom or bathroom since [...]

I received a request from another blogger to do a post here. Specifically, they wanted to know what *you* – meaning you, dear reader – had to say about a certain topic.
Personally, I think that says quite a bit about you. Mainly, that you’re outspoken and engaging and awesome and basically the best [...]

My mom says it’s just a phase.
My jaw muscles say it feels like this phase has gone on forever.
My back teeth are being worn into nubs from the constant attempts to not. lose. my shit.

I’m pretty sure I’m the world’s worst mother.
I’m also pretty sure that the most annoying, frustrating, brain bleed inducing [...]