Recently, I was in the store with my 3-year-old daughter who was happily chatting away in the cart, when an older woman came up to us and exclaimed over my daughter’s apparent precociousness. I’m sure you know the drill, or something like it. “She’s so chatty and bright, it must be because you’re not–” she cut herself off and mimicked

The internet is an overflowing cornucopia of Halloween costume ideas for little kids. Most of them involve what seems to be one thousand accessories. Who has time for that? Not me. So I’m here to share some ideas that are sure to be fairly easy to construct with no more than 5 parts (because I see you, I see your

Target: This is the obvious one, the low-hanging fruit on the consumerism-as-desperate-bid-for-focused-house-escape list. Pro: They will definitely have cute cardigans to browse while I look for the things I came in for (ostensibly not cardigans, but who’s really keeping track here). Con: Cashiers are going to think, “That lady really should keep a list or something, why is she here

When I last left you regarding this blog post theme (In Which I Do Something Selfish, Part 1) I was preparing to do the unthinkable: I was getting ready to take a solo vacation, whilst leaving the kids in the care of my capable husband. Here’s a quick recap: I was on a book draft deadline, and when my husband

My family recently underwent the work to become a licensed foster care family. Since this is a big change, I wanted to introduce my three-year-old daughter to the concept of a new little person living with us. However, most books aimed at expanding families for young children are solidly in the “mommy is pregnant!/you’re getting a baby sister/brother” category, with

If they have legs, they will not want to use them. If they have arms, they will not want to have them sunblocked. If they have hands, they will not want to hold yours. If they have a hat, they will not want to wear it. If the whole small mammal house smells like the skunk enclosure exploded, they will

Lately my little family has been going through a rough patch. My husband got laid off from his job, and our schedules have been reworked like Play Dough as a result. Our family vacation was booked for later this month, but with the layoff, there went the availability of paid time off, or the ability to be gone from a

Is it too much to ask that y’all take good photos of us once in a while?  We all want to stay in the photos, but quite frankly, not only do I want to be in photos with my child (this seems like a bare minimum request, by the way) but I’d also like to look back on photos and

Jaws. JK JK JK!  Okay, in all seriousness, if screen time isn’t your thing, that’s totally understandable.  However, if you find yourself under a baby (and possibly stuck) and wish to partake of some film-y indulgence, I’ve got some recommendations.  *cracks knuckles* Firstly, these are all available streaming on Netflix, because you’re stuck under a baby and aren’t going to

First of all, let me get this out of the way: this isn’t one of those articles that’s all like, don’t buy your kid any birthday presents and pocket all that cash for college!  The amount of birthday presents I buy my child (or Christmas presents, or Easter basket chocolates, etc) wouldn’t buy a single semester’s worth of textbooks, let