Just returned from Thanksgiving in Sun City, Arizona, home of my in-laws. I love seeing them; however, I leave Kids Kastle for a place where Seniors Reign Supreme. For those not familiar with this Del Webb retirement community, you have to be at least 55 to live in Sun City, and the local hot spot would...

I must tell you, I was muttering "Calgon take me away!" as the day for my vacation from my family arrived. It was about two hours before my departure time to Austin, TX with two of my dearest mom friends, and I was NOT relaxed! No, I was shopping like a mad woman as 5-year old Dylan is "snack...

The idea of a family vacation is such an oxymoron. Not that I don't love Disneyland, the locale of our last vacation, but I'd call it more of a family trip, or even an adventure, but not a family vacation. This weekend I am about to get a vacation from my family, and call me selfish, but I can't...

When Saturday morning rolls around, I shed my "mom skin" like a snake for a few hours. It begins around 5:15 a.m., when I hop in my husband's car -- the one without the booster seat -- and listen to music of my choice for a few minutes. I pull into the parking lot of a local middle school...

Vacation with a 5-year old is always an adventure, particularly when the destination is Disneyland. Unless you live in Florida or California, I think there's pressure on parents because just getting to the front gates of Disney is a production. It's unfortunate that this family vacation requires...

My blog has been on hiatus this week as we've been spending time with Mickey and the gang in California. Yep, we took 5-year old Dylan to Disneyland and then capped it off with a trip to the beach. I will share vacation details in a later blog, but now that I've been home about 36 hours, I have...

Consider the presidential election through the eyes of my hyper-competitive 5-year old... He kind of sees this as a contest on the grand scale of the World Series...perhaps with good reason. "OK," he asks me, "it's McCain versus -- he loves the word "versus" as a verb --...

OK, for the record, I do NOT want to be any of the following for Halloween: 1. Sexy Wonder Woman 2. Sexy Cheerleader wearing Playboy bunny shirt 3. Sexy Nurse 4. French maid Not that the creators of Halloween costumes are paying any attention to this. I was looking for something appropriate to wear to...

Well, it hit me like a blast of air conditioning on a summer day in Texas -- I have lost all sense of focus. The realization came last week after I dropped 5-year old Dylan off at school. As usual, I'm frantic to deliver him on time and have everything together for my morning run. Small aside: Why...

Consider my morning -- Endorphins popping like Rice Krispies after my brisk 6-mile run, I gulp my cup of water only to realize it's toothpaste backwash courtesy of Dylan, my 5-year old. Happy Monday. So I'm gagging on watermelon-flavored toothpaste considering bigger questions -- Is this just...