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...

For the last 5 years, by choice, I have drawn a paycheck of hugs and kisses. But taking the stay-at-home mom path was more coincidental than strategically planned. My husband Tim took a job in the Dallas area, and I accompanied him, already 5 months pregnant. When we moved, the University of Missouri...

For me the "joy" of cooking is a very real thing I've tried to share with 5-year old Dylan. He knows a teaspoon from a Tablespoon, gleefully tosses spices in a bowl to concoct rubs, whisks up salad dressing, and even peels a few sweet potatoes under my supervision (all fingers are still...

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...