Portfolio | Parenting

Storage Wars in the Rocket City
The holidays are behind us and if you are like me, the photo above is now your reality.  Read more.....

Compassion and Crying in Baseball 
When my son was born in 2004, I considered myself quite the expert on parenting. I had grandiose plans for when the baby arrived, plans that were unceremoniously chucked out the window that first year. I had planned on having a healthy child and an easy recovery. The best laid schemes of mice and men.  Read more.....

Rage Against the Guilt Machine
Ah, Mommy Guilt. That insidious feeling mothers experience which has no basis in reality, yet prevents us from enjoying such activities as Girls Night Out, uninterrupted showers, and kid-free vacations.  Read more.....

Transition
Well, the school year is upon us, and I have a confession to make. [whispers] I am excited.
I know that as a mom, I am supposed to lament the end of this supersized vacation (thanks, Alabama legislature!) and long for the lazy days of summer. But that was before my children decided that Arguing was an Olympic sport and they were going for the gold.  Read more.....

Traveling with Kids
I purposely titled this “Traveling with Kids” and not “Vacationing with Kids” because anyone who has taken a trip with small children can attest that there will not be an abundance of R&R happening. Lounging by the pool with a fruity cocktail? Not with a floatie-sporting toddler on the rampage.  Sleeping in?  Ha!  Have you ever tried to sweet talk a baby into sleeping in a rented Pack N Play?  If the child could talk, I am convinced that they would sneer at the substandard accommodations. Read more.....

Valentines for the Craft-Challenged Mom
Have you ever felt as if all of the other moms are crafting geniuses, while you can barely sew a button back on a sweater?  I remember my son’s first Valentine’s Day in preschool.  I had taken him to the store to pick out the miniature cartoon-themed cards like we exchanged back in the eighties not that long ago when I was a kid.  Read more.....

Teatime in the Toilet
I am mom to two children, a seven-year-old boy and four-year-old girl. My daughter is a cherub. When we are out and about, I always smile and accept strangers’ kind compliments, all the while acting as if her pleasant personality was completely my doing. I conveniently forget that she has an older brother who can be rather mercurial.  Read more.....


Electronic Parenting
A typical evening in our household will find my husband playing Angry Birds Space, while my son is watching Phineas and Ferb, while his little sister is dressing her digital Barbie, while I am happily pinning landscaping ideas on my Pinterest Gardening board. The only member of our family who is not glued to a screen would be the basset hound, and it is just a matter of time before Apple introduces its newest product: iDog. If iDog lets the dog out for his early-morning bathroom break, I will be first in line at the Apple Store.  Read more.....

The Importance of Childhood Friendships
Last December my seven-year-old son’s best friend moved to Dallas.  Cooper and Nolan were inseparable.  They lived next door to each other, they were in the same class in school, and they played together every afternoon.  They were a good match, Nolan was a calming influence on my mercurial son, and Cooper was an outgoing match for his shy friend.  Read more.....

Collecting with Cooper
I have always been a collector, from Precious Moments figurines to Effanbee dolls to um…Coach. Yeah, that has been one of my more expensive collections.  My favorite collection, however, is the one that I share with my son, Cooper.  Read more.....

Thankful for My Problems
Perspective…….I seem to misplace it. Often. Along with my glasses, car keys, and occasionally a child or two. In my rather rickety defense, it is easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life–appointments…obligations…meetings…all aspects of a normal day that I simultaneously enjoy and complain about. Read more.....