Holiday traditions are important to my family.  I must admit, this makes me happy.  In a world where I fight with YouTube or TikTok for my teenagers’ attention I will happily take their interest in baking cookies and decorating the tree. Most years it is a struggle to carve out a few hours of time […]

Days like today make me think of my Granddad.  He was a laid back and jolly guy, but even he had his limits.  I was blessed to live near him when I was growing up.  My siblings and I spent hours on end at my grandparents’ house.  I’d like to think we were generally well-behaved.  […]

I have a confession to make. I hate the elves.  You are probably having one of two reactions right now. Either you are thinking that I am crazy because the Elf on the Shelf is nothing but wonderful Christmas fun, or you are thinking that you finally found a woman after your own heart. Maybe I would feel differently […]

December is here once again. Yay?  I know, it’s supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year.  I have to admit, I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with this time of year.  December is my frenemy.  I really want to love December unconditionally.  I love it every other month of the year.  […]

Halloween is coming up and excitement is in the air at my house.  Costumes have been ordered/shopped for/made.  (Not made by me, but the 12-year-old is very creative.) The fake spider webs are adorning the bushes outside, and the kids are dreaming about their soon-to-be cache of candy.  Oh, the candy…the candy is their favorite part!  […]

Fall was in the air yesterday with our first swing at 80 degree daytime temperatures.  It was glorious.  The weather won’t hold here yet, but we are about to embark on another milestone: Fall Break.  For those of you with traditional school schedules, Fall Break is a random week off of school in September.  My […]

I thought it was plastic.  The “it” being the lizard in my son’s room.  There he was, captive, underneath an upside down drinking glass on the nightstand.  It was not what I expected to find when I went to check and see if my son had cleaned his room.  Maybe this is just part of […]

I’ve lived in Georgia for 15 years, but Texas is home.  Texas is where I learned how to ride a bike, how to write in cursive, how to drive.  It’s where I had my first job, my first love, my first college football game. I grew up there.  It is where I learned how to […]

Have you ever lost something important?  Your car keys? Passport? Wallet?  Sanity? It’s a terrible feeling, or at least it is for me. I lost my son in London.  I hesitate to admit that.  I am typically a very organized and responsible person.  I don’t like losing things, and I really hate it when I […]

  Traveling with four children is a challenge.  I feel fairly sure that you will all agree with me.  I face different challenges now than I did when they were babies, but it can be a struggle just the same.  I have two words for you: table manners.  Don’t laugh. This was a minor problem […]