It’s time to haul out the Christmas lights and stockings, Advent calendars, and odd shaped Santa pillows from grandparents. Every year I sort of dread dragging all the chaos out of the basement. I wince at how large the bins have become and am afraid that I may find candy or some other randomly gross …

Ever heard this one? “Tis better to give than to receive?” Or how about this “Friends are more important than money?” Maybe, “Remember the real reason for the season?” Whenever someone starts yammering away on the moral attributes of the Christmas season, like a bored middle school student I start to doze off. I’ve heard …

“Mom, see what happens when you are not watching!” My six year old, with one hand on his hip and lungs pushing out an irritated sigh came into the kitchen the other day, along with an audacious little smirk, and alerted me that my ability to parent his two year old sister was apparently lacking. …

A few weeks ago my husband and I hauled our kids up to the summer camp where he and I met some 15 years ago. Something about summer camp memories insists that you relive them every chance you get. Maybe it is the beach, the waterskiing, all the hot boys or flirty girls. Maybe the …

Here in the Midwest where we live it is almost certainly winter. The ground is crunchy and brown with layers of leaves. The tree branches are bare. I can now see the intricate details of my neighbor’s back yards from our bedroom window. The decks and garages that are normally hidden by lush foliage all …

Halloween is over. We are now officially, undoubtedly, out-of-controlably careening toward Christmas. Less than 8 weeks. I was standing in the kitchen tonight pilfering through the bowl of chewy, crinkly wrapped treats that my children acquired last night. Poor things. They do all the work of running up and down the sidewalks, climbing stairs, ringing …