As a mom of a 17, 15 and 12 year-old, other than scraping teeth on utensils, or chewing and speaking at the same time (shiver!) things don't bother me as much, as they did, when ALL 4 of my kids were in single digits...at the same time (double-shiver!) But, this kid...right here...just turned 10 today and, well, I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around the fact that my oldest is now a legally licensed driver. Or, that my middle girl is turning 16 at the end of this year and how much older than 15 that sounds, right about... Read more →

Pardon me, while I tap into my Hungarian roots, here, but I love this time of year, minus the wet. Some of my favorite flowers are blooming, RIGHT NOW, most of which we adopted from my parent's garden, before selling the house they spent 30+ years, rebuilding, literally, from the ground up. It was just too much for them. After 7 years of successfully negotiating dozens of hurdles that life continues to throw at them, my parents are still making beautiful things happen, in the dirt. It's in their blood. I've read that there are over 200 varieties of Iris... Read more →

Glen is 12, going on boyteen and, being raised in a house, filled with females, he's grown used to navigating through a raging sea of hormones. Also, rooting through an endless supply of feminine products, because, well, there has GOT to be a roll of toilet paper, in there, somewhere, DAGNABIT! On the other hand, our house seems to be a breeding ground for random pieces of bar soap and I guess we could always recycle them into something fun and useful...but...EWWWW! Aaaanyway, all bathroom issues aside (you're welcome!) my son remains light-hearted about growing up in a testosterone-ly-challenged environment...mostly.... Read more →

Yesterday, we attended an art show, held at a local bank, supporting art in schools, featuring two of Holly's pieces. You can't really tell from my cell phone, however the majority of this pen and ink drawing is stippled, with tiny little dots. I remember, because I can still hear the, "...dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot..." of her tapping the pen well into the night. The same with this one,"...dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot..." which explains the permanent dent in the poor girl's right index finger. This piece, however, is... Read more →

My husband, Garth (not his real name) attended a business-related event, last night (yes, without me, go figure) so, the kids and I were on our own for dinner (codeword: pizza) and then settled in to watch one of my most favorite movies of all time. All 3 of my girls were absolutely enthralled with the idea of 50 First Dates and sort of fell a little in love with Adam Sandler's character, as he attempted to make Drew Barrymore's character fall in love with him...every day. My 12-year-old son, however, thought Rob Schneider's performance as pure genius, of course.... Read more →

As parents (tired, wigged-out, sleep-deprived, frazzled and frustrated as we may seem) my husband, Garth (not his real name) and I continually try to teach our kids to, you know, do the right thing. It's not easy. Trust me -- having been involuntarily drafted to the receiving side of some pretty crappy interceptions, from folks coincidentally resembling the wrong end of a horse -- I know. What, you too, isn't it ironic, totally stinks, too, right? Still, every now and again, a person comes along, most likely when you least expect it and...WHAM!...reinforces the urge to become a lifelong member... Read more →

The kids and I attended my twin brother's pinning ceremony and had the great honor of celebrating his recent promotion to Master Sargent, with the troops, on Friday afternoon. Although, we were ALL very, very proud of him (Go Army!) my son, who wants to grow up to be just like Uncle Bud, was beyond thrilled to have been invited (thank you, Pam!) and, upon our arrival, was more than a little unnerved to find a room filled with soldiers, standing at attention, waiting for us to take our seats, in the front row. Me, too! "Ummmm...don't be nervous...remember they... Read more →