Category: Family
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It takes a village…
Raising my children in Minnesota, the one thing I miss is family. I grew up in a small town in Oklahoma on the outskirts of an even smaller town where my father was born and raised. Having lived there his whole life – and my father being one of more than a dozen children my…
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Not Me!
Dear Readers: Due to the content of this particular post, the names and locations of the participants have been changed to protect the “innocent.” Once upon a time, there was a young girl named Penelope. She was the 4th of five children, with the youngest being two years younger, and the elder siblings being 10,…
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Everybody Wants to be a Clown
If there’s any one thing I’ve tried to instill in my kids, it’s a sense of humor and the importance of being able to not only take a joke, but to laugh at yourself. I’ve told them repeatedly, “If you can’t learn to laugh at yourself, then you’ll be the only one not laughing while the rest…
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There are “Rules” to Becoming a Domestic Goddess
Housework, if you do it right, will kill you. ~ Erma Bombeck Recently I read a blog by a fellow blogger, A Gripping Life, about how she’s a bit obsessive-compulsive about certain things, most notably about cleaning her house. I love reading her blogs, but it wasn’t until I read this particular one that I…
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Quips and Quotes…(1st Edition)
My family and friends are so completely bizarre that I could probably fill an entire book with the goofy things that pop out of their mouths. In most cases, they’re not trying to be funny…they just are funny. For example, just this week my son had a play date with the little boy down the…
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Never Let ’em See You Laugh
Among the most important rules of parenting are three that a parent should never forget: Pick your battles. Whatever you do, don’t laugh. If they see you laugh, you’ve lost the battle. I was reminded of this quite recently during a discussion with my 7-year son, Braden, who is probably the quickest-witted of anyone in…
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She’ll leave the light on for you…
My husband is fond of saying that when our children grow up, leave home and have their first homes of their own, we’re going to go for an extended visit and wreak our revenge. While there, he swears that he’s going to walk around the house and systematically turn every light on as he goes,…
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Lost in Translation
Today’s the day. Our sweet boxer, Sir Herschel Barksalot (Hershey to friends), goes to the vet for that visit that makes all men squeamish…he’s going to be neutered. Castrated. Unmanned. Made epicene. He’ll join the ranks of other canine eunuchs around the world and will be left unsexed and androgynous. He will cease to be…
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Becoming a Domestic Goddess (Part Two)
Those of you who read my blog on Friday, Becoming a Domestic Goddess (Part One), know that my number one goal as a new wife was to meet and exceed the expectations of not only my husband, but society in general. After the baked potato/knife debacle, things did get better. I bought a gazillion cookbooks…
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Becoming a Domestic Goddess (Part One)
A Note to the Reader: As with all of my blogs, the following story is completely true. While it embarrasses me to admit it, this story is completely unexaggerated or enhanced. Seriously, folks…I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried! As a 22 year old bride, I had in my mind certain things I…