I’m pooped. I suppose you might take that expression literally, given that I live in a house with two kids under three years of age, but, in this case, I’m using it euphemistically. I’m tired. Spent. Wiped. Exhausted. After ten days of non-stop blogging followed by a week of non-stop sniffling, this lady needs a [...]
Today I am pleased to offer you a guest post by Leslie of Five to Nine. Leslie writes with wit and wisdom about her busy life as a go-to-work mom who just happens to be renovating her house in her “spare” time. Whether she’s writing about her tiny hometown in the Arkansas Ozarks or her [...]
I’m a big fan of Gale’s blog, Ten Dollar Thoughts. Gale is a terrific writer who regularly serves up intelligent, thoughtful, and thought-provoking essays. Last week two of her posts mingled in my mind and got me thinking about Starbucks. Starbucks, you say? Yeah, Starbucks. Stick with me for a moment and you’ll see why. [...]
My babies are gone. And I don’t know where they went. It’s possible, just possible, that they flew away. That they left their nest because they are ready. That they’re hanging out in one of those bushes at the back of our lawn, still getting flying and foraging lessons from their parents. But they are [...]
Sick Big Boy + Sick Tiny Baby + Sick Husband = No Time for Good Writing You see, some sort of springtime plague descended on our house this week. I have survived unscathed so far, but I suspect it’s only a matter of time before the fact that my clothing has come to double as [...]
Today it is a real pleasure to welcome to Motherese Bruce Dolin of Privilege of Parenting. A clinical psychologist and parent of two sons, Bruce combines his professional and personal experience with his knowledge of film, philosophy, literature, and art to offer powerful daily posts on how we might become our own best selves through [...]
…I was a Flower of the mountain yes when I put the rose in my hair like the Andalusian girls used or shall I wear a red yes and how he kissed me under the Moorish wall and I thought well as well him as another and then I asked him with my eyes to [...]
Once upon a time there was a girl. A brand new mom of two. Her teaching career on pause, she stayed at home with her newborn and 20-month-old sons. She loved those boys. She loved her Husband. She had a lucky life. She knew she did. But she felt sad a lot of the time. [...]
A few weeks ago, my buddy Liz at …but then I had kids bestowed upon little-old-prone-to-blushing-me the Plastic Joy Award. As you can see from the rather suggestive picture above, the Plastic Joy award is all about embracing Lust. And how convenient that today’s Five for Ten topic is Lust, giving me the chance to [...]
Last week as I got out of my car in the Kroger parking lot, my grocery list blew right out of my bag. It set sail on the Midwestern wind that whipped my ponytail across my face, a 8 1/2 by 11″ kite sailing off toward the edge of the road. Had I not had [...]
To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable; and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly… to listen to stars and buds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to await occasions, hurry never… this is [...]
I’ve been thinking a lot about happiness lately. Throughout our Raising Happiness book club and beyond, I thought about what makes me happy and when I’m happiest. And of course visions of chubby baby cheeks and Botticellian toddler curls danced in my head. As did cuddling with Husband. Sleeping late. Reading novels. Eating Extreme Moose [...]
In Season Six of Sex and the City, Carrie Bradshaw dates my least favorite of her on-screen paramours, Jack Berger. Not least among his transgressions is that he seems to be carrying a torch for his ex-girlfriend, Lauren. Her presence looms large early on in their relationship, in everything from voice mails to the chirping [...]
When I think about courage, I usually think about courageous acts and the notable people who’ve performed them. Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins hurtling into space tethered to a rocket. The unnamed man who stood bravely, his only armor his shirtsleeves, before a line of tanks in Tiananmen Square. Ezell Blair, David Richmond, [...]
We never cursed in my house growing up. Never. In fact, when I first started hearing curse words in school, I thought these words were new. Recently invented and added to the lexicon. Like “spyware” or “unibrow.” Imagine my surprise when I realized that these words were as old as language itself. To this day, [...]
Today it is my pleasure to welcome Christine Carter, author of Raising Happiness, to Motherese. Christine is a sociologist and the executive director of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. For the past four weeks, we have been discussing her ten key steps to help our kids – and ourselves – lead happy [...]
Lesson Four of Big Little Wolf’s sensational style series at Divorced Women Online introduces us to the importance of accessories in personalizing an ensemble. According to Big Little Wolf, “Accessories should enhance your appearance, make sense with your style, and tell your stories.” Emphasizing the love of the French for quality and individuality, Wolf focuses [...]
Today it is my pleasure to welcome my friend Christine from Coffees & Commutes, who has generously agreed to share a guest post with us today. At Coffees & Commutes, Christine writes about her quest for balance as she juggles a full-time career, marriage, and parenthood. What I appreciate most about Christine is the honesty [...]
Welcome to the final week of our book club for Christine Carter’s Raising Happiness! Whether or not you are reading along with us, please enjoy this overview of the final chapter by Katy Keim of BookSnob and then jump on into the discussion. And stay tuned for our upcoming Q&A session with Christine Carter! — This week [...]