Recent Articles
Sleep While the Baby Sleeps and Other Unhelpful Parenting Advice
They say sleep deprivation is a lot like walking around drunk. That must be why I keep running into doors and passing out on the couch and forgetting where in the world I put the new baby’s clean diaper when it’s literally right in front of my face—I’m looking at it...
The Mysterious (Or Not-So-Mysterious) Phenomenon of Perfect Parents
I used to be a perfect parent. Well, actually, who am I kidding? I still am. Between the hours of 9:30 p.m. and 4:30 a.m. Unless, of course, one of the kids wakes me up. The rest of the time, (which is anytime my kids are awake, in case you didn’t catch that) I’m a...
How to Talk Like a 3-Year-Old (As If You’d Want To)
We’ve been working on manners in our house. This might seem like a losing battle with a bunch of boys who think it’s hilarious to arm-fart while they’re covering their mouth coughing, but nobody ever said I wasn’t up for a challenge. I am the only female in a...
The 5 Eating Personalities of Ravenous Children
My husband and I used to sit down to a quiet dinner, just the two of us. We used to be able to eat the same thing every week. We used to be able to hold hands when we wanted and pack up leftovers for the next day’s lunch. Kids changed all that. Now we sit down to a...
My Kids Know (and Use) the Worst F-Word of Them All
I hear this word a billion times a day, and there’s not much I can do about it.
Dear Concerned Reader: As Far as I Know My Vag Doesn’t Drag the Floor and Other Business Matters
Photo by Helen Montoya Henrichs. I have a large family. Six children. In a world where people are choosing to have fewer children (or none at all), this can seem weird and crazy and, for some, unacceptable. These people always come out to play when I mention anywhere in an essay or piece of writing […]
8 Things Kids are Masters at Destroying
Six boys produce a lot of destruction around my house. Everywhere I look, there are nicks in bookshelves and unintended holes in the walls from errant hands or fingers or just curiosity, and there are cracked toilet lids and picture frames that have no more glass and...
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