Make The Ordinary Come Alive

Words from the vault

• Consequences and Punishments

  What are you doing? Nothing, he says. What's in your mouth? Nothing, he says. Open it. (He opens it. Can't see anything. Candy must be hidden inside his cheek.) Were you in the bathroom? No, he says. Were you in the pantry getting candy without asking? No, he says. Then

• This is my life: Just don't call me Lois

  This video has me on-the-floor-rolling-laughing-oh-my-god-the-funny every single time.

• A secret weekend

  Ooh I am so excited I can hardly contain myself. And I've never been very good at keeping a secret. Not this kind of secret anyway. I was better at the naughty girl secrets I had to keep from parents, siblings, and friends. I keep saying that's another story, and it is. Note: there's not much I do h

• Sometimes you have to just let them fend for themselves

  The kids, I mean. Your kids. The ones who are constantly underfoot. Asking for something. A snack. Help. A story. A solution to their everpresent boredom. But sometimes you just have to let them fend for themselves. You have to let them fight, keeping an ear out for bloodshed but otherwise staying

• "You have more to give"

  I used to be an athlete. And I was a decent one. Not the strongest, not the most dedicated, not the best. But I was pretty good. I was a collegiate rower. I made the first boat. I was elected captain by my teammates. I medaled in the Head of the Charles once. Being an athlete was a major part of my

• Jen

  I’m the older sister. My children are 1, 4, and 5-and-a-half. My story is not as dramatic as Sarah's. In many ways I am pretty average. I work part time as a writer/editor at an academic publication. I'm home part time with my family, trying to keep tabs on all of the needs of five people livi

• The banter of family

  We talk about sleep. Wine-induced sleep. What a blessing. What a curse. We talk about age. Sixty and six months and everything in between. What it means to grow old. What it takes to stay young. We talk about the kids. How active they are. How much energy they have. How much energy they tak

• Dear Pinot Noir

  This is an anonymous contribution to Love It Up, a little blog challenge in honor of Valentine's Day. I hope all of you will consider sharing a love letter with us and our community here. We also ask you to encourage your own readers to participate. We all need a little more joy in our lives, so let

• I could be a better mother- Part 1 (outline?)

  I'm exhausted. I'm just exhausted. Every minute or two I remember something else that needs to be accomplished. Right now? The tooth fairy. "Don't go to bed before the tooth fairy lands!" looms in the back of my head. I will almost forget. I will turn off the tv. I will put my head down. I will clos

• Keeping it Zen, Jen

  I'm a day early for such carelessness. Vacation is TWO days away, not one. Oh well. Too late. I've stolen the only fan in the house from the baby's room and it's swirling hot air around the kitchen right now, settling on my stickiness for much too short a moment before passing on to the kids, and