A sissy is a person regarded as weak or cowardly. That just about sums up my disposition when it comes to sleep habits in my family.As I type this, I currently have both my children in their respective rooms...sobbing...respectively. Why? Because I'm a sleepy-time sissy.When they were teeny tiny babies, both posed problems with respect to sleep. One was colicky, while the other had GERD. In order to get some much-needed shut-eye, I'd let them sleep with me. As John Lennon once said, &... Read Full Story

I blogged about crying over a piece of dough around Easter last year. It's happened again. I sobbed. Tears of joy streaming down my face. Joy abounds!In the past few weeks, we've had earthquakes levelling towns in Abruzzo, the swine flu pandemic, a small earthquake in L.A., wildfires spreading in Halifax, and a few attempts by yours truly at homemade pizza dough which resulted in something similar to cardboard. Actually, I'm exaggerating a bit. My attempts tasted more like constru... Read Full Story

At 10pm, last night, I picked up a recorded message from my daughter's school principal. The news was bad. Not "Your daughter clocked a kid" kinda bad. This was indescribably bad. A student in the school had died & families were being advised that there would be grief counsellors at the school over the next few days. I told you in was indescribably bad.I mulled this over in my head for a while. How do I explain what's happened to my children? Will I frighten them if I tr... Read Full Story

These months are renowned for the depressing weather & constant onslaught of snow, snow & more snow. Fortunately, we have the return of "zeppole"! The production of these tasty treats usually starts around the beginning of February & ends around the feast of St. Giuseppe on March 19th. Walk into any Italian bakery & chances are you'll see glorious trays full of zeppole.The tradition started back in Sicily (or so I've been told). There had been a long &... Read Full Story

I've been avoiding it for the past six years, but now it's time... I must renew my passport & while I'm at it, might as well take care of a few other documents. It's been playing on my mind ever since the ring made it's way onto my left hand... do I finally adopt my husband's surname or keep my beloved maiden name?For all intents & purposes, I HAVE adopted my married name - just make things easy. Anywhere I go (my child's school, the doctor's office, th... Read Full Story

This time of year bothers me. Yes, I'm a bit of a Scrooge - but I'm a nice Scrooge. I don't dislike Christmas for any reason other than I think it's lost it's true meaning. Instead, it's become a mad dash for FRANTIC mall excursions. Ugh!!!It took a 4-year old to show me the light...the one that's buried so deep beneath the tinsel & gift wrap that it's become quite dim. A couple of months ago, my daughter brought home a letter from school outlining plans ... Read Full Story

Nothing ever really prepares you for the some of the questions that'll be thrown at you throughout the course of parenting your children. Today, I was confronted with a real doozy. I was asked to explain what "gay" means to my four (almost 5!) & three year olds. Oh dear.My son & daughter were happily munching away on their blueberry Eggo Waffles when little brother ticked off little sister by informing her that it was his turn to watch Thomas the Tank Engine. She decided... Read Full Story

Sweet tables. They're a staple at Italian weddings & bridal showers. An event is incomplete without the very presence of a ginormous table covered with sickly sweet goodies, guaranteed to give you a stomach ache. It used to be that the Italian mammas would spend hours lovingly preparing sweets to bring to the bridal showers of family members or close friends. These delicacies were put out for all to enjoy before lunch was served, and to accompany coffee & dessert after the meal. N... Read Full Story

Hell. No better way to describe an emergency room triage after midnight. Hell. On. Earth. It has to be one of the saddest places on the planet.Being the paranoid mamma I try hard not to be, I couldn't help but drag my daughter to emergency tonight after day 4 of ongoing fever/cough/congestion. Yes, I was told it was a virus & the fever could last up to three days... Well, 24 hours above & beyond were enough for me to grab our coats, a bottle of juice, some storybooks & hot-foo... Read Full Story

I'm here to offer my respect & marvel at the sheer force of will of single parents far & wide. Never did I stop to ponder how difficult it must be to raise children all on your own. I've always been fortunate enough to have my husband share the responsibility of parenting. Last week, however, I had a taste of what it's like to go solo...and it left a rather bitter taste in my mouth.How do they do it??? How do they juggle raising children, going to work, and somehow finding... Read Full Story