Here's a summary of a great article by Mary K. Nolan that was published in today's Hamilton Spectator: Some moms and dads may question the wisdom of allowing their kids to mingle at Halloween parties or go door-to-door when the flu virus is already getting around quite effectively on its own. Germy doorbells and communal candy bowls seem like ideal vehicles for helping it along. Here's some advice: * When kids come to the door, don't let them fish around in the candy bowl for their goodies, d... Read Full Story

I didn't realize it then, but when my nonna or mom would slave over a meal, the last thing I should have done was turn up my nose at it. This hurt look would cross their face & inevitably, there'd be talk along the lines of: "We had half an onion, half a potato & 3 beans...and that would last us THE ENTIRE DAY! We didn't have cannelloni. You kids today don't know what it is to be hungry!" And I'd listen to them drone on & on & on while I prepared myself a peanut butter & jelly sandwich. Appar... Read Full Story

The kids are excited. Clothing & shoes are labelled. Backpacks are packed. Lunch bags are ready. If everything is ready....then why am I not? I'm not ready for this. The start of this school year is weighing on me; making it feel like the start of a definitive new chapter in my life. As much as last year was a biggie with daughter starting junior kindergarten, I found solace in the fact that son was still home with me. This feeling kept me going - until the other day. That's when the "OH NOOO... Read Full Story

The teeny weeny snail is responsible for a flood of memories. We were out for an evening walk & it had been raining all afternoon. The snails were out in full force, so it was our mission to try to avoid crunching them. My son couldn't understand why we shouldn't step on them because "they make a cracklish noise". Truth is, I have a soft spot for snails. They helped me to get revenge on a childhood friend.My grandfather & I had an after-the-rain ritual of going out to a spot by the railr... Read Full Story

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