So my daughter can be one tough cookie. Something that never ceases to amaze me about her is how she deals with sadness. You see, when she is mad or frustrated or just plain tired she can cry like a champion. She could probably compete if there was such a thing as championship crying. But when she's sad about something, she fights crying with everything in her. Like when she really doesn't want to say goodbye to me or if her feelings have sincerely been hurt. You can see her eyes well up and... Read Full Story

This is the view from my lap this afternoon. She is third man down in our battle against the evil flu going around. I hate seeing my usually rambunctious kids down like this.But I'll tell you a little secret, I don't really mind the extra snuggle time I get with them. Something that grows increasingly rare as they grow older.So I'll take the good with the bad. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone Read Full Story

Though I guess I can still write in English, as evident by this blog post. Now, I'm not positive, but I suspect that I have lost the ability to speak in my native tongue. In reality it's only one possible theory as to why what has been occurring in my house today has been occurring. Actually scratch that, what has been happening in my house the whole latter half of the week.My kids no longer understand me. Then again, over the last few days they have had a hard time even acknowledging that I'... Read Full Story

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My friends over at MOMocrats have launched a series called, "Hear My Story" in an attempt to help get the stories of people who are struggling under the current health care system out in the open so others can see the importance and need for health care reform. This is my story.I've had Kaiser for almost as long as I can remember. Except for the chunks of time when my dad was out of work or working under the table, we always had it. As an adult every job I ever worked here in the Bay Area of... Read Full Story

This weekend we went out and completed all our school shopping, I can't believe my little man is going to be in the 1st grade. Where does the time go? Well it got me thinking about how I'm just as emotional facing 1st grade as I was facing Kindergarten. So as a tribute to my own son AND daughter who starts Pre-K this year as well, I am posting this piece I wrote last year at this time. For all of you moms out there who are watching there child move from one stage of life into another...Top 10... Read Full Story

As I sit writing this I am listening to one of my all time favorite songs, Pretty In Pink by the Psychedelic Furs. A song that still stirs up so many melancholy feelings and memories that I can’t listen to it without a small lump rising from the depths of my gut all the way to my throat. It took so many years for me to really be comfortable in my own skin. I was one of those kids that was teased mercilessly when I was young. I was the last one of the girls in the junior high locker room to... Read Full Story

As I write this I am sitting near a roaring campfire. The only sounds I can hear is the crackle of the flames, the constant soothing sound of the nearby river and off in the not so far distance the sound of my husbands laugh as he chats with a fellow camper. Occasionally I'll catch the sound of my sleeping children turning over in their sleeping bags in the tent.These of course are not the sounds I'm used to at home. The sounds at home are the sounds of everyday life and are constantly playin... Read Full Story

My love of writing is of course a direct result of my love of reading. Over the years there have been a million books that have touched me, entertained me, or made me laugh or just maybe made me cry. And in that same amount of time there have been a number of authors that have truly inspired me with not just their story, but their ABILITY to tell the story. Often times in a way I never could.In my early years of reading Lucy Maud Montgomery, Judy Blume, Beverly Clearly, and the amazing women... Read Full Story

Warning: Some Content in the following post may be unsuitable for people who don't like talking about cracked nipples!That's right, I said it. Breastfeeding sucks. That was one of the greatest pieces of advice I ever picked up as a new mom. Let me back up just a bit. For me deciding to breastfeed was never really much of a decision. I knew I was going to breastfeed the moment we decided to start trying for kids. When I finally got pregnant I bought all the books, read every magazine article ... Read Full Story