mama family
The Joy Quotient
In essence it said “Get you baby on our waiting list now for our outstanding academically oriented pre-school or he/she will never be able to get into an Ivy League School or any fine University.”
- Nov 16, 2018
Enemy at the Baby Gate
Like generals heading into battle, my husband, Jeffrey, and I prepared for every possible condition in readying ourselves for the arrival of our daughter.
- Nov 16, 2018
Stress Reduction 101
A girlfriend of mine makes decision based on: “Which choice will disappoint the fewest people?” Her question differs slightly from mine: “Which choice will make me feel the least guilty?”
- Nov 16, 2018
Side by Side: Labels
One of the first social rules I learned in kindergarten was how hurtful it was to call people names. The second rule was that people will eventually tease you.
- Nov 16, 2018
Moving our Mountain
One month before the big move, I still didn’t know if the plan to re-locate our family of five to China would work out. We didn’t have renters for our home, Chinese visas, plane tickets, or anything packed.
- Nov 16, 2018
Hooray for Mamas!
Wow! For us summer is like being on “Fast Forward” on the old VCR machine without any way to press “Stop”! From July 1st to August 1st we had from 12 to 36 people at our house at Bear Lake every day.
- Nov 16, 2018
Time for Everyone but YOU!
Two things have saved my sanity when it came to taking care of myself and, though I would expect that you would have to modify these ideas to fit your own lifestyle, here they are for what it’s worth:
- Nov 16, 2018
What of our Dreams?
I distinctly remember a conversation Brian and I had when we were dating. We were hiking to the top a mountain peak in our home-state Utah, and he asked me what I wanted to do with my life.
- Nov 16, 2018
King of the Grill ©
Like most couples, my husband and I have a fairly equitable division of household chores: I do the food shopping, make all the meals, do all the laundry, drop off and pick up the dry-cleaning, take care of the animals, make the beds, and clean the house, and he takes the garbage down to the end of the driveway once a week.
- Dec 18, 2018
Not Your Mother’s Summer Reading List
There was a very tall pine tree to provide cover, along with a second cover, this one fashioned out of a paper grocery store bag. And there was surveillance. Okay, maybe surveillance is too strong of a word. Let’s just say that I was on the look out. Constantly. For my mother.
- Nov 16, 2018
Grown-up Play Dates
Why don’t grown-ups have play dates? My daughter is having one right now. They chat and giggle, in matching princess costumes, moving seamlessly from one activity to another. I miss that kind of hanging out time with friends.
- Nov 16, 2018
Fixing Joe
My little boy, Joe, is one of the best people I know, and I often wish I could be more like him. He's curious and inventive. He's thoughtful and honest. And yet he needs some fixing.
- Nov 16, 2018
Five Facet Review
As a young mother with our first little baby gazing at me with trusting eyes, I remember feeling overwhelmed with the thought of raising this child safely in this very scary world. How could I keep her safe from physical and emotional harm? What could I possibly do to ensure that she had a happy childhood and a socially secure and spiritually stable adolescence?
- Nov 16, 2018