My girlfriend Danielle and I decided to go for a hike in early September.  The kids had just started school again and “us moms” were free at last.  Danielle and her family had just done this hike over the weekend and she told me it was so nice.  She mentioned that it had a steep climb so we would definitely get in a great workout, but at the top there was a great view and then we could...

I am the proud mother of two cub scouts. I think the scouting thing is just great. On an annual basis, the cub scouts hold the Pinewood Derby. For those of you who are unfamiliar, the Pinewood Derby is a car race. The cars are made by the scouts (yeah right) with the help of their parents. The cars are little, in fact they can’t weigh more than 5 ounces, and are made out of a block of wood and some metal....

We took the kids skiing in Vermont over the holiday break. We really had a great time. Here’s the thing though - lots of work getting your kids ready to brave the cold for any sort of outdoor activity, right?  You know the drill…missing gloves, wet snowpants, can’t buckle boots and on and on and on. Quite honestly, by the time we hit the slopes, my husband and I were exhausted. The one day...

It is one week before Christmas!  I have now realized that I need to take a deep breath and slow down!  I am sure everyone is crazy at this time of year as well.  Holiday shopping, decorating, wrapping presents, baking cookies and running back to the mall so that your child can buy a last minute gift for his/her gift exchange.  Whew, it is crazy!  So…I get up yesterday morning to go to the gym. ...

I know we are in the midst of the holiday season, however I feel the need to talk about our resident barber.  I always used to say….”Those kids who cut their own hair crack me up. My kids never did that.” Until Troy, that is……. He has cut is hair on five separate occasions. The first few were so bad, even the chicks at the barbershop couldn’t fix it completely. He also cut...

Like a lot of families, every year we cut down our own Christmas tree. Usually this is a pretty uneventful activity, but last year was a little different. As per usual, we found ourselves up against it finding time to cut the tree down. As I am sure many of you are aware, we are big procrastinators. Every year, we find ourselves trying desperately to find time for this annual tradition. Anyhow, for one reason...

Tonight my 12 year old son, Walker, was outside with the lawn tractor finishing up “the leaves” (as we call them). We have a great yard with a ton of trees, about three acres - only one acre we have to mow though. While the trees are great, we spend endless hours in the fall gathering ”the leaves” and dumping them in the woods. Hence the reason Walker was out there with the tractor. He drives...

My sister has three little kids. She has two very well-behaved little girls and then she has MICHAEL. He is basically the fly in the ointment of the whole operation. She just can’t understand why he won’t behave himself like the angelic little girls…..perfect example….. My sister lives in this great house perched on a hill. She has a steep driveway, a bunch of stairs to the house and...

Every parent hears horror stories of kids destroying cars, houses, carpet, and even maiming their siblings. My husband and I considered ourselves pretty lucky. There had been a few vomiting episodes in cars, the occasional baby food splat on the walls and a few minor mishaps with the pre-children glass coffee table. Our kids seemed to have pretty good sense. They understood that crayons and markers were for...

I don’t know about your house, but this is how home projects go in my house……. SLOW. My husband loves to do home projects. But here’s the problem….he works no less than 3,000 hours a week and when he’s not at work or travelling to and from work, he’s running around like a lunatic helping me get four kids to a million different places. Bottomline, he has NO time. He,...