Tweens

The inner debate as to whether to go back to work or stay home after having a baby is a complicated and stressful one. The decision depends on a number of factors and sparks many questions within a family....

Halloween is one of our family’s favorite holidays. Each year we all get in on the spooky fun, from dressing up and trick-or-treating, to Halloween-themed activities. With a family as large as ours, it can be difficult to find Halloween...

If you're an adult biological female, chances are you vividly remember getting your period for the first time. I was twelve years old when it happened–I hid it, deeply embarrassed, for a couple days before I screwed up my...

1. You can leave them home alone. When the thought of dragging the whole gang out in public gives my husband and I a stress headache, we remember something truly beautiful: they don’t have to come with us. And...

For my family and me, moving to Iowa in 2012 was, in many respects, like moving to a new country. Shoveling snow, combating gnats, and acquiring snow pants were all new to us. Over the past three years my...

This is my 6th grader’s first year playing club sports. For us that has meant extra practice nights, away games that might require a couple of hours of driving or even an overnight stay here and there. When we...

Smart phones. Nearly every woman, man, teenager, child, and dog has one. Okay, maybe not the dog, but you get my point. Smartphones are everywhere and used everyday. Mine recently took a “vacation” to my brother’s house two hours...

“That’s it! Go to your room! I don’t want to see you for the rest of the day!” “You go sit in the corner and think about what you’ve done!” “If you don’t stop it right now, you’re going...

Allegedly, the year begins in January and ends in December. That's what our calendars tell us. But to me, the more accurate representation is that the year begins in August and ends in May, coinciding with the school calendars...

 "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they...