Think you can’t pull it together? You CAN! For all of our married life, it was my ex that did most of the cooking and for ALL of the holidays. My literal “Soup to Nuts Nazi” NEVER consulted with me on menu and pretty much banned me from the kitchen (“Why did I give him the boot, you ask???”). My Thanksgiving holiday role was as “staff” and party planner meant that I was responsible for issuing the invites through clean up (all the while stoking the fireplace, pumping enough heat, and throwing blankets on my 70+ year old father, up from Florida visiting... (Read More ...)

Between birthdays, grandparents, the holidays, “I want that,” and of course, our own impulsive buying, the kids are literally floating (drowning?) in toys. Even those of us lucky enough to have a Play Room have to admit that we often feel like we live in one giant Play House. Those primary colored shapes, pieces, parts, crayons, markers, trains, dolls, artwork, plastic animals, stuffed this or that, tike bikes, video games, … have lives of their own. They multiply, migrate and sometimes live a shorter life for getting sucked up by our vacuums! Whether we agree or not on what’s... (Read More ...)