I’ve had friends in my life who have done pretty interesting things – feats that make the guys roll their eyes and think “why can’t I have a cool mom like that” when I tell …

My heart goes out to anyone who I think is going to have a less than spectacular Christmas.
I hate it for the soldiers I still see using the WiFi in Starbucks on post. I fear …

Having logged more office hours on holidays than I care to count, I get  Phil Jackson and LeBron James when they complain about working on Christmas Day.  Even the Grinchiest of us get a bit …

I managed to corner a neighbor for a hushed conversation this morning as half the households on our street rushed to get garbage cans out to the curb in time. Without the kids in school, …

(In the style of “If You Give a Mouse A …,” with apologies to Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond.)
If you send a kid a Christmas card, he’ll oooh and aaah over the cute and cuddly …

I have a preschool graduation video in which a woman’s rear plays a prominent role. Camouflage is not a flattering pattern for her.
I have footage from a karate demo that shows more of a mom’s …

I was grumpy and sleep-deprived after “The Sleeping Doll,” a book that was supposed to help me get to sleep at 9,  kept me awake until 1 when I couldn’t put it down.
I was a …

“At one time, most of my friends could hear the bell, but as years passed, it fell silent for all of them. Even Sarah found one Christmas that she could no …

We’d bought the Christmas tree just days after Halloween – a two-footer that took some bending to fit in a box that wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg to ship, but we did it. …

I am thankful for my family. We are getting a turkey. I am also thanking for after this is Christmas. Thanksgiving is my third favorite holiday. Thanksgiving is the most thankful holiday.

I bought a turkey two weeks ago, and at the time I had no idea why. It was a 13 pounder, because the commissary didn’t have anything smaller, and I had to cram it into …

I hadn’t planned on carving a pumpkin this year. I just wasn’t up to it.
And no, this isn’t another one of those grating “waah, he’s not here on special days” whines, though pumpkin carving is …

Big Guy couldn’t conceal his disdain when he ripped open the package that had just landed on the front stoop.
“What’s this?” he asked in a tone usually reserved for finding dog poo on his shoes.
“It’s …

I was about Big Guy’s age when apples again became the forbidden fruit.
I’m not sure where it happened, but I can guarantee you it wasn’t  in our town. I didn’t spend my childhood in Mayberry, …

Big Guy’s shorts have been in a wad since late last week, when I came home with a t-shirt featuring a baseball and bats arranged into an American flag. “No fair! I need a Fourth …

“When fathers are not present, their children and families cope with an absence government cannot fill.” – President Barack Obama, Father’s Day proclamation.
If there’s one thing the Army does that scrapes fingernails down my mental …

Dear Mom,
I love you! Happy Mothr’s Day! I love it when you clim the montin. Have a special day! I like it when we ride bikes.
Love,
Big Guy

Valentine’s Day has been canceled according to Boots’ school, which should save a few relationships that normally would shatter in the “I don’t want to buy a present” pre-holiday breakup rush.
Don’t breathe that sigh of …

I’m not a New Year’s Resolution-type person, though heaven knows there are plenty I could make this year.
Shed those extra pounds added due to recent weeks of baking cookies and making fudge – which Boots …

Warning to anyone who bought the guys Moon Sand for Christmas: Take it back. Take it back right now and no one will get hurt.
Admittedly, I have no actual experience with Moon Sand, but I …

I’m a fairly safety-conscious parent who pays attention to the product recalls and knows all the traditional advice: Don’t use lights with frayed cords, keep candles away from flammable objects, etc.
But never did I imagine …

For a few years, I did Christmas dinner right: Appetizers, followed by prime rib, salad potatoes, fresh green beans and homemade rolls with two different cheesecakes for dessert. We used the Christmas china that had …

So you know all that blah, blah, blah about the best gifts being free?
It’s true. And the proof is in what landed at our house this afternoon fresh from the East Coast – as fresh …

An inflatable snowman and Santa stand guard outside, and the tree lights up  the living room. The gifts are wrapped, and the guys have seen Santa twice. We’ve made gingerbread houses, and the Christmas programs …

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen. Comet and Cupid and Donder and Blitzen …
But do you know how scary it is up here? Even when the audience is all mommies and daddies …

Somewhere, there’s a”Max and Ruby” episode that involves gingerbread. I haven’t seen it but Boots has, and it set him clamoring to make houses. Foolishly, I promised him last week that we would over the …

Maybe it’s because the guys ask every year, but for me “how did Santa get here” is a far more predictable question than “what do you feed the reindeer.”
It’s also far more likely to cause …

It was my mistake, I suppose. I let the guys watch “The Polar Express” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” in the same day.
Big Guy being Big Guy, he immediately picked up on certain …