Real Life

I really didn't think my oldest son was allergic to anything.  In two months, he will be 4 years old, so it’s been awhile since I worried about introducing new foods to him. A couple years ago, I had asked...

Last spring, I traveled for a week in Vietnam with my young family.  Around four o’clock in the afternoon, the intense equatorial heat finally loosened its grip over Ho Chi Minh City.  We threaded our way through the congested...

Last month, I was on the phone with my mom and I was telling her that I didn’t know what was going on with me but I was just so, so tired. While we were chatting, my littlest, who...

When I was in my twenties, I loved noise. When my roommates would leave, I would crank my music and sing at the top of my lungs. I craved activity. Staying home, even on a weeknight, wasn’t acceptable. Back then I...

After two years of being part of the Iowa City Moms Blog, this will be my last post. It has been a fun (and very fast!) two years, and I truly can't believe that my little baby is now...

It’s finally March, the month where the color green returns to the landscape around us. Little signs of spring are beginning to come out of hiding and St. Patrick’s Day is on the horizon. Not only is St. Patrick’s...

When my husband and I were seniors in high school, he took me down to Texas to meet his family.  It only took about two days for me to fall in love with all of them, and to feel at...

I've always been the type of person that likes to over-prepare so that I’m able to go with the flow down the road. It worked well for me in school, it works well for me in my career and...

If you have children, or you've been in a grocery store within earshot of a child shopping too close to nap time, you've no doubt experienced a tantrum. A tantrum is that universal wailing and gnashing of teeth that...

We are – wait for it… First Time Home Owners!  My husband and I have spent the last 5 ½ years of our marriage in a “cozy” apartment. So, to finally have a home to call our own is...