I wrote this a year ago today, because it was on my heart and I felt the urge to write it down. I wrote it as a blog post, because I already had this blog in mind then, months before I got it up and running. It's encouraging to me to revisit what I wrote when Aria was not quite 3-months-old, and realize that, if anything, it's become more resonant over time.…

Autism is very close and personal for me. This is the 3rd successful year for this campaign. Show your love for children and adults with autism by “Lighting it up Blue”. Wear blue that day or shine a blue light in your window. I’ll be Lighting it Up Blue for my son Manny.  Some things come hard for him…

Let me start of by introducing myself. I am currently a stay at home mom, or as I prefer to call it the CEO of our household. I have 2 beautiful children, who I love dearly. I start with this, because after reading some of my rants you may need this reassurance. In fact, I find myself starting a lot of sentences with, “I love him or her so much…..but”!

I decided to start this blog in hopes that my rants will help alleviate some of the pressure all us moms face on a…

(Previously posted on Tales From the Motherland: …

For those of you who have been following me a while you know we had to travel last week to an out of state Mitochondrial Specialist.  We learned quite a bit on our first road trip to recovery.  The most important thing we learned is that next time we will sell whatever we have to and we will FLY!

No matter how many times I reminded my kids that this recent trip was NOT a vacation they seemed to get more excited by the second.  By the time we woke up on the morning of our road trip to…

Have you ever felt like you were having a day when everyone was trying to piss you off on purpose? Like no matter where you went or who you ran into, you just happened to end up either in front of or on the phone with someone who was dying to spill diarrhea from their mouth? I had one of those days every day this week. Since it was one of my New Year's Resolutions to call people out when they spew stupidity "CACA" style in front of me, I'm going to say it's safe to give myself a pat on the…

The time is 9:36.  I am just now walking in the door from dropping my last child off at school.  Late.

I tried to think of an excusable reason for the sign in sheets at the front office but, I got nothing here.  If I was being honest I would have wrote:

REASON: Because the year is 2013 and I haven't slept since 1995.

We obviously woke up before 9:30 but, I decided we woke up "late enough" to take our sweet ass time.  Thing 1 must've been…

Yes, nap time in our house is becoming almost non existent.  For a few weeks now, unless we have had a very busy morning, my daughter will no longer take naps.  Instead she destroys her room and then it takes hours to clean it up.  My ONE time of relaxing, getting caught up on my shows from the previous night are fading away.

So we are starting something new.  Today.  I am going to now go the route of letting her watch a movie,…

Inspired by Blizzard NEMO...Are you shoveling snow, making snow angels or both today? http://www.lynnbarrera.com/shoveling-spirit/

Every scream is different.  As a parent we can tell the difference in each one of our babies cries.  There's usually a unique pitch for hungry, tired, bored, or diaper change.  Then, every baby tucks away a specially reserved,  very high pitched, fast screeching.  That is usually the sound of pain.

As our kids get older the cries eventually turn into yelling.  They might yell because they are frustrated or need attention.  They might get startled or stub a toe.  The older they get…

With Valentine's Day right around the corner, here are some fun activities that you can do with your little munchkins! These crafts are not only fun, but they make great gifts for friends and family! You can also change colors and shapes to be any Holiday or celebration! Have Fun! 

Heart Shaped Sun Catchers: 

• What You Will Need:
  • Wax Paper
  • Grated Crayons -- Crayola(C) brand works best (I have a cheese grater for my crafts,…

Mommy confessions.  I'm not proud and they aren't pretty, but they are what they are.  Please feel free to comment and add your own.  Click here to see the full post.

Originally posted at http://the-room-mom.com/2012/12/29/christmas-gift-status-report/

Previously posted on Tales From the Motherland

This Christmas I realized something… there are a lot of leftover feelings and memories that cloud the holidays for me. Melancholy falls on me as Christmas approaches and shift my experience, as hard as I try to surround myself with merriment and new memories.…

http://www.loveplayandlearn.com/2012/12/10-daddy-tips-for-raising-a-daughter.html

When my wife first told me that we were expecting, I found myself flooded with emotions – the largest…

1993…The Year of the Graduations (Junior High, High School and College)

We raised our three children in a small Connecticut town less than thirty minutes from yesterday’s tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

For twenty-five years we lived happily and peacefully.  Our children went from elementary schools to middle schools to…

"I think I like it better when the kids hate each other."  This is the sentence I said to my husband the other night as the two of them came running into the living room butt naked, running around in circles and screaming at the top of their lungs.  You see, when the kids hate each other, one of them…

Talking on the phone is so overrated....at least that's my forced opinion nowadays, with 3 children.  Before I had children, I suppose I was a moderate lover of talking on the phone. My time was my own for the most part and my schedule was somewhat flexible. 



But let's face it, life with young children is hectic.  I also run a business…

Oh how I loved digging through my holiday stocking that hung on our stone fireplace!

My sisters and I each had a particular stone that our stocking hung from. We'd all jump up on the hearth, scramble to our sock, and…