Working at home is not all it is cracked up to be…when H1N1 hits.

If you could all see me trying to work at home sometimes, the fantasy some people have of being a writer would be shattered completely. Sure, there are moments of proud glory, but for the most part it’s just like any other job. Except,sometimes I do it with one snotty child sitting on my lap, and [...]

My eldest son turns 16 today… ( gee I feel old again)

( the usual Bits and Bites is being pre-empted by pastry making and pie baking- come back tomorrow for a late issue)
Even though I’m getting pretty close to 40, I never really feel old. At least not on a daily basis, but rather at odd moments throughout the year.
Like when the checkout boy calls me [...]

Sometimes being a mom is the hardest job of all

Over the years, I ‘ve worked in a variety of fields.
While my teens were small tots, I owned and operated a landscape design company in Richmond so that I could make my own schedule. I did several large commercial jobs, but focused primarily on creating backyard retreats for residential clients, and this really was my forte. Designing [...]

Beginnings

Standing in the back of the store in a row with all the other mothers, I waited patiently for my daughters reaction, unseen as she was behind the doors of the change room.
” Nope. Not happening, Mom.” 
I slowly exhaled and looked over at the woman beside me, also parent to a graduating young woman who [...]

The onion is a wonder… and so are children.

 The one thing I love most about raising my children, is the wonder they impart to my rather ordinary life. All of them – from my baby, to my soon- to- be- in- college daughter, and my two middle sons- possess the ability to stop me in my tracks and take note of the world around [...]

The X factor.

” Bye Mom- love you! “ , she said as she walked out the door to go to school.
I stood by the window holding my 7 month old son, and we both watched her walk away down the street. I’ve never been religious – never even gone to church for that matter - yet found myself thinking: ” Please [...]

The rude things people say and do.

 I’m not fond of shopping.I will never be a woman who shops for ‘fun’, and I’m not into retail therapy, unlike most women I know. I go because I need something,not to browse, or window shop, or just for fun. For me, it’s not fun. There are so many other things I’d rather be doing.  Sometimes [...]

Just how far will a kid go to avoid bedtime? Read on, my friends…

Anyone who has parented knows that very few kids want to go to bed willingly. They’ll whine, they’ll cry, they’ll do whatever they can to avoid the dark and boring confines of the bedroom.
My four year old is no exception. Most of the time he goes without much more than a complaint, but tonight he [...]

Times,they are a changin’.

My daughter is ill with pneumonia. She has been home for nearly two weeks, and is popping some very expensive and modern antibiotics that appear to be working, albeit slowly. Yesterday was report card/parent teacher conference day at her high-school, as well as the day to reserve commencement tickets.However, at the insistence of the high school secretary who told [...]

The glamourous life of Laila Yuile

Not!
 Three out of four of my kids are sick with some sort of feverish, coughing, snotty and cranky virus. I woke up at 2am to feed the baby, who couldn’t breathe very well through his nose. He started fussing, and subsequently woke up his older brother who is also sick, who then started crying loud enough to wake the [...]