Tools of the Trade

Not until I became a mom and a home daycare provider did I start to envision ordinary objects becoming new and improved tools. I did learn from my step dad, at a young age, that a skateboard could take out the trash. But since becoming a mother, I have also given birth to a second brain. What I like to call the shortcut sector. The inventor I never knew.
I paid attention to my child and the other children I take care of and I can walk through a super store and tell you exactly which items will become unknown teething tools, which will eventually be imagined as weapons and which will be in the next yard sale. If I don’t already know, I will find out soon enough. A lot of my discoveries come from repeating the phrase “There’s gotta be another way!” and then just trying things that don’t make sense at first...

Thought of the Week - Contributed by Peggy Loftus

Life is Like Stewed Tomatoes?

Somehow in August this year I ended up with a bushel of homegrown tomatoes...and I don't have a garden. So, I had to find something to do with all these tomatoes. When I was growing up my parents canned and froze A TON of food from our 1/2 acre garden. "Hey!", I thought to myself, "why don't you stew the tomatoes and put them up." A lovely thought but I have never canned anything in my life and didn't want to learn on my own without my mom around to teach me. I called my mom, explained my predicament and she simply said, "well, freeze them." Duh! So she gave me basic directions and one morning I set to work.

Back to Basics

After meeting, dating, and then marrying my husband I was relieved to think I would never have to worry about being single again. I wouldn’t have to go through the guessing and the wondering about where a relationship might take me. Although I sometimes miss the early days of being shy and feeling giddy, I am very proud of what my husband and I have accomplished to get to this point of comfort and predictability in our lives.
So I was done with the single, dating life right? Well, the truth is, as humans, we still thrive on new relationships now and then. When I moved from California to Illinois I had to make a choice. Was I ready for new relationships or was I destined to try and translate literature with my husband while he frustratingly drew power circuits to the most basic degree just to help me understand what it is he does all day? I needed peers. I needed moms. I needed friends...

Poliwog #1 - Created by Chryss Gon

click on image to enlarge

Never Again!

Of all the desperate actions we will take to save time and extra work as parents. I’ve witnessed the disgusting and crazy things we do to speed up inconveniences and move on with our lives. I’ve seen moms clean off their kids’ lollipops with their mouths after they’ve fallen on the ground...

Emails to Heaven

My son asked me the other day why some people don't believe in heaven. This didn't come as a surprise to me because I often lose sleep over the inevitable questions that will come out of my children's mouths someday. My husband and I do our best to teach our son the acceptance of the beliefs of others. He understands that we are all different and yet all the same. We are all human but we all see the world through our own set of eyes. He understands that we are just as odd to others sometimes as they may seem to us, yet that is what makes us so similar...

ARMY-NAVY PLUS Motherhood = SURvival

Dear Martha,

Are you a professional advice columnist? I'm just wondering because you handed me a card in the bank line the other day and I didn't know exactly what it was for until I checked your blog. Do you just go around handing out your card each day or did you pick me for some reason? Since I read it, I figured it would be fun to be the second person to appear on your blog.
My question is this:

Work Those Quads

Dear Martha,
I just met you at the grocery store the other day and you handed me your card. I’m writing for two reasons: 1. Technically, I was closer to the checkout lane and you had more groceries so you should have let me through still. 2. Your card says you give advice so I have a question. Which public restroom stall is, statistically, the cleanest to use?

Sincerely,
Still Waiting in the Checkout Line