My brother, who now lives in China, was in town visiting this week with his family and I enjoyed literally every minute of it. We stayed up late imbibing and reminiscing about our shared childhood. It made me really glad that I've given Alex and Genoa each a sibling. Maybe someday when they're 31 and 34, they can sit up till the wee hours sharing stories and finding out how differently they remember the same exact events.

The best… Read More

We took Carol to the airport this afternoon and then headed to Target for a marathon shopping trip. I have a Target Visa card and while I don't endorse credit card spending of any kind, I personally can't stop myself from taking advantage of their generous 10% off coupons. So of course, I've been keeping a huge list and planning to go today since I knew I'd be in Oregon and could avoid sales tax (which, for those doing the… Read More

It looks like I went and took a week off here without even meaning to! We were just so busy enjoying our little family Christmas and the snow!

Dave's mom has been staying with us now for almost three weeks. She leaves Wednesday and I'll be really sad to see her go. It's nice to have a mother-in-law that I get along with so very well. I would say I'm really going to miss the constant supply of help… Read More

1. Going to church on Christmas Eve. With the exception of one magical Mexican vacation Christmas, I've spent every Christmas Eve at my parent's house. My mom hosts my dad's entire extended family and it's something I look forward to all year. Unfortunately, moving to Washington state meant giving up this tradition forever because I insist that my kids wake up on Christmas morning in their own beds. Unfortunately we can't be in two states at the same time, so… Read More

I have one of those tension headaches that starts somewhere in the guts of my brain and travels all the way down my spine, taking a lengthy and anxiety-ridden stop at my shoulders. Let me go out on a limb here and proffer that I'm not the only Mom who feels like the more fun we make the holidays for everyone else in our lives, the less fun it often is for us. Not that I don't enjoy Christmas, because… Read More

It might seem early, but I'm already starting to think about some things I'd like to see happen (or happen differently) in 2008 for the Mandajuice family.

1. Wean the baby so she (finally! hopefully!) sleeps through the night. This will not only benefit me, the one whose been either breeding or feeding a child with my own limited personal resources since early 2003, but everyone in the family. When mama's well rested, everyone's happier.

2. Stick to… Read More