The library in my town has a nice storytime twice a week, and I decided to take my girls one evening this past winter.

The kids' room was very welcoming, all set up with a craft table and a circle of chairs for the story. There was even a handful of sweet older kids there, ready to help out and to interact with all the little ones.

The guests started to come in, and we all gathered into… Read More

I was recently asked to teach a group of sophomores about Internet safety. I had the sense that these students might already feel that they have mastered this topic since they're addressed it a few times in school already.

So, I sent them an online survey asking them about their level of comfort with the topic and their level of interest in the class.

Sure enough, they were none too excited about the upcoming class and indicated that… Read More

Like many preschoolers, my girls love to color. These sturdy Write Start colored pencils from Crayola are the perfect alternative to breakable crayons that entice children to peel their labels and leave the itsy peelings all over the floor.

I found these in a random Target when I was on a reporting job once with a few minutes to kill. Unfortunately, I've never seen them in a store since, so I order them online, from a place… Read More

As I drove up the driveway to our apartment's parking lot, I noticed our neighbor standing outside of her van with the side door open. She was just sort of lingering there with a tired, puzzled look on her face. As I parked my car, I noticed that her baby was asleep in her car seat.

I looked over at my neighbor, who said, "Well, I'm just trying to figure out what to do, whether I should wake her… Read More

"There's a pirate here!" calls out one of the cofffee house regulars.

The pirate is clearly young (and quite short), but he looks formidable, with that patch on his eye and that dagger on his hip.

I look closer, though, and I see that his dagger is plastic. Whew. That was a close call. Everybody can come out from under the tables.

Kids dressing up on any old day and going out in public in their get-ups… Read More

For my first Mother's Day, my husband made me a painted noodle necklace. At the time, our girls were only 10 months old and not so much up to making anything too crafty.

Of course, I still have that necklace. I loved the promise it represented and so looked forward to the wonky gifts of the future, those strange things fashioned out of toilet paper rolls and paper plates.

That future started this Mother's Day morning.

They… Read More