So yesterday was Halloween. My husband & I both took the day/night off work so we could celebrate and have some spooky fun as a family. Sounds good in theory, right?

What is it about kids in costumes ?  They are so crazy cute !  I nearly lost my mind in the third grade Halloween "dance party room" this morning.  Nothing getting done in my classrooms or on my desk this morning, but wow, did we have fun partying it up.  Who knew singing endless rounds of The Twelve Days of Halloween (again, who knew ?) was enough to bring tears to my eyes.  These kids are cute, and darn it, they aren't getting any younger.   My third grader was the only one who had a school party this year.  The rest are now too old to celebrate in

Tapping into her love of fashion and paper, Bonnie Marcus created her own collection of successful—and stylish—stationery.

This past weekend I was supposed to go on my first “girls weekend” in three years. Instead, I was sick so lounged on the couch with children piled on top of me. But, I did pull up one of my old posts and reflected upon “The Rule”. How much do you talk to your friends about your kids?

My son loves trains. His worship of Thomas the Tank Engine was fleeting and barely lasted beyond his third birthday, but his interest in locomotives hasn't wavered one bit. So when my husband stumbled upon this beautiful book, he knew our little man would be drawn to it at first sight. And when I opened it up and saw that some of the pages contain actual paragraphs, I thought: "Yah! Big boy book!

What did our mothers do before cell phones?

I was giving a presentation in front of an audience of about 80 medical professionals on a serious “academic” topic.  As always, I keep my cell phone with me – but put it on silent and check who’s calling. If it’s my babysitter or office, they know to call three times and I’ll pick it up (our morse code). 

It was the school.

The social, on-line, connected world has changed our lives dramatically.  That is news to none of us.  I experienced an interesting side effect of it on a Saturday morning sitting in the living room.  All four of us were sitting there together, still in our jammies.  Yay, family time!  But, on closer examination, not so much.  The TV was on which is not atypical.

 “We’re going to pick only one (over-priced) pumpkin at the pumpkin patch this weekend.”

I totally got a kick out of these adorable grandparents on Webcam 101 for Seniors.

My husband and I were going through our morning routine, and stopped dead in our tracks when Good Morning America talked about these tech challenged, but determined grandparents.

The work week is so busy these days that I look forward to the weekends more than ever! During the week though, I stay connected with my hubby and kids each and every day. It’s important to me. That way, the weekend isn't about catch up, but enjoying it more. I jotted down a few things I do during the week and also the weekend to stay connected.

That doesn’t mean the occasional bad day will throw a wrench in things. I try to get back on track before getting home in the evening. My family doesn’t need to experience my bad day… it does happen sometimes though.