What Happened When I Said “No” To My Daughter
My daughters’ snuggles are my form of crack. On a biochemical level, my body sinks into a deeper calm when I hold them. And it
Category: Kids & Parents
When Your Daughter Hits Below The Belt
It seemed like an ordinary night. There were no harbingers of doom — A murder of black crows on the telephone wires outside. A vanity
My Shiksa Daughters Want to be Jewish
We went to a Bar Mitzvah Saturday. You would have thought we’d asked our tween Shiksa daughters to shave their heads and flap their arms
The Drugs Talk With My 11-Year old
Middle school started on Tuesday. Would there be gang bangers? Mean girls? Nurse Ratched-style teachers? One-eyed drug dealers? Should I stop watching CNN? My daughter
My Tween Daughters And I Love “Camp Gyno”
If you’re the mother of daughters just ramping up for puberty this Camp Gyno video is a must. (this is NOT a sponsored post). It’s
5 Reasons Traveling With Your Kids May Keep Them Off Drugs: Ireland Photos
We travel all over with our kids. That’s where all and any extra cash goes. We’ve taken them to Hawaii, Seattle, Toronto, The Grand Canyon,
My Kids Aren’t Me
I always think my kids will like the things I like. I was a water baby. I lived in the ocean as a kid visiting
Girls in their Natural Habitat
Voices: “… and then they’re naked in the jungle and they have to survive.” “When you said naked I thought you meant they didn’t have
My Kid Needs A Therapist
I have a child who is anxious about a big transition coming up. We’re moving to Nebraska where we’ll be installed in the Witness Protection
I Could’ve Been A Milk Carton Kid – Which is Why I Helicopter Parent
My friend Amy told me she lets her 10-year old walk around our Los Angeles neighborhood alone. I tried to keep myself from gasping aloud.
My Daughter’s 11-Year Old Friend Got Her Period
Right after the fifth grade culmination ceremony yesterday, Clare’s good friend Gabriella (a pseudonym) got her first period. Sweet Jesus. It felt to me like
I Need Advice From Working Moms
When it comes to my kids’ emotional lives, I’m an extreme empath. I have little tolerance for my childrens’ anxiety, discomfort or sadness. I have
People Who Do the Dangerous Things That Need to be Done: Tim Hetherington
I’ve just finished watching a must-see Documentary Famed war correspondent and filmmaker, Sebastian Junger (War, The Perfect Storm, Restrepo) has made a documentary about a
Little Girl Movie Star Parties Freaked Me Out, Not Anymore
I’ve been Professor McGonegle. I’ve been Medusa. And now I’ve been Makeup-Artist-to-the-Stars, Gilda. I blame my myriad incarnations on my daughter Bridget, because she loves
When Your Divorced Parents Love Each Other
My mom and dad haven’t been married since I was two years old. Throughout my childhood, they had very little contact. Once custody was settled
Castrating an Unwitting Softball Commissioner
A child, who shall remain nameless — (So if you think you know which child she is, you don’t!) came home tonight from her first
Five Things I Love Today
I’ve been content for three days in a row. Well, I had one little shard of jealousy poke me. As I watched Girls last
Talking to Kids About Sex
When I was a kid my parents didn’t talk to me about sex. At eight, when I asked my mom what a condom was, she
You Read, Therefore I Am
I’m back! Wait .. whaddaya mean you didn’t know I was gone? Didn’t your world feel a little bit empty? Wasn’t it harder to laugh,
Gone Fishing Over The Holidays (Christmas Photos)
Hello, dear fellow humans. I have not felt like updating and writing. I’ve felt like eating Christmas cake cookies and drinking egg nog spiked with
Kirkus Review Names My Book, Into The Child, One of Top 100 Indies of 2012
Hello my Dearest Readers, Thank you so much for reading! I just found out my book, Into The Child: 40 Weeks in the Gestational Wilderness,
The Happiness Photos
I’m happy today. What the hell am I going to blog about? Oh, Happiness how you foil my creativity! How soft and sloppy you make
How to Beat Santa Extortion Def-Con 5!
Henry and I spend too much money all year round. He’s a groceries hoarder. If you came to our house and opened our refrigerator, you
My Kids Attacked Me!
I fancy myself a bit of an athlete. There was that time I beat my dad in a 10K even though I walked part of
A Few Things From My Life
Ellen Marie Stradall Thank you everyone for all your kind, well-wishes for my grandmother’s memorial service. It was so lovely. All the words spoken were
