My One-of-A-Kind Mother

by | Jun 8, 2013 | Just Laughs

In 1974, my family moved from a Victorian farmhouse outside of Ames, Iowa to a split level house in the town of Huxley, twelve miles to the south. Mom chose the paint colors for our new house. I was always embarrassed when she told people she painted it “yellow for...

Making Memories

by | Feb 25, 2013 | Just Laughs

My husband and I love taking road trips, seeing new sights with lots of time to talk. Neither of us experienced many family vacations growing up, so it became a priority for us when we had children. Apparently we played the band Boston a good deal while traveling,...

Winter Hair Care

by | Feb 24, 2013 | Health and Wellness

In the fall of my sixth grade year, my hair was getting more and more unruly. I didn’t know that puberty was changing its texture. I had always had thick hair with a slight wave, but something was changing and I was tired of having “bad hair” days. I asked my sister...

Did Mama Tell You About Sex?

by | Feb 14, 2013 | Relationships

I posed a question to a friend, asking what was the best advise her mother ever gave her. She fumbled and struggled to find the words. I hadn’t meant to ask a loaded question. I was just curious of what other mothers had offered up and wondered if I had given similar...

Trains, Planes, and Snakes

by | Jan 17, 2013 | Life Issues

Part of being a parent is the joy of unexpected information coming out of your children’s mouths at the most inopportune moments. My youngest son, Charlie, has had more of those moments than most. Charlie was diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum when he was three...