Yesterday I received news you dream of hearing. It wasn’t that I had won the lottery, or that I had become fully hydrated without having to drink water, or that John Krasinski had become my fan on Facebook. It was that Madeline had gone pee-pee in the potty at preschool. It’s a first. For weeks,…   read more

There are few things in life more sobering than waiting with a child who is about to vomit. I have been to funerals, ill-advised weddings, under-rehearsed school productions, and awkward Sunday brunches, but all of those pale in comparison to the dread-filled silence before your baby “yawns in technicolor.” I held vigil for four days…   read more

You’ll give a loud, spontaneous YOPP after the last note of Casa’s joyful production of “Seussical jr.,” playing now through May 12. A fantastical conglomeration of the best-loved Seuss storylines and characters, “Seussical jr.” hones down the full-length Broadway production into a fast-paced, neon ClifNotes extravaganza. What Kids Will Like Kudos and blessings should be…   read more

If you and your kids have a hankering for the simple pleasure of Winnie the Pooh, then follow the rumble in your tummies to Casa Manana’s sweet-as-honey production. The whole gang is here — Christopher Robin, Eeyore, Piglet, Owl, Kanga, Roo, Rabbit, and of course Tigger (a fabulous Scott Zenreich) — and they’re facing existential…   read more

I drove my little self over to the neighborhood elementary school today and wrote Drew’s name down on a sheet of paper. The paper said, “I want my boy to be in Kindergarten here,” but with a lot more words, and then with the Spanish translation of the words. I wrote his name down approximately…   read more

I always wondered when Drew would utter his first cuss word. Perhaps he would be a teenager breaking off his side mirror at a drive-through while buying hamburgers for a homeless child. Or maybe he would be a young, responsible adult burning his finger on a hot skillet while making bacon for me. Anything done…   read more

I was appalled in mid-January when I received a catalog advertising Easter decorations. I had just swept the last of my Christmas tree needles away, and was proud of myself for just putting up some Valentine’s window decals. “I’m not ready for this,” I thought. Easter, you need to pack up your moss and Cadbury…   read more

If you’re having a bad day, or worse, a bad HAIR day, nothing will cheer you up like Casa’s production of “Rapunzel! Rapunzel!” Cursed with a name that won’t rhyme with anything, a name that calls to mind similar-sounding words like Ra-pulsive (that actress Alison Hodgson sings about in the delightful “What’s In A Name?”),…   read more

The worst thing Madeline can imagine in the entire universe, and then beyond to the universes outside of our known universe, and then on into oblivion, is hurting her knee. She hurt it once. Both knees, really. Fell BAM on the concrete driveway like a linebacker lunging (and missing) his target. The cold SLAP of…   read more

During one of the first years we really started observing Lent at IBC, I was pregnant with my son Drew. He was the size of a lima bean in February of 2007, but he might as well have been Andre the Giant Baby. I was so, so morning sick. And so, so tired. Every day…   read more