I don’t believe in a God that rejects newborn babies from heaven because they aren’t baptized.
In fact, despite being a practicing Catholic, I don’t believe in a God that rejects any good soul from the garden of Eden. I believe my (baptized) dad is up there, hanging with George Harrison and John Lennon, playing guitar [...]

A fully-stocked refrigerator.
The spot on my husband’s neck,  just below his ear.
When my jeans feel loose around the waist.
White ankle socks.
My daughter’s eyelashes.
A freshly made bed.
The green mug I drink my coffee from every day.
intelligentsia coffee beans.
My son’s new smile.
Apple computers.
Reality TV shows.
My mother’s homemade lasagna.
My plaid pajama pants.
Acts of compassion.
My sister.
The watch my parents [...]

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be counting my blessings great and small, in an effort to remind myself that my life is, indeed, not just good but great. Feel free to share your own blessings in the comments.
***
Large, soft, pink granny panties that don’t pull on my stitches.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be counting my blessings great and small, in an effort to remind myself that my life is, indeed, not just good but great. Feel free to share your own blessings in the comments.
****

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be counting my blessings great and small, in an effort to remind myself that my life is, indeed, not just good but great. Feel free to share your own blessings in the comments.
*****
The small plastic seat in my shower, where I can sit to wash my hair while my [...]

While this is by no means a difficult pregnancy, it has been harder on me than the first.
When I got pregnant with The Poo I had two parents, I weighed a slender 130 pounds, and I was 32 years old. Over the course of those 40 weeks, I lost my father to cancer, gained 31 [...]

All my doubts about what I’m doing with my life are swept away when I look at her.
A thick, curly ponytail bounces at the back of her head, decorated with a cheerful and audacious yellow sunflower clip. Her slender ankles carry strong legs into school, her eyes lighting up at the sight of her friends [...]

The Poo was right - she’s having a baby brother! And I have a feeling she will call him Shaggy for the rest of his life.

Three seems to suit The Poo.
There were some tense moments just before her birthday, but she’s settling into this new age with serious aplomb. She’s been outstanding ever since we got home from our holiday travels, content to sit with us in the family room and play or read.
She tells the most imaginative stories, and [...]

She sat down on the stairs, her face skeptical.
“Poo, there’s something I think you want to see,” her father said, looking like a little boy himself in candy-striped pajama bottoms.
“What, Daddy?”
“Santa came in the night while you were sleeping!”
Her eyes widened, and her resolve to remain on the staircase deepened. We looked at each other [...]