ArchivesSeptember, 2009

My eighth-grade daughter carries a backpack to and from school that weighs about 40 pounds.  (Yes, I weighed it!)  Because her school has no lockers and she doesn't want to leave her books in her desk in the classroom when she travels to other rooms for other subjects, she takes everything she owns with her Continue Reading

I just checked the long-range weather forecast for the Philadelphia area, and it's looking like this whole weekend will be perfect picnic weather:  sunny and around 80 degrees.  Fortunately, my husband just got plenty of propane so we he can spend the whole weekend grilling our dinner.  Unfortunately, the grill will be in our backyard--not at Continue Reading

I have a confession to make.   Velcro has made me lazy.  My second-grader just learned how to tie his shoes this summer. I suppose that I could blame this on the fact that his kindergarten teacher insisted that the children had shoes with Velcro fasteners (except for the girls, who could have "buckle shoes.")  Continue Reading

My elementary-school-aged kids had a long list of school supplies that needed to be purchased before the start of school this year. Besides the usual pencils, notebooks and folders, they are required to bring in disinfectant wipes, tissues and hand sanitizer.  (For some reason, no health-related items are requested by my high-school son's teachers.  I Continue Reading

There's a lot of work to be done in terms of running a household.   Whether you're married or single, employed outside the home or a homemaker, male or female, really doesn't matter when it comes right down to the basic business of taking out the trash, cooking the meals and keeping the place clean.  Continue Reading