On any given evening, I might have 5 kids, 3 kids, 2 kids, or no kids sleeping in my home.  That’s how it is to live in our blended family.  Each of these four potential arrangements has such a different energy, such a unique dynamic that it’s almost like having four separate homes in one. (more…)

I was reading a bedtime story to my six year old stepson, the beloved tale “Hansel and Gretel”.  I casually read “And then the stepmother sent the children into the deepest part of the forest to be rid of them.”  Yikes!  This isn’t going to help my cause.  Cinderella’s and Snow White’s stepmoms didn’t exactly win stepmother of the year either.  Sure they were evil, but being a stepmother is not for the faint of heart. (more…)

My stepson started first grade today.  My nephew did too.  First grade.  A big deal!  They are on the brink of their long educational journey.

But for me, first grade has always felt like the end of an era.  When my oldest daughter went to first grade, I spent the entire day in tears.  My ‘baby’, who up until that point had spent her days with me, was now in a new environment in which I had less impact.  I felt diminished, replaced, ineffective, afraid. (more…)