The tantrums? Nope. The snuggles? Sure. But you’ll know that when you see it. — Imagine this: a toddler melts down in the middle of a grocery aisle. The toddler’s mother is taking deep breaths, staying as calm as she can, wrestling her screaming child back into the cart while silently praying that no one will notice. But of course someone does notice, and it’s…

A blow-by-blow for anyone considering the newly-approved shot for their child. — I’ll spare you the trouble of scrolling to the end to make sure my 20-month-old is okay — he is! He’s doing great. It’s been 48 hours since his vaccine, and he has had no adverse reactions. …

How we schedule father-and-son bonding in the midst of a demanding work day. — Some days, when I’m wrangling a toddler, a Radio Flyer push-car, an assorted zoo of winter outerwear, a snack cup, a travel mug of hot tea, and my elephantine purse into a car that desperately needs to be vacuumed, I question my love for my husband. But only for a…

Trust me. She is as indispensable as she is imaginary. — Bertrude is my nemesis. She is insidious. Passive-aggressive. Annoying. Condescending. Didactic, judgmental, and holier-than-thou. She also does not exist. Well, to me she does. She lives in my head. Literally. Bertrude is a mother who has been there, done that, with every aspect of parenting under the sun. She has…

An exercise in both restraint and free-fall. It was… interesting. — I’ve always been skeptical of stream-of-consciousness writing. Part of that has to do with my dislike of such novels as To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, which I was forced to read in high school and loathed to the bitter end. …

Tragically, a hideous witch cursed him at his christening. — Talking is overrated, am I right? The real question is, “what is he doing to reverse climate change?” Come to think of it, Barbara, what are YOU doing to reverse climate change? We are practicing Neanderthals, so his father and I only communicate in variations of “ugh” at home, and…

Test your knowledge of the famous novelist’s quotes… and the quotes attributed to her. — It’s no secret — one could almost say it’s a truth universally acknowledged, except I’m not famous enough for that — that Jane Austen is my favorite author of all time. Her writing is clear-sighted, astute, witty, romantic at times, and just plain funny more often than not. However, though…

Don’t let that prim cap and long list of serious accomplishments fool you. — If it hadn’t been for the Women’s Rights National Historic Park, I might never have heard of Martha C. Wright. No, not the cornbread lady. Martha Wright. Sister to Lucretia Mott. Women’s rights activist of the 19th century. Mother. Humorist. If you’d heard of her before reading this, you have…