My Life

Visiting Old Grandma

Last week, I was down. I felt blue, like I was taking small steps along the path to full-on depression. Between Joe Paterno’s death, work stress, and cyber school stress, I was teary-eyed and sad and having a hard time coping with my life. Wednesday night, I noticed a big hole in my schedule for [...]

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I Did It Myself

Santa gave Grace a bottle of pink nail polish for Christmas; it was in her stocking. The very next day, house full of leftovers and crumpled wrapping paper and shiny new toys, Grace broke out the nail polish. I must have nodded at just the right moment, talking to the baby or my husband, and [...]

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On Joe Paterno, Loyalty, and Humanity

I’ve tried to write about Joe Paterno several times since I learned that he was dying on Saturday afternoon. I’ve started and stopped four separate times. I wrote about being a tutor for student athletes and encounters on the sidewalk and football games, but each time, my feelings got the best of me. My words [...]

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Teaching Reading Using Sight Words Go Fish

Today, Grace had to take a fluency assessment. It was the first of two required to finish up her cyber school pre-k curriculum. Each fluency assessment is made up of five sections in which Grace reads off a series of numbers, letters, colors, or sight words in a 60-second time period. Even though she normally [...]

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Overwhelmed By Cute

Every year, I make calendars for my and Joe’s grandparents, parents, and siblings for Christmas. Every year, I think I’ve made the best calendars yet. This year was no different. Maybe it’s because my kids get cuter every year. I can’t be sure. I am overwhelmed by cute children. I have been so blessed.

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A Disaster in the Dining Room

It started like any other day. A teen from our church came over to take care of my girls while I worked with a coaching client. Around noon, I returned upstairs and made lunch. The girls and I ate together, as we always do. Allie finished eating before Grace and I, also normal. I extricated [...]

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The Pennsylvania Farm Show

I used to complain about the Pennsylvania Farm Show. When I was in high school, I was so above all that country nonsense. It was stupid, and it cramped my interesting teenage life (although I can’t remember just how). I ignored the Farm Show for many years, ambivalent but not longer inconvenienced. And then I [...]

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Matching Haircuts and Dealing with Childhood Fears

One day last week, Grace and I sat down to brush her hair. Hair brushing is not an easy task around here. Grace’s hair was down to the middle of her back, and it is fine and smooth and tangles like Silly String. It’s a real headache. Literally. Like all kids, Grace hates having her [...]

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First Birthdays

For Grace’s first birthday, I planned a theme. I designed and sent invitations, hung decorations, blew up helium balloons, and made two cakes – one for the party guests and one for Grace. I left no detail to chance. Elmo the cake was red inside. When I cut the cake, he looked like he was [...]

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My Goal for 2012 – No More Excuses

Two years ago today, I shared some lofty goals here on Feels Like Home. I said I was going to read through the Bible in 90 days, lose 100 pounds in 12 months, and pay off at least 50% of our family’s debt. I wrote: I have chosen this week to make some changes in [...]