Seriously. I’ve been getting all teary-eyed today in anticipation of tomorrow.

In Venice, the Bistrot de Venise serves both a modern menu and also a historic menu with recipes out of renaissance era cookbooks. Would recommend.

Honestly, just plain old Vaseline. I get chelitis at the corners of my mouth and the doc told me to use it especially on the corners at night. Totally worked and I just use it all over. If they’re extra dry, I’ll put a little olive oil on first and then seal it in with the Vaseline. I’m allergic to a lot of fragrances…

It’s interesting because I have a lot of friends in their early to mid 30s who have no intention of having kids and it’s never been an issue. However, I (and they) also work in an education related field and I think society gives a little pass for that; like, “Hey, you deal with enough kids all day. Go treat yourself…

Definitely this. Having a baby becomes such an overwhelming part of life. It’s suddenly the dominant topic of conversation with your partner and family and it makes it harder to relate to old friends sometimes. My childless friends will ask about the baby, but it’s basically all I do these days, so once I give an…

If I have to see another damn bobble head commercial I’m gonna be prying my remote out of the TV. Who goes to the freaking trouble of getting custom bobble heads made of their political rivals? It’s creepy and I bet they sleep with them at night.

I had an unplanned, but not emergency C-section (big sunny side up baby, small pelvis) and I was put under general anesthesia. They gave him to my husband while I was coming to and as soon as I was conscious the nurses started putting him on my boob (maybe 30 minutes later). Or so my husband tells me because I was so…

Man, I almost forgot this one too. In the mid-90s I went to a tiny Catholic school with a bathroom setup that was mostly stalls, but with a small, locking, single-occupancy room on one side for staff.

A pregnancy test. Used. In a port-a-potty. At a museum. That used to be a prison.

Also, imagine the headache of this (unlikely, but possible) scenario: Joe is married to Cindy and Lisa; Cindy is married to Joe, Bill and Dave; Dave is married to Cindy, Tammy and Michelle...

Sorry you’re stuck in this phase. I sympathize from the opposite end of the spectrum; mine decided he only wants to drink straight from the tap and now my life is planned in three hour increments.

Lentil soup freezes great (The Joy of Cooking has a great recipe); as does potato leek soup which is super easy. Just broth, a bunch of leeks, and about for or five Yukon gold potatoes all blended. Or soup veggies, broth, barley, and some kielbasa. Anything that helps you hydrate if you’re nursing helps.

Kinda shy and didn’t want to be the center of attention, rented a small, quirky bowling alley. Was awesome and needed no decorating to boot.

I knew when both my grandparents died before anyone ever told me. In sixth grade my grandmother had had cancer on and off for a while, so it wasn’t totally out of the blue, but the phone rang shortly after I had gone to bed and my parents were still up. Without being able to hear the conversation, I sat up in my bed,…

I’m staying in some hotel and they check me into my room, which just happens to be across the hall from Donald Trump...and there are no doors on the rooms. So despite my best efforts, I cannot look away or ignore him.

First off, fuck that nurse. I had two miscarriages before baby no. 3 and “it’s not your fault” was the first thing out of every doctor’s mouth, as it should have been. That lady was crazy unprofessional, making unfounded threats to admonish you for things totally beyond your control.

People who can’t see breastfeeding and formula feeding as complementary are way too self absorbed in their own choices. Breastfeeding is great if you’re able to do it and formula is great if you aren’t. Some people seem to forget that formula literally saves lives. And I say this as a non-crazy mama who breastfeeds…

One thing to try for night time is double layering. We double stuff a pocket diaper (you can find good, cheap all in one’s on Amazon) and then take a PUL cover from our prefold stash and wrap it around the poket diaper. Helps with the leaks. There’s also all sorts of combos for inserts; hemp is supposed to be super…

I was thrown by this argument as well. I too work with schools and have had state and federal background checks performed on me in 5 different states I’ve lived in. As a hiring manager I’ve also ordered state and federal background checks for teachers in 3 states. Each is a little different process wise, but all but…

I think what you’d also probably need is to force an equally powerful lobby to the pro-gun control side. Like if gun ownership, just like driving, required insurance, you’d bet your ass the insurance companies would be lobbying Congress for control measures.