The past five months have reminded me that the differences between men and women are rarely more evident than when there’s a new baby in the house. Let’s look at a few examples of these different approaches to parenting.

Wet diaper

Mom: Changes it right away to prevent diaper rash.

Dad: Feels to see if it’s squishy. If not, it can probably last another hour or two. Doesn’t that “8 to 14 pounds” on the package signify how much the diaper can hold? If it’s not within that weight range, Daddy ain’t changing it yet.

Dirty diaper

Mom: Changes it right away to prevent diaper rash

Dad (if mom is home): Pretends not to notice the odor—or if that’s impossible, passes baby off to mom with a pleading grin and a promise to do the dishes later.

Dad (if mom isn’t home): Changes diaper at lightning speed while holding breath and trying not to gag. Makes sure to give Mom a graphically detailed account of the experience when she gets home.

Read More »

We missed celebrating Mardi Gras last week. I was getting over a wicked case of food poisoning and not up to celebrating anything besides staying out of the bathroom.

You don’t hear of a lot of people commemorating Fat Tuesday around here, unlike when we lived along the Gulf Coast. Down there it’s a huge celebration with parades and parties.

But one of my favorite things about homeschooling is teaching cultural awareness through observing different traditions. My kids ask all year when it will be time to make Mardi Gras King Cake again. Baking it takes half a day, but it’s worth it. I use rich brioche dough filled with butter, cinnamon and brown sugar, topped with vanilla glaze and the traditional green, purple and gold sugar sprinkles.

It’s a million times better than anything you can buy, so I think we’ll be having our Fat Tuesday a week late. Obviously, we aren’t giving up sugar for Lent. But I’m not sure what to sacrifice instead.

Read More »

“Sometimes when I consider what tremendous consequences come from little things, I am tempted to think there are no little things.” ~Bruce Barton

We had to bid farewell to a friend a couple of weeks ago. Rita Scheu was a kind lady, a good neighbor, a loving mom and wife. She bravely battled breast cancer for several years before it spread beyond the point of healing.

Rita’s doctor recommended that she go to hospice last November, but she wanted to have one last Christmas at home with her family. She told no one of the doctor’s suggestion, and had her beautiful holiday at home. Three weeks later, she was gone.

I hate that I didn’t know her better.

Read More »

Have you fallen victim to the stomach bug yet? There’s a nasty one going around our church and another circle of friends. So far, we haven’t caught it. But knowing it’s out there leaves me worried that our turn is coming.

It makes me want to build a Clorox-filled moat around the house and pickle the kids into an industrial-sized tub of Purell ‘til it’s over. I recently learned something surprising about stomach bug contagion. Keep reading to learn what it is, and perhaps more of us can stay healthy this winter.

Read More »

So the first great snowfall of 2010 has come and gone, and I daresay most of us survived. My yard looked like Jack Frost gently sneezed across it. The most annoying thing about this storm was wrangling hyper, snow-hungry kids on Thursday, and dealing with their disappointment Friday morning when they realized we hadn’t gotten the foot of snow they’d prayed for.

The weatherman only has to mention the “s” word and suddenly, the grocery stores are swamped with people buying milk, bread and toilet paper. I get the toilet paper, but I don’t understand why there’s a run on milk and bread. Do most people live on milk toast during snowstorms? If we’re housebound, I want some fun food to pull us through. I’d at least grab a bag of Oreos to go with that milk.

I was at Walmart last Monday, days before the predicted storm, and the milk supply was already sparse. I had to cough up the big bucks for Mayfield milk, which wasn’t really a sacrifice at all. I don’t know what it is about that magical yellow jug, but their milk truly is the best.

Read More »