Parenthood remains the greatest single preserve of the amateur. Alvin Toffler I come from a very competitive family. We’re not super-outdoorsy or athletic, but just try to come between one of us and a piece of fried chicken! At our annual family reunion, we have horseshoe and ping-pong tournaments for kids and adults, complete with [...]

I cooked dinner last night. Too bad my oldest child had already done his science fair project—the remains of my culinary escapade would have made a great display. My darling hubby was sick, and wasn’t in the room during the ordeal—which makes me eternally grateful. He already has more kitchen stories against me than he [...]

My four year-old is not toilet trained yet. This makes me embarrassed, frustrated, and flummoxed—sometimes all in the same minute. I really think he might be the first kindergartener to go to school in Pull-ups. We’ve tried everything: the encouragement technique: “You can do it!” the peer-pressure technique: “Doesn’t everyone else in your class wear [...]