If you’re anything like me, you’re tired of the portrayal of fathers as stupid, inept, angry nincompoops. I don’t know when we went from Bill Cosby to….most of the men on television today. I hate the message it sends to my sons about how unimportant they’re going to grow up to be. I hate the message it sends to my daughters that fathers for their kids might be more trouble than they’re worth. I hate the message it sends to... Read more

We saw Ella’s rheumatologist, Dr G, last Tuesday. I’ve struggled since then with what to write about that visit. It’s not that there was anything bad or negative about the visit itself, it’s that Ella has become an expert googler. She can now research with the best of us, and it makes me have to choose my words more carefully. A test, word, or phrase that my readers wouldn’t notice, sends her on a rabbit chase that ends when she... Read more

* I’ll be writing about Ella’s doctor appointment from last week tomorrow. It’s a lot of information to filter through and process. Today I’m writing about Austin. I didn’t want to go. I’ll start right there. Back at the beginning of the year, when I was in the midst of unplanned pregnancy/miscarriage drama, Calah from Barefoot and Pregnant wouldn’t take excuses from me when she bought my ticket. “You’re going to be ready for this break in July,” she had... Read more

You won Luca’s book!!!! I’m sorry it took so long to tell you, but Blogger decided not to publish two scheduled posts this week. You won’t mind once you get the book though. It’s worth the wait! Please email me your address and I’ll pop it in the mail to you. Read more

All morning, I’ve been thinking back to the girl I was in junior high and high school. I was a little bit hopeless. While my friends could execute the eleborately sculpted hairstyles of the 80s and 90s, and perfectly swipe on the latest make-up trends, I couldn’t. I wanted to, but I always ended up looking as if I’d gotten ready in a very dark room. I would slide back to my comfortable default of tomboy, and hang out there.... Read more

A few weeks back, we picked up Ella’s new-to-her wheelchair. It was functional and comfortable, but not really pretty.  I took it to one of the local auto body shops, Detroit Custom & Collision in Sachse, and asked what they would charge to paint the frame. The owner shook his head and said “I’m not charging you for that. I don’t know enough about them to take it apart, but if you can get the frame for me, I’ll paint... Read more

Last year, I undertook an epic journey through Hell and Buffalo, Texas to see my college roommate. The beginning of this year, I flew to Virginia to see her again and celebrate her birthday. (One of the plane’s engines died over Little Rock. Why can’t it ever be an uneventful journey to see her?) Look how cute we are! She’s a huge MasterChef fan, and an even bigger fan of Season 4’s winner Luca Manfe, so she was beyond excited... Read more

I didn’t believe them when they said that her nerves were normal. Call it instinct or intuition, it doesn’t matter. I knew that they were wrong. I knew that the diagnosis of a psychosomatic disorder went right in the face of everything I knew about my practical and pragmatic child. I just knew it was in her nerves. And I’m right….at least in part. Two nights ago, I was helping her out of the bath when I noticed that while her... Read more

The internet is a very weird place…thing…entity. I don’t really know what it actually is, which seems strange to me considering how much time I have spent on it…in it…among it? I remember so clearly the day that I started my blog. I was a very lonely stay-at-home homeschooling mom of four little kids. We lived in a neighborhood populated by mostly elderly people, and my children were the only kids for blocks. Every morning, my husband would leave for... Read more

***Before you start reading, please know that Ella has been tested three times for Lyme disease, and spent several months grain, sugar, and dairy free. The tests were negative and the diet didn’t help. I’ve started writing this several times, but since the doctors who examine her always ask about when she was born, I guess I should start there too. Some dates will be exact and others approximate. It’s hard to remember everything from ten years. It’s also crazy... Read more