You’ve seen them. They are ahead of you in line at the grocery store, standing next to you in the school parking lot waiting for their child; they are at the doctor’s office, next to you at church, and helping you at the cell phone store. “They” are parents of children with autism. With 1 […]
Parenting. I have been doing it for almost 9 years now. You would think, at a certain point, I would actually start to be good at it. But, on a pretty regular basis, I find myself shaking my head, checking the window for the arrival of the car from DCFS or wondering how much I’m […]
I returned a call to my mother the other day while in the parking lot of the movie theatre. I had to cut the conversation short to make it for the start time of the movie I was going to see. When she asked who I was watching the movie with and I replied, “Alone” […]
I found out I was pregnant in February of 2005, long before the days of iPhones, Facebook, or Pinterest. I spotted a very faint second line an early Monday morning while my husband was at work. It was different than the negative test I had taken two days before. Doubting the results, I called my […]
Growing up in the Quad Cities, Milan in particular, I spent a good portion of my life prowling the halls of Southpark Mall. As a small child, I would beg my mother to take us to Hardees so we could sit in the caboose of the train they had in the middle of the restaurant, […]
I have never been athletic. I am not in great shape; I am not even in good shape. Let’s be honest, the only shape I’m in is round. But two years ago, as part of my rehab from knee surgery, I participated in my first 5K. It was a fun run, filled with splashes of […]
I am a mom. I am a lot of other things; wife, daughter, sister, friend, writer, music lover, student, teacher, and that lady that works at the cell phone store. But my most important identity is that of mother. I don’t know if that became true the moment both of my beautiful boys were born […]
I recently took a 5 day girls trip to Vegas with 3 friends. We had a great time, did a lot, ate a lot, and drank a bit. But, upon returning, I reflected on how different this girl’s trip as a 37 year old wife and mother was drastically different than the girl’s trip I […]
Today is my Mom’s 65th birthday. It’s been a really rough year for her, including multiple hospital stays, and finally culminating with a cancer diagnosis. I could use this opportunity to write a sappy piece about all the lessons I’ve learned and the generic sentiments that you might read in a Mother’s Day card, but […]
I saw the call for new writers for the QC Moms Blog and I was immediately intrigued. I have always loved to write, but as a full time retail employee and mother, I do not get many opportunities to do it with a purpose. Here was the perfect chance. I also had experience with the […]
It breaks my heart to admit, but my 8 year old doesn’t like to read. I remember being his age, devouring books by the dozen. It was just a year later I began my childhood love affair with the “Sweet Valley High” and “Nancy Drew” series. But, a simple request of Brady to sit and […]
