Ok, so June Cleaver, I’m not. As a mom, I am generally pretty no-nonsense so my kids grew up hearing things like “If there’s no blood, I don’t want to hear any crying” and “If you throw up when we’re getting in the car, then you can stay home from school.” One of my most […]
Gracie was so excited when she moved up to the 4th grade. At the beginning of the school year I heard nothing but proclamations about how she was entering into the “pre-teen” years (she’s 10) and was no longer a child. I was instructed to acknowledge and appreciate her new maturity. With that maturity came […]
Before I married David, I had no idea who or what Notre Dame was other than an awesome cathedral in Paris. Now, almost 30 years later, Notre Dame (the university) has become the bane of my existence from the beginning of football season to the day of the National Championship Game. This year, as in […]
Since last August our family has made major changes in our diets. I had, for the last six months been trying to slowly transition my family toward organic foods and healthier eating. In August, it was time to totally cut the processed food cord and dive off the cliff. This change has been met with […]
It’s always fun at the end of a year to look back and see what the last year was like and then look forward to see what our hopes and dreams are for the next year. 2012 was a whirlwind of a year for the Allen family. January found David and I on Easter Island […]
On New Year’s Eve, I had to do something I had been dreading for months. My daughter needed to go to the hospital for a series of blood tests to address a potential medical issue. Gracie, being a perfectly normal child, hates needles and needs to be coaxed, bribed, threatened and tricked into getting her […]
David, Jess and I drove down to Blue Mountain Beach to meet with the florist, cake decorator and wedding coordinator at the resort Jess and Chambliss have picked for the wedding. On the ride down I think we were all a little nervous. Chambliss’ mom, Vickie, had invited us to stay with her at her […]
