My family thinks I read in bed to relax; to learn something; and to make everyone stop talking to me (i.e. asking me for things). And they are right—but only partially. I mostly read [...]
As far as I’m concerned, there are two kinds of people in life: those who kiss you on the lips, and those who kiss you on the cheek. ACCEPTABLE LIP KISSERS Your spouse/romantic partner [...]
Do you ever get to the end of the day and ask yourself, “OK, where did that one go?” I feel like I do frequently, and not just when I’m particularly sleep deprived or [...]
Ellen Seidman is a woman I worked with years ago when we were both editors at Glamour. While we were working together (well, not actually during work hours, but during the years we were [...]
Over the weekend I was reading a story in the New York Times about Sheryl Sandberg, she of Facebook fame, Silicon Valley royalty, and—soon—more than a billion dollars. The article was about how Sandb...
The other week I had dinner with a dear friend and her daughter, who is 13. My friend’s daughter is interesting and sweet and charmingly quirky, and I’ve known her since she was born. [...]
My middle son has a wonderful drum teacher. His name is Josh and he is a musician and seems to have boundless energy. He is also a lot of fun, and really appreciates Middle’s [...]
A highly subjective list, from this mother of three boys: It is not worth fighting over… 1) Wearing a winter coat instead of that flimsy springlike thing, even though it is 25 degrees. 2) [...]
Have you ever had someone write something horrible online that was to you, for you, or about you? You know, the sort of thing that most people (either out of a sense of politeness [...]
In other words, do you embrace your postholiday, back-to-work funk and stay in your pajamas for as long as possible, eating leftover cheese fondue and wondering how early in the day you can start [.....
There is a museum fairly close to my house—the Bartow-Pell Museum—that always does fun kid stuff for Christmas. Last year our youngest and I went to see a puppet show; this year there was [...]
From the Pantry Head-Scratchers Department: For much of my life, my mother made me suffer through all-natural peanut butter. On apples, on celery, on toast, on sandwiches, you name it. It was “health...
Before we get started, I have to confess that I bought a turkey that is labeled “extra lean.” Was that a mistake? This year my husband’s family is coming for Thanksgiving and I am [...]
Over the weekend my youngest and I went to the little hardware store in my town, because I needed lightbulbs. There are many, many other (and cheaper) places where we could buy lightbulbs, but [...]
This morning on the way to work I had to stop at the bank to deposit a check. I do not—ever—deposit checks by ATM, mostly because I don’t want to learn how to do [...]
One of the things that is both most amazing and most maddening about Middle is that when he fixates on something, he never lets go. He is like a pit bull, or at least [...]
Or: What do you do when your 4-year-old has much older brothers? Last night Middle was telling me about the short story he read in English class yesterday, and I asked if I could [...]
When I started working at Real Simple, a former colleague said “Real Simple is for people whose mothers didn’t teach them how to do all that stuff.” I knew exactly what she meant by [...]
This week I had the good fortune to sit down with Laurie David, who has recently published the book that is going to save my life. Before Laurie came into the office, she did [...]
Well, now we’re in the thick of summer, which means that all over America, parents are breathing down their kids’ necks about how much time they spend playing Xbox 360. Or is that just [...]
1. Notice top of hamster’s cage is ajar; wonder if your house is inhabited by fairies as no one admits to knocking into cage. 2. Look under every surface on entire first floor. Wonder: Can hamsters [...
1. You are reading and watching nearly everything you can about the whole Murdoch thing, but mostly because you want to get another look at Rebekah Brook’s hair. Why don’t more CEOs have hair [...]
Like many American families, we spend a fair amount of time in the car in the summer. Middle goes to sleepaway camp, which involves road trips for drop-off, visiting day, and pickup. Our August [...]
Those of you who make Real Simple’s blogs a regular destination might have noticed a few changes over the last couple of weeks. We launched our blog platform in 2007 with just one blog [...]
When I was in second grade, I received a report card that my mother will apparently never forget. It wasn’t the grades that were memorable; it was the teacher’s comments. “Has trouble waiting her tur...
Yesterday afternoon I was walking down the street when I saw a beautiful woman of a certain age. Maybe she was in her late 70s, maybe mid-80s, who knows. All I know is that [...]
This week the New York Times ran a story about small annoyances. Specifically, the article was about some researchers who were trying to figure out why certain things annoy some people but don’t anno...
...then I’ve got the man for you. Turns out we have a bona fide Renaissance Man working in the photo department at Real Simple. His name is Brian Madigan, and he is our photo archivist.
Yesterday was my birthday. It was wonderful: The weather in New York was beautiful, my two older boys made me…interesting cards (including one from Middle, using the letters of my first name to...
Well, the week of elation and torment has passed, and life has returned to normal—or a new normal, for all of my friends, neighbors, acquaintances, and strangers I read about in the paper whose [...]
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