For over eleven years now, I've been called mommy. Sometimes it's mama, and one of the three has branded me with the oddly repetitive mom-mom. With that title comes great influence. Sure, sure, it often feels like they're not listening to a word I say, but in my heart I know that for the things that really matter, they're taking it all in. Know what is on top of that list for me? No doubt about it, it's my love of books. I was the parent reading "Winnie the Pooh" aloud to my big pregnant belly. I read Washington Post articles out loud to myself when holding my baby in my arms just so that he …

Back to School Night. I'm sure these four words appear on digital and print calendars for many area parents. My husband and I have already had our turn listening to our oldest child's teachers talk about the school year and their expectations. This week, I get to switch from the audience to the main stage, as I stand before my preschool students' parents as the teacher on BTS night, and I'm happy to have both experiences. As is the case for many aspects of my "dual life," each perspective informs the other, hopefully bringing about a greater understanding of both my children's teachers and …

My relationship with public transportation goes all the way back to my first days in the working world, as a fresh out of college twenty-two year old. Thanks to WMATA, all it took was one bus and one train ride to get into the Washington, DC, neighborhood where I worked. Back then, in my pre-children life, that hour and a half was "me time," and I filled it mostly with novels and crossword puzzles. All was good. Years passed and my work situation changed. I began taking the University of Maryland shuttle bus to get onto campus each day, but I was still a young newlywed who traveled solo, …

"Mommy, what does 'labor' mean?" Certainly, to any woman who has huffed and puffed through delivering a baby, this word carries much weight. At this time of year, though, I know that the question coming from my five year old daughter has nothing to do with childbirth. Living in Greenbelt, Labor Day really only means one thing to my children—the festival. I feel a responsibility to fill her in on the real meaning behind Labor Day, lest she grow up to never add anything to her current association of the holiday with carnival fare and spinny rides. Ironically enough, with my recent return to …

Last week's earthquake occurred while I was sitting at a preschool classroom's table, enjoying lunch with my fellow teachers during a break from class set up. After the world around us stopped shaking, we all exchanged surprised exclamations and walked out of the room, many of us scurrying for electronic devices that would connect us with news and our loved ones. After reaching my husband, my first online destination was Facebook, where I was joined by numerous friends in expressing our shock at the rare East Coast occurrence. Other than two days of closed school for my oldest child, there …

All through middle and high school, I earned good money as a babysitter for families in my small town. This was followed by summer stints working in a light production factory and a pool store. I learned that while sitting at a riveting machine for 9.5 hours a day can bring me to the edge of an emotional breakdown, I'm actually quite good at customer service. Tutoring, babysitting, and center-based child care all provided spend money during college, perfect for catching a movie on the nights when I wasn't on duty as a resident assistant, another job that completely covered my college board …

Please don't mind the momentary construction. I've just got to get the final nails into this here soapbox, and then I'll be all set to go. Let me climb on up, and we'll get started. Why are some of you parents out there taking your young children to grown-up movies? Sorry for the abrupt tone, but my frustration is impossible to keep under wraps. I'm just so flummoxed by what seems to be happening more often lately. I don't get to the movies terribly often, but this year, I've seen five adult comedies in the theater, three R-rated and two PG-13, if you give much credence to the official …

My whole family went to Virginia for the weekend, and all I got was an amazingly clean and organized home! Yup, my wonderful husband spent two days with the kids at his parents house, while I got an entire weekend free of any child-related responsibilities. No family meal preps. No nap time enforcement. No running interference between bickering siblings. And it was good. While it would have been absolutely lovely to have spent my 48 hours of single life engaged in luxuries like spa appointments or bubble baths, the truth of the matter was that the family was away specifically so that I could …

You know what they say about summer in the DC metro area, right? Okay, I don't know if there is a saying or not, but there darn well should be. And it should include some strong and choice words, that's for sure.In our neighborhood community, the pool doesn't open until noon, which is frustratingly inconvenient for some folks with young children. Nap time in our house begins at 1 p.m. So there's no way to make that noon opening time work and still get a reasonable nap in, which is something that we all need. And honestly, we're as pale as they come, so noon is the time best known for turning …

With a few moves during childhood, I attended four schools in different towns during my elementary and junior high years. Then it was off to high school, followed by a four-year stint at a small college seven hours away from home. Looking back, I view my childhood and adolescent life separated into these segments, for each was marked by a different living space and, especially important, a new group of friends. Thanks to the world of social media, I'm happy to say that I'm in contact with a handful of friends from across these segments. Through online chats and status updates, I have an idea …

I don't know how others do it. Our townhouse is small by most contemporary housing standards, yet I'm constantly struggling to keep it clean. Not white-glove-treatment level of clean, mind you, just the basic tidiness free of dust bunnies, cobwebs, and dirt piles on the floor. This past weekend found me scrubbing, vacuuming, and organizing like a madwoman. With an impending visit from the in-laws, I had more motivation and higher standards than usual, and the chore list tasks filled most of my weekend daytime hours. A weekend cleaning fest translates to a boring weekend at home for the kids, …

Only in summer do I find it acceptable to sit around for significant periods of time doing essentially nothing, completely guilt-free. Sure, the chores, the laundry pile and the to do lists still abound in these intensely warm months. But there seems to be more license to put "real life" on hold for short bits of time during the summer. It's perfectly fine to commit an entire afternoon to going to the pool, which someday will actually involve doing not much at all, I hope. For now, I'm too busy being a springboard for my younger children's jumps, and trying to follow the simultaneous "look at…

For the third year in a row, our oldest son spent a two-week session at camp, but the activities didn't exactly resemble what I remember from my summer camp days of years gone by – no arts and crafts table, no friendship bracelets and no hikes in the woods.That's because they were too busy learning to be clowns.Instead of a wooded outdoor area, Circus Campers, who signed up through the Greenbelt Recreation Department, reported each day to the Community Center gymnasium. As they entered the doors, they were greeted by an assortment of tools of the trade, arranged in stations around the gym.If …

"When I'm a grown-up, I'm going to..." Many a sentence begins in this manner among my children, especially lately. In their three-, five-, and ten-year-old minds, the adult world is full of freedom, opportunity and apparently tons of time for quite a number of occupations. Bus driver, race car driver, police car driver, fire truck driver, garbage truck driver, airplane pilot, helicopter pilot, and "regular car driver" all lay ahead for my youngest son, who clearly seems focused on getting behind the wheel. When my daughter shares her future employment goals, she's a bit more well-rounded, …

There are a few facts that I feel obligated to start with, seeing they may seem incongruous with what I'm about to say. Bear with me. First, I am one of a rare, rare breed – an adult non-driver. No driver's license for me, but I am a seasoned passenger. Second, I cognitively understand the need for change at times in one's life, even when I have trouble emotionally processing it. Okay, got that out of the way, so let's get on it with it. We sold our old van the other day, and I cried. Yes, tears were filling my eyes. Tears that I tried to keep hidden, because in my mind I knew it was just …

One of the major perks of living in the D.C. metro area can be summed up in one word: Smithsonian. Museums showcase art, science and culture -- and with nary a cost to pass through their impressive doors, they call to families and school groups from the area and beyond. For parents, though, there is one Smithsonian institution that rises above the rest for its appeal to children: the National Zoological Park. Who doesn't know the zoo for its Sumatran tigers and African lions? The Asian elephants are basking in their new enclosure, and always a favorite for visitors. Even the small mammals get…

As a child, I remember piling some sleeping bags and a tent into our car and heading out to a localish campground. That was the extent of packing that my child perspective remembers, although I'm confident my parents would insist there was much more involved. I can recall swimming at a small manmade pond, walking to the bathhouse that was filled with bugs that creeped me out regardless of the time of day or night and loving the fact that I was entrusted with a flashlight. It took almost 10 years into our lives of parenthood before we ventured into the camping arena with our own kids. …

The prospect of flipping the calendar to June this week is somewhat blowing my mind. Wasn't it just yesterday that I was helping children's heads get unstuck from turtleneck shirts and sweaters? The baskets that were holding multiple mittens, often unmatched, now feature flip flops and baseball caps. Where it once took us ten minutes to get jackets on and zipped up, boots snug on feet and winter hats secured on chilly heads, now we've shifted to sunblock application sessions and reminders to please stop breaking your sunglasses, for goodness sake! Yes, regardless of the facts that we have yet…

The dental appointment for my oldest son was scheduled during the afternoon on the one day of the week that is devoted to children's appointments. Of all the waiting rooms in which I've wiled away the minutes over the years, I've had a fondness for this particular one since we first started going to the practice a couple years ago. The beauty of having an almost 11-year old go to a dental appointment is that I am not required to shove myself in a corner between the reclining chair and the dentist's stool. Nope, I get to stay in that waiting room that is decked out with child-sized chairs, …

Youth sports is not something with which I have any amount of personal experience. I was more of the kind of youth who preferred to sit still with a book in my hand than propel myself across any sort of court or field after a ball. (For the record, not much has changed in my own personal philosophy over the years either.) As a mom, I was thrust into a newfound role that continues to perplex me even after several years on the bleachers: Sports Mom. It started on a soccer field's sideline and has progressed to the baseball field bleachers. As I sat at my son's baseball game recently, I found …