There are weird happenings around the Conway residence these days. Not only does Danny know who Justin Bieber is, he sings the song. No more “Good Night Moon “or even “Good Night Gorilla”. Now it is “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” or, worse yet, “Captain Underpants” (well, at least it was Underpants until I decided to ‘lose’ any such books before we got home from the library). There is begging for a Wii, a refusal to wear his “I Love Mom” shirt any time other than the weekends. A disgust at eating anything his sister’s lips may have already touched.... Continue reading

Maybe it’s because I’m newly 40, but more likely it’s because classic R.E.M. seems to be on the radio every time I am driving alone in my car, but lately I’ve been thinking a lot about how amazingly different life can turn out from what you think it will be when you are 18. According to my original plan, I would have been a famous novelist by 30 (a revision from 21 that happened when I started college and became distracted by frat parties and co-ed dorms). I would at this point be traveling the world, have houses all over... Continue reading

One basic fact of life is that 2/3rds of the earth is made up of water. A similar, but less widely reported fact, is that 2/3rds of a mother’s time is spent waiting for her children. This they do not teach you in school. There is of course the basic waiting time of getting shoes on, toys put away, teeth brushed, bodies in bed (and actually sleeping), dinner eaten rather than played with or thrown on the floor. And then there are the endless classes, the soccer practice, the dance class, gymnastics, baseball. But the sweetest and hardest times of... Continue reading

It’s hard to believe that the summer has already almost slipped out of our grasp. Although it was just a few months ago, it seems like years since we went on our first mini family vacation down to the sands of Pismo Beach. We’ve had a lot of fun this year, with trips to the Conway house at the Russian River and back to Boston to see my folks. Now, as I prepare for my tan to fade and the kids’ golden streaks to darken and, scariest yet, for Danny to strut off without me through that big kindergarten classroom... Continue reading

The last few weeks I have felt a bit like what Dorothy might have felt like if the tornado that picked her up had never landed anywhere. Work has been simply insane—lots of meetings, lots of deadlines, lots of late nights—so I haven’t had a lot of time with the kids. And so, as always happens when you’re feeling like a sucky mother, one of your kids gives you a blow right across the jaw. This time, the culprit was sweet baby Jay who decided to start calling his nanny Lyn “Mama”. Oh, and not only calling her Mama, but... Continue reading

Of my three kids, I can already tell that Annie is going to be the clingiest one. She just really needs her mama, and she needs her a lot. If I am honest, the reason that she needs me so much is that she needs someone to talk to. Constantly. Because Annie likes to talk. And I mean a lot. There is nothing that makes Annie happier than asking “why” and then answering her own question in about twenty different ways in about twenty seconds. Honestly, I do love talking to her although sometimes, like when we are trying to... Continue reading

Everyone who has had a baby has one of these stories. You know what I’m going to say. You are minding your own business at the park, the grocery story, the dry cleaners, and-- bam!--it happens. Some moron with a big sickly smile asks you when you’re due. And you tell them. Uh, that would be two years ago. My story is from when I was actually about two days pregnant with Jay. (Mind you, if I had said I was six weeks pregnant when this happened, then I would have been in the clear because I balloon up when... Continue reading

After I had been blogging for a month or so, Dan noted that I barely ever mentioned him in my posts. Some of his friends said it almost sounded like I was a single mother. Dan’s analogy was that basically this blog is a lot like “The River Wild,” that old Meryl Streep movie where Meryl kicks crazy Kevin Bacon’s ass while her husband pees his pants in the raft for the entire 90 minutes. Hey, Dan said that, not me. The funny thing was that, about a month ago, we happened to find that very movie on cable. After... Continue reading

This time last Friday afternoon we were cruising down 101 on our way to a mini-vacation at Pismo Beach. We arrived excited about the weather, excited about our nice big suite, excited to head back to the beach. We had four luxurious days and nights ahead of us, full of promise of quiet and fun. And they were fun, amazingly fun. But they weren’t quiet. And it wasn’t the kids’ fault this time. I blame the invention of the smart phone. When I was young, every summer my mother and father would take two full weeks off from work. We... Continue reading

Danny is graduating preschool Friday and, with the way I have been carrying on, you would think he just up and joined the Army. I’ve been crying while I jog by the school, crying driving home from work meetings, crying watching Johnson & Johnson commercials (OK, I always do that). It isn’t helping matters that he’s had a growth spurt the last week or so, his legs getting all lanky, his already sun-streaked head getting higher and higher when he leans against me. My first baby is growing up. When I think back on how Danny has changed in the... Continue reading

Lately, I have become a bit forgetful. I often can’t find my keys or my coat. I can’t remember if I’ve paid a bill, taken a vitamin or even brushed my teeth. Sometimes I forget things for the kids that can be almost apocalyptic, like not having Danny wear a bathing suit to Little Gym for beach week. But I never thought I would forget the details of my kids’ lives. But I think I have. I remember when I was pregnant with Danny that I was so irritated by my friends, friends with mere babies themselves, that seemed to... Continue reading

I’ve had a run of bad luck with Annie and birthday parties recently. First, a few weeks back, she tagged along for a party for one of Danny’s classmates. It was a Friday afternoon after a long work week and I was in that sleep-deprived state where driving a vehicle at 3 p.m. is a bit of a risk and a cocktail is out of the question. But we soldiered on, me and all three kids, because no one wanted to miss out on the fun. Turns out that Mommy’s fun that party involved taking paper towels and cleaning supplies... Continue reading

If I was a lottery playing type of gal, I’d have three especially lucky numbers, the times of my childrens’ births: 7:31 a.m. for Danny, 4:44 p.m. for Annie and 9:58 p.m. for “Baba” Jay, whose first birthday we’re celebrating today. Jay was born on the 13th, a number that many find unlucky but which has been a special number all my life. On this exact day 39 years ago, Senta, my best friend until I was 32, was born. She always told me that she was born on a Friday the 13th and because of that we would always... Continue reading

It’s hard to believe that this will be my sixth Mother’s Day. It seems like yesterday that we celebrated the first one, when I was about five months pregnant with Danny. Some traditions have stuck, like going to Il Fornaio for brunch. Others have been added along the way, like Annie spilling the beans on all my gifts the week before. Of course, my greatest gift is the fact that I get to be a mother. But I’ve also gotten to learn some interesting stuff along the way, things that have surprised, disgusted and delighted me. So, in honor of... Continue reading

This has been the first week when this blog was in true peril of just not happening. Work has consumed me like never before. Throw in a few kids’ classes and dentist appointments and soon you’re eating dark chocolate alone at 2a.m., simultaneously sending emails, watching Gray’s Anatomy, and sleeping sitting up. These are the nights when I long for candy corn. Once, when I was young and staying up until 2 meant sleeping until 11, I didn’t get it when people would refer to life as just spins on a hamster wheel. Now I do. My life is a... Continue reading

I’m turning forty. And no, not someday. This year. The very end of the year, mind you, but the count-down is on. Turning forty is in many ways unfathomable to me because, despite my parental duties, I like to think of myself as a kid. It seems like yesterday that I was in grade school, being called to the principal’s office with a group of my friends, accused of kicking boys at recess with our heavy snow boots. It seems like yesterday that I was in middle school, tilting my chair too far back in art class and ending up... Continue reading

This past week I made the insane decision to have Danny and Annie’s annual check-ups performed at the same time. We’ve had a rough month, with way too many trips to the doctor with some combination of the three of them, so I figured a well visit would be a piece of cake. And, hey, why not take Jay along for the ride too. So Danny is getting four shots today, no big deal. I really thought that. And who needs a doctor? From our first moment in the big old family-sized check-up room, I knew we were in for... Continue reading

Back in the day, there were two things I read cover-to-cover every weekend: Us magazine and Entertainment Weekly. Many a Sunday morning post-college would find me with coffee mug in hand reading every single article, every movie review, every beauty tip. When I moved to California not knowing a soul, most Saturday afternoons were spent sitting by the pool reading my magazines. And even (gasp) novels. Then life got busy. Over twelve years, I picked up some high-profile jobs, my own company, many close friends, a devoted husband and three time-consuming kids. Oops. I meant adorable kids. And the reading?... Continue reading

This probably means I am getting old, but I must admit that my favorite holidays are the ones that don’t involve gifts. Although, of course, they do involve a lot of candy. I’ve been a big fan of Halloween since I was a kid myself, but Easter kind of crept up on me. I think part of the reason I love Easter so much is for the same reason that I have been obsessed with daffodils this year. The colors, the eggs, the dresses, the hats…after a long rain, inside play and endless runny noses, it’s nice to see something... Continue reading

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, I was a young PR chick who wore short skirts, high heels and could drink all night. Flash forward only seven years and I am a secretly (and only very, VERY slightly) graying STORK who realizes the night before going to a swanky conference that not only does she have nothing that fits the now oddly shaped body three children have left her with, but she can no longer balance in heels. It’s amazing how the things that once came so simply can suddenly seem so daunting. Pre-kids, I had... Continue reading

Today, I snuck out for an early lunch and went to music with Annie and Jay. I’ve been to this rec center class forever, ever since Danny was a little guy and, just like Jay, was spending more time sucking on the instruments than drumming. The teachers have changed, even my kids have changed, but one thing remains the same: the goodbye song always makes me cry. I don’t know why the song gets me. Maybe it’s working mom angst. Maybe it’s just the purity of the chords, especially when played on a lonely violin. Or maybe it’s the sweetness... Continue reading

I have been having one of those days when, for no good reason, all you really want to do is have a long, loud cry. While some people might think this probably means there is a hotline somewhere that I should be calling, my mom friends all tell me it’s alright. And on any given day four out of five of them would like to join in too. I don’t know why we moms feel the urge to cry so much. I should say that it isn’t always out of sadness. The way Annie says ‘yes” with a little lisp,... Continue reading

Danny is going to kindergarten in September and it already makes me alternatively weepy and terrified. The thought that my drooly baby, my firstborn, is actually going to wear a backpack and use a urinal is beyond comprehension. But, frankly, not even the idea of Danny having to find that school bathroom by himself frightens me as much as this upcoming season of T-ball. Danny has never been an aggro sports kid. He would rather look for bugs than play catch. He can run faster than the wind but he would prefer to zig-zag than follow the bases. And he... Continue reading

When I was single, you could find three things in my fridge: Weight Watchers pizzas, Diet Coke and grapes. Oh, and some milk for my tea. My microwave was my best friend and my oven was for storage. This may sound boring to some, but to me eating a pizza every night was just fine. But I have accepted that this doesn’t quite work with kids, let alone a husband. Now, I could blame my lack of culinary skills on my mother, as predictable as that might be. But truth be told, although she was often accused of making “sawdust... Continue reading