I have to confess that it has been awhile since I have been on a date. After my divorce I was really good about getting out there and meeting men, but after a few bad experiences I decided to take a break. As moms, whether we are married, in a relationship, or single, we spend so much time caring for others that I think we lose a little bit of us. I wanted to find me again. When the kids would go to see their dad I would go for walks, read, write in my journal, and somedays go to not just one movie but two or three. There were times when I would

The count down has begun for the first day of school. I have to confess that I am ready for the kids to go back. With the move it has been a strange summer and I think we could all use the routine. This is a big year for us. I will have two in high school, one starting middle school, and three in elementary school…yes, my baby is starting kindergarten!!!! For the first time in fifteen years I will have all of my children in school!Last night I decided to start the back to school shopping. I knew this was going to be such a swe

In light of some of the problems that some college football teams have had with a few players, I have come to the conclusion that what they need is a team mom. After all, all six of my kids are playing sports this year and these young kids seem to have a basic understanding of what it means to be a part of the team and what is expected of them as well as the consequences for breaking the rules and being a poor sport. They are much younger than these college players but already it clicks that there are consequences for your behavior.

We have been busy setting up the new house and my 15 year old asked me why dont we have any nice posed pictures of all the kids that we can hang over the mantle. There are lots of candid shots of the childrenbut not one of those beautiful posed portraitsyou know the kind that is so beautiful some people even have an oil painting made of it. I smiled to myself thinking about the last time I had the bright idea to try and get a posed portrait of the six children.

So today is the day we finally move into our new house. We have spent the past week painting and cleaning…getting it ready for us to bring our things over. Sunday nightthe kids and I talked about our last night in the house and what we would remember from being there. In the walls of that tiny house we found a way to be a family again after divorce. We lived in that house when Nana was diagnosed with cancer, we lived there while she fought for her life, and that is the housewe were in when she died. We also found our strength in that house. The