Mother’s Day was awesome. I don’t know about you, but I had a blast. I asked my husband for help when I got tired. I took an hour to myself to read a trashy novel. I scheduled a massage. I went to the Brambleton Town Center and watched the families out enjoying the beautiful weather. At the end of the day, I was rejuvenated.And, then it was over. That night I took it upon myself to get up—so my husband could sleep—each of the three times my inappropriately happy baby woke up. When I had a free moment on Monday, I folded laundry or worked on a business proposal. The weight settled back onto my…

I thought about writing something noncontroversial for this month's column—perhaps 99 ways to soothe a fussy baby (I wish I knew!) or Ashburn's unknown toddler artists. But last month, I got angry comments after giving tips for having fun on a day off. I was reminded that I can’t make everyone happy all the time, so here's what's on my mind:What the heck is wrong with this state? Gov. McDonnell just signed what is arguably the most invasive bill we've seen into law. Instead of getting into how this is blatant disrespect and violation of patient rights, I'll focus on what the Virginia Society …

It's the season of useless holidays and snow days (if we ever get a real winter). This used to mean relaxation and down time for me. Since the birth of my son, it means preschool closure and ramped up responsibility. Fortunately, it's not an upsetting time. I've figured out how to make these little gifts of time fun. My new solution is to pretend I'm the babysitter. House rules still apply, but I try to inject as many off-beat events into the day as possible. If you ever read The Babysitters' Club YA books as a child, you're on to my suggestion. The characters in the series carried boxes …

My son is 3 months old. He can hold his head up, uncurl his fists, reach for objects, laugh, recognize loved ones and roll onto his tummy. He cannot sit up, eat solid food, roll from his tummy to his back or tell me if daycare is mistreating him. It's that last one that worries me. To be honest, my other son is 3 years old and he's still a poor source for reliable information. Last week, he told me that a boy who left for preschool months ago pushed him down. So, I don't really have a good answer for this issue. Luckily, for those of us that must work, Loudoun County offers great child care …

The Winter Solstice occurred last night/this morning at 12:30 a.m. Along with many religious festivals honoring the event, Yule will celebrate the Earth's renewal and the lengthening of days. Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, began Dec. 20. Persons of Jewish faith are commemorating the 2nd century BCE event when the wicks of a temple's menorah miraculously burned for eight days. And, Christmas is Sunday. Along with billions of other Christians, I'm celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ from the Virgin Mary. Some of my most brilliant and open-minded friends have asked recently why I'm still a …

I, too, have a problem with how the holiday season has turned into a materialistic, commercial orgy of greed. In my humble opinion, this time of year should be about whatever religious holiday people celebrate, not about rushing through malls to snatch up the last toy for little Junior. But it’s just plain wrong to erect a display of a crucified, skeletal Santa on public property where kids can see it. Refuse to participate, write about your thoughts, place your nastiness on your own lawn. But random little kids should not have to be subjected to your message downtown. You’ve made a rookie …

My son turns 3 years old this year. He now fully understands everything we say. When strangers ask him if he'll be a good boy for Santa, he remembers. He's got to be wondering who this Santa person is. And I don't want to lie to him. What to do? I can't tell him Santa doesn't exist. I'll get notes from school that my little boy trampled other kids' fantasies and other parents will come beat me. I can't simply leave out gifts from Santa. My son will wonder why Santa hates him and will think he's a bad boy. He'll spend years in therapy overcoming his plummeted self-esteem. I can't join the …

Those pesky fall holidays are out of the way. Now it's time to break out the 6-foot-tall plastic Santa and trip your fellow man to get to the last LeapFrog toy. Ah, the holidays. We kicked off the season with Black Friday, when everyone gets to spend time with their families except the retail workers (or hospital staff, police officers, firefighters, pilots and a bunch of other people that are used to shift work). One cashier told me she had to work midnight to 6 a.m. stocking shelves then come back at noon for another eight-hour shift. Ah, the holidays. I was not anywhere near Dulles Town …

My uncle is moving his family from New Orleans to the DC area. He chose Crystal City as their future home, ignoring places further west because he considered them "too far from the action" of DC. I laughed at his common mistake. Loudoun County is the perfect place to live:10.    Close to major airports. We don’t have to make three connections just to get within an hour of home.9.    Family-friendly. Restaurant hostesses don’t give us the evil eye when we ask for highchairs.8.    Close to DC. We get around to seeing monuments and museums when out-of-town guests visit. 7.    Close to wilderness…

Ashburn is a wonderfully family-friendly town. During the five years I lived on a cul-de-sac in Broadlands, our little population tripled due to the women giving birth multiple times. One of my neighbors posted a huge stork sign out front announcing the birth of daughter. We cringed. Those signs inform would-be kidnappers that a new baby is available, articles have cautioned.Is it any safer to post the photos of kids online?    There are many reasons to reconsider posting the kids’ photos online for the world to see. Thwarting criminals is one. Another is that what we may think is cute may …

Two days ago, my husband asked if I thought the sexual harassment accusations against Herman Cain have ended his campaign. I gave him a blank stare. "Oh, you haven't seen the news in a while?" he asked. "Women are accusing Herman Cain of sexual harassment."I wanted to agree that it had been a few days since I'd checked current events. But my shameful next words were, "Who's Herman Cain?"The truth is: I don't remember the last time I turned on the TV or my computer to check out what's going on in the world. In preparation for voting yesterday, I spent an hour reading articles here on Patch and…

My 2-year-old son went to daycare on Monday toting his shark costume for their Halloween parade. He came home in a Tigger outfit. Apparently, he wanted to be a horse instead of a shark and threw a major tantrum. (I have no idea why Tigger was an acceptable alternative to the desired horse.) Later, my son burst into tears because he couldn't have waffles for dinner. Is he having more temper tantrums than usual because we have a new baby at home? Maybe. A few months ago, we blamed the behavior on moving. Before that it was due to sleep disturbances. Each time, we empathized yet stuck to the …

Upon hearing tales of other second-time mothers giving birth in record speed, we had two different groups of friends and family standing by waiting for The Call. We welcomed my son into the world after four days of pre-labor, 18 hours of labor in the hospital, and an emergency C-section. That was almost four weeks ago. And, now that I know the facts, the memory isn't so bad. Like almost every mother, I'm just joyous that I've got a healthy child. Are we all altruistic, sappy women? No; God drugs us so that we are forgetful enough to continue the human species. (My apologies to those who don't…

“No, I’ll do it!” my son yells for the umpteenth time. We’re getting dressed for daycare. He has put on his socks, his underwear and his pants. Now, he’s having trouble with his shirt. I want to help him find the hole for his head so we can move on, but my son insists on doing it himself. I shake my head and accept the inevitable stubbornness of 2-year-olds.About 14 hours later, my son is asleep for the night and my husband is attempting to cross “unpack the nursery” off our list of things to do. He asks where I want the infant toys to go.“Don’t worry about it,” I call from my spot on the …

At eight months pregnant, I have gotten freakishly huge. My abdomen has far surpassed that cute six-month round belly that people associate with “pregnancy.” Now, strangers’ eyes widen like saucers at the sight of me coming. They ask, “How much longer?” as they stare in awe and get the heck out of my way. We smile; it’s not an unpleasant experience because I don’t take it personally. My time in this spotlight will end in less than a month. However, this small inconvenience makes me wonder how it feels to truly have a disability or disfigurement in our community. Stares at my belly turn into …

My large, unborn son is sapping away all of my iron intake. Twice a week, I find myself sitting in a chair at a hematology/oncology center getting infusions of iron by IV. I'm surrounded by cancer patients getting their regular doses of chemotherapy.“My daughter just started Yale Law this week,” the man next to me says. He is short, his feet barely reaching the end of the reclining chair. “She finished NYU undergrad in two years. Brilliant girl.”“That’s wonderful,” I respond. “Yes… I hope it makes her happy,” he says as his gaze clouds for a few minutes. “I had some great years there after …

I was at Wegman’s putting my groceries onto the conveyor belt in the check-out line the other day. My belly was ridiculously huge and it took me a while to maneuver myself around the cart to get everything where it belonged. Meanwhile, my 2-year-old son was picking up the credit card machine pen and starting to hit buttons. The check-out woman smiled sympathetically as I pushed the cart and my son a little further from temptation.Then he said it. As I got the last tube of yogurt onto the conveyor belt, my son gasped and said, “Wow, good job, Mommy!” “Thank you, Sweetie!” I exclaimed with a …

Yesterday I sat in my home office typing away. The construction crew building the house next door was banging on something. All was normal in my world. Then, the house started to tremble. What the heck are they doing over there? I wondered. A second later, the trembling turned into full-on shaking and the word “earthquake” entered my mind.Within five minutes, the weirdness was confirmed: a 5.8 earthquake hit Mineral, Virginia, about 85 miles south of here. It was an adrenaline-producing experience for all. And, after the commotion settled down, I got to panicking. The construction crew had …

I've read that one of the reasons 2-year-olds are so ornery is that they are trying to understand how the world works. They insist on having the same plate everyday because it brings a sense of balance into their developing worlds. (And, we all love balance, right?) So, I shouldn't be surprised that moving a 2-and-a-half-year-old boy into a new home hasn't gone over so well. The first night, he refused to sleep in his bed and had screaming spells that outlasted my husband's patience. As my husband reached for the Benadryl, I whisked our kid off to the guest bedroom to sleep drug-free with …

I think the universe has piled just a little too much crap on top of me, and I came close to snapping today. I dislike woe-is-me, I’m-so-busy tales, but here’s mine as an explanation.This morning I woke up and knew that I was hugely pregnant, running a growing business, moving in two days, probably reporting for jury duty in one week, finishing up an entry for a writing contest and still nursing a six-week-old cold. By mid-day it got worse: my grandparents are planning to visit my messy house over the weekend; two clients needed emergency afternoon meetings; and my son was home sick with a …