Unlike the Facts of Life conversations, which tend to be initiated by my six-year-old, the Bad Words talk is one that I will bring up myself. Part of this comes from morbid maternal curiosity. The rest is to make sure more Newspeak isn’t occurring (the school has banned “stupid” and “freak,” and I don’t agree [...]

So, a month or so ago, you read my lovely initial birds and bees conversation with my six-year-old. (Yes, SIX.)
Apparently Elizabeth has babies on the brain, as yesterday when we were stuck on Mopac, she suddenly asked, “How do you make a baby?”
Thankfully, traffic was at a dead stop, or I might have swerved off [...]

My six-year-old flopped on the bed with no indication whatsoever she was about to drop a bombshell.
“So, Mama, can I have a baby before I’m married?”
I had to think for a minute. These questions are never what they seem, like the time the big horrid bad word she heard at school, that started with “s,” [...]

The second grader held his picture high enough for the whole class to see. “Look, Ms. Roy, here’s your heart falling out of your body!”
He seemed shocked that my response was simply, “It should be a little more red. And dripping.”
The lesson the teacher had left for me involved the question, “What if dinosaurs had never [...]

A few days ago I found out Deanna Roy was pregnant.
No, no, no, not me. The Deanna Roy in Nova Scotia.
Now, I’ll admit, when the status update “Deanna Roy is expecting again!” came across my Facebook feed, I did glance down at my own belly. I thought maybe the advancement of web beacons and cookies had [...]

Over on Verla Kay’s Children’s Literature boards, we had an intriguing discussion about the use of swear words in young adult books. Published writers and author hopefuls all weighed in on when, if, and how much it was appropriate to curse in books targeted for teens.
As a former teacher of both middle and high school, I [...]

I owe my life to a man named Matt Bessonette. Well, sort of.
Matt is a tandem instructor at Skydive Spaceland, a flight school outside of Houston where both ordinary people and extreme-sport junkies hang out to jump from airplanes.
Matt is very good at what he does — strapping newbie after newbie into harnesses, cracking jokes [...]

For those who know me well, “slow and steady” are not two words you’d pick to describe my personality. I’m more hare than tortoise, more leap than look, more speak than wait until spoken to.
So while, the third grade musical by Emily’s school was wonderful and funny and the kids did a remarkable job, I’ll [...]

The line of angels bunched and buckled as the row of wing-bedecked elementary-aged choristers snaked around the nativity set and into the foyer. Someone stopped abruptly, and a secondary angel crashed into the head honcho, the holy host with full gold regalia and the critical lines of the play. Be not afraid, for I bring you good news [...]

1. A car walks into a bar. You stare, snapping to attention at the curves, the angles, the glint of its exterior sheen. You want to get closer, see if this attraction might lead to something, but you hesitate. You probably can’t afford it. It’s probably high maintenance. It might not even be available. You [...]