Back when I was a kid, sick days seemed a little golden, somehow, tinged with a magic to them, spun from something out-of-the-ordinary. It was never fun to be sick, but getting to stay home was like being given a chance to step back into those perfect days of very early childhood, when you could lie cocooned in bed, drifting in and out of sleep to the steady hum of household rhythms, or the comforting background of the television or radio noise rising and falling around you in waves and you waited. [more]

Irony
pronunciation: \ˈī-rə-nē also ˈī(-ə)r-nē\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural iro·nies
Etymology: Latin ironia, from Greek eirōnia, from eirōn dissembler
Date: 1502

the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning

OR

Spending weeks and weeks debating whether or not you should get the H1N1 vaccine for your children, making the decision to go ahead and do it, then finding out that you can't get the vaccine anywhere, even if you beg and plead, and wring your hands.

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Good news for all you people who think you don't have time to exercise. In a recent study, British researchers confirmed that some exercise, even as little as a few minutes a day , is better than nothing.

So what's the easiest way to work up a sweat without investing too much of your precious time? It's as easy as climbing stairs. [more]

On November 7th, I'm heading off on a girl's trip to the gorgeous island of St. Maarten. (Well, I'm assuming it's gorgeous, based on the pictures I've seen.)

Although I'm over-the-moon excited about my upcoming getaway, I always get a little nervous about my exercise routine. Will I find ways to exercise? Will I stay semi-on track so I'm not completely out of shape when I get back? [more]

One of the things I really enjoy about L.'s school calendar, and the fact that he gets two weeks off for fall break and two weeks off in the spring, is that we get the chance to control the conditions of his day, and make sure he's coming close to eating three regular meals each day; or, if we can't manage that, at least we can send enough snacks his way to feel he's getting something to live on. When school is in session we're lucky if he gets one and a half "real" meals/day, and it takes its toll over time--turning him into a hyped-up, strung out mess. [more]