Lessons in Friendship

It’s 3 o’clock on a Friday afternoon and I’m standing in front of the elementary school, waiting for my first-grader.  Any moment, the brick building’s front doors will swing open and my girl will appear, smiling as she catches my eye from the top of the concrete steps, then bounding towards me, taking two steps [...]

No Place Like Home

Ahhhhh, January.  It’s finally here.  After months of what feels like non-stop activity, there’s something so nurturing about the cold, dark days of January.  We retreat inward, taking time and space to reflect on the previous year and look ahead to all that can be.  We take comfort in the warmth of our homes and [...]

Move Over Ferris Bueller

I have a love/hate relationship with most parenting magazines.  I love them for their dead-on interpretations and resolutions to baffling behaviors and childhood challenges.  I hate them for their perfectly perky parents and crazy cute kiddos in the glossy photographs, not to mention their obsession while celebrity families. But this week, a headline on Parenting’s [...]

Coffee Calls

It’s Day 14 of the Whole Living 28-day Action Plan, the exact midpoint, and my email in-box is telling me to have some coffee.   Easy enough, right?  Oh, except….I’m pretty sure they’re telling me to have it for the first time since the detox began. Right.  14 days without coffee.  Despite my best intentions [...]

Family and Fitness: Tie Score

It’s 5 o’clock in the afternoon on a crisp, October day.  I’m driving home from work, my head swirling with to-do’s, my body aching to move after a long day at behind a desk.    It’s been a full five years since I last spent so much time on my rear end, and I’ve never [...]

Personal Reflections on Post Partum Depression (Project Happily Ever After)

A friend recently linked this article, and although the show they mentioned has already aired, I think the insight of the writer and the dozens of comments by affected readers is invaluable.  If you have suffered from Post Partum depression, or if you have ever denied your negative feelings as a new mother, this link [...]

The Maze of Motherhood

It’s Friday afternoon.  Dozens of children are swirling about, running, jumping, laughing…Disney music blares as parents shout to be heard above all the commotion.  I am sitting in an aluminum and canvas chair, normally found poolside or in the beauty of a quiet garden on a summer afternoon, with nearly the same amount of peace. [...]

Hakuna Matata

My two-year-old has recently taken a liking to the Disney hit “Hakuna Matata” from The Lion King.  In my opinion, this catchy tune ranks third on the list of all-time most fun Disney songs, right behind “Under the Sea” from The Little Mermaid (#2), and “Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious” from Mary Poppins (#1). While all three will put [...]

All in a Day’s Work

I admit it – the term “Mom Blog” turns me off.   There are many mommy bloggers with a wide range of topics and specialities, but there are countless sites where mothers do nothing but vent and write out every detail about their day.  While I totally understand why these blogs exist, and I support [...]

Happy, Helpful or Just Plain Hilarious!

If only I had several more hours in a day…I might stand a chance at getting through the stack of new books I’ve ordered or received as gifts through the holidays.    Currently I have a New Year’s Resolution bet with my husband to lose ten pounds.  If I win, (and I will!), the prize [...]

In 2010, Listen to your Inner Child

It’s a new year.  A new beginning.  Time to reflect on your past and make plans for the future.  2009 brought The PranaMama to life, as I began to listen to my heart and do more for myself than ever before.   As a result, I am a happier mother than I was one year [...]

Christmas Presence

OK, I admit it.  For all of my thoughts about wellness and suggestions for ways we moms can make time for ourselves, this month finds me feeling like a failure.  I’m totally not living up to my own standards. Three weeks ago I wrote about Tapas (discipline), and vowed to train for a New Year’s [...]

Be True to Yourself During the Holidays and Beyond

Everyday I make connections with my true self, constantly learning about who that sometimes crazed, sometimes serene person is.  My goal is to inspire and provoke the very same thoughts in moms everywhere.  This very blog, my personal project and first step into a brighter world, has made me think about myself and the world [...]

Baby’s Day Out

This week, I’ve got babies on the brain.  Two good friends are due any day now, and another just told me she is expecting in 2010.  Every celebrity magazine on the newsstand is showcasing Hollywood moms and moms-to-be, as I walked in downtown Portsmouth NH yesterday, soaking in the warm November sun, it seemed every [...]

A Lunch of My Own

Call me crazy, but my inner foodie won’t listen. Today at lunchtime, the most stressful part of my day, I voluntarily created some stress of my own by breaking out several child un-friendly ingredients and at least three Calphalon pans.  Tired of the noontime habit of standing behind my kitchen island, stealing sandwich scraps and [...]

I Get By With a Little Help from My Friends

A 10 a.m. request to cover a story happening at 4 p.m.  My son’s delayed afternoon nap.  The car running with the keys locked inside.  A sudden stomach bug.  A construction detour.  A job interview. These are just a few of the many occurrences which have led my friends and neighbors to my side within [...]

Sale on Lemons!

Ronzoni Healthy Harvest pasta, 12-15 oz.:  10/$10.  Farm Stand Sweet Grape Tomatoes, 1 pint:  $1.49.  Quaker Simple Harvest Granola Bars: 2/$3.  Edy’s Ice Cream: Buy One, Get One Free. These are just a few of the items on sale at my local supermarket today.   This is the sort of thing that used to mean [...]

T.G.I.F., Party Girl!

It’s Friday night.  In my house, Friday nights are all about easy dinners, comfy sweats and ignoring the disastrous mess of toys underfoot.  My kids go to sleep pretty easily, as they are, like me, completely exhausted from five straight days of school, activities, playdates and Mom’s errands.   We all breathe a sigh of [...]

Race to the Top

Motherhood brings many surprises.  It seems no matter how well you think you have packed for a day trip, how easily your baby accepts new foods or how unbelievably tired you are, something will inevitably surprise you.  Your child may go through all of the packed snacks in the first half hour of the ride, [...]

Mom-as-Movie-Star or Movie-Star-as-Mom?

Today, this great article landed in my inbox, and I had a chuckle over its irony.  The article lists the Top 10 Ways Motherhood Makes You Feel Like a Celebrity, and I laughed at the title, thinking about how we ordinary moms might be compared to a glamorous celebrity, when mommyhood seems to be all the rage [...]

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