Search Results for: blog the truth behind the smiles

Mommy Blogger Takes Hit Out on Hubby

Don’t worry; it’s not one of our mommy bloggers… at least not yet. Heh. Okay, not funny. Nor is the news that a 24-year-old wife and mother to two young kids is behind bars tonight for allegedly paying someone to kill her husband. According to reports, Brittany Rachelle Martinez, an EMT and mommy blogger from Houston was caught masterminding a murder-for-hire plot that would have offed her firefighter husband. Police say Martinez offered a friend between $1,500 and $2,500 to gun down her hubby and make it look as though it was “work-related.” The Houston Chronicle claims the mom approached … Continue reading →

The Truth Behind the Smiles

How many of these photos did you get over the holidays? I received about 80… along with detailed Year in Review newsletters on fancy winter-themed stationery. Yesterday, I finally got around to putting away all those photos. Nearly seven dozen pictures of friends and family members showing off their pearly whites. As I stored the photo cards and newsletters I couldn’t help but think about how happy they all looked. Look at all those happy faces. Just so darn happy, happy, happy. Man, that’s a lot of happiness in one shot. Boy, what great lives they must lead. What happy, … Continue reading →

Picture-Perfect Mother’s Day

What are you asking for this Mother’s Day? A clean basement? Not if your husband’s idea of “cleaning” is tossing out all of your stuff. An expensive vacuum? Not if you have to use it more to justify the price. Breakfast in bed? Not if it means doing damage control in the kitchen until dinner. What about a peaceful day surrounded by the people whose existence affords you membership in the sweetest sorority on earth? This Mother’s Day consider cuddling up with your kiddos and enjoying a quiet moment with these picture-perfect holiday reads: The Berenstain Bears: We Love Our … Continue reading →

Oh Say Can You See

That’s me with glasses. That’s my daughter dying of embarrassment because I decided to wear said glasses in public. I bribed her to smile for the camera. Yes, I am that mom. The one who willingly mortifies her child in public by wearing specs her daughter views as “totally ugly” all in the name of safety.  Believe me; you don’t want to know what would happen if I were to drive without the lenses that help correct my 20/500 vision. Ironically, that same daughter, who so quickly denounces my looks when I opt to wear glasses instead of contacts, came … Continue reading →

Surviving Your Kid’s Spring Break

Not your little guy’s break from school, your older one. You know, the one who begged you to let him head down to Cabo with a bunch of friends for spring break, and now you are sitting at home praying that the next call you get isn’t from a Mexican prison. Keeping children safe is the utmost priority for most parents, but you can’t expect your college-age kid to want to spend every school break at home so you can monitor his every move. Sure, viewing Facebook photos of your son at the bottom of a beer bong and your … Continue reading →

Snap To It

Christmas is right around the corner, so snap to it—literally. The holidays are prime time for capturing generations of loved ones in the same place at the same time.  That’s a rare event for most clans, which is why you should take advantage of the opportunity when given the chance. Don’t let the holidays pass you by without snapping family photos that you can cherish for decades to come.  Gather your kids, their cousins, grandparents, even your four-legged family members, and document the good times.  When you are done snapping posed shots, keep your camera on you and get in … Continue reading →

Online Popularity Contest

A warning to parents: Excessive use of Facebook = depressed kids. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) believes that equation to be 100% true. So, all you moms and dads with Facebook obsessed kids: Be afraid. Be very afraid. I am not on Facebook. Consequently, my second grader has no clue that the social networking site exists. Thus, zero exposure to Facebook = darn happy kid. Despite this fact, I will try to remain humble and not turn this post into an exercise in self-validation. Rather, I will just stick to the facts. According to the AAP, a link exists … Continue reading →

Virtual Brag Book

I’m a parent, but I’m not on Facebook. So, if you want to see random photos of my cute kid, you have to come to my house or check in with this blog on a regular basis because I’m not looking to hop on the Facebook bandwagon anytime soon… or ever. GASP! Right? I know. I am a member of a dying breed. Everybody’s doing it, so why am I holding out? I’m waiting for Anderson Cooper to feature me on a show dedicated to non-Facebook users under the age of 60. I’ll work it like a virgin. After all, … Continue reading →

Bunny Hunt

This is a child hot on the trail of the Easter Bunny. Actually, this is a child, who was instructed to turn her frown upside down, following a pouting-fest which was fueled by the fact that she was not allowed to stay up all night to capture the Easter Bunny. Funny how pictures work. For the past four years my now 7-year-old has desperately tried to snag the Easter Bunny. While other kids her age spend Holy Saturday night with visions of chocolate eggs dancing in their head, my child is designing elaborate traps made from blankets, empty boxes, masking … Continue reading →

Derrie-Air Ready for Take-Off

It’s an airline that would have been thoroughly embraced by Bart Simpson and his dad Homer, but alas it turns out that a new carrier called Derrie-Air, which purportedly charged passengers by the pound, is as fictional as the big-eyed, yellow-skinned characters from animated Springfield. Only not everyone who saw the ads for the fake airline knew they were a joke. D’Oh! Late last week millions of unsuspecting readers of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News opened their newspapers to see ads for a new airline called Derrie-Air, which offered a way to save big on summer travel. According … Continue reading →