Dear Kate: Welcome to single motherhood

So it’s official — Jon and Kate Plus 8 will now be Jon and Kate’s 8 Divided by 2. After lawyers and paperwork and arguments and signatures Kate, mother of eight will become Kate, single mother of eight. Her life will forever change in ways she can’t even imagine so based on personal experience and that of my single mom friends I thought I’d give her a heads up of what to expect…

If you think you’ve cried yourself out, think again. Moments and circumstances will jump up and smack you down. Being a single parent is not for wimps. You’ll feel overwhelmed. You’ll feel like you’re doing everything and good at nothing.

Your ex-husband will become a party animal. Women will be all over him (still). Single...

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Hello, I am large … and in charge (I think!)

I am a plus-size woman. I am OK with that. I do need to lose weight for my future health and I am OK with that, too.

I do not scream in horror when I see myself naked. I do not have body issues. In fact I think I look BETTER naked than clothed.

I have an hourglass figure and am tallish…that has always helped. Finding flattering clothing, however, has sucked.

Vancouver is not plus size friendly.

Which is why I enjoy being pregnant. Fashion wise….the maternity clothing has been great. I haven’t even had to buy plus sizes in the mat gear. I wish the rest of the fashion world was so generous in its sizing.

The only area...

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Incredible animal puzzles make for great family fun

Puzzles are a great way for kids to have fun and to work on visual problem-solving skills at the same time, and we’re simply wild about the new Creature Floor Puzzles by photographer Andrew Zuckerman (Chronicle Books, $24.95). Each box contains four 16-piece floor puzzles. The puzzles, designed for age 3 and up, have large, easy-to-manipulate pieces, and the completed puzzles measure 2 feet by 2 feet. Each puzzle piece is double-sided, so help your child figure out which puzzle you want to do first, and then lay the pieces out right-side up for that puzzle. On one side of the first set of pieces, you’ll create two tigers. On the other side is the head of an Asian elephant. For the second set, one side is the face of a chimpanzee and the other is an African lion. The...

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Suicide is not painless

It has been in the national news, two instances of Palo Alto’s Gunn High School students committing suicide by stepping in front of a speeding train. And then, just a day after the second one, a third kid tries, but is thwarted by his mother and a passing motorist. The police started sending a car to stand guard by the tracks after the last incident. They were there at least until the end of the school year, I’m not sure if they remain. I think everyone is relieved its summer.

Gunn is a big school and it is very competitive and filled with high achievers. But so are thousands of other high schools in the area and across the country. I have two kids that will be seniors next year, and another one that...

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Son’s vacation becomes mom’s vacation, too

Shhhh … do you hear it?

It’s coming … silence is on its way to my house in T-minus 12 hours.

After nearly 365 days of waiting, Ethan is going on vacation – ALONE – to our hometown, Defiance, now coined “The Vacation Capital of the World.”

I love my son dearly, but you see, we are like peas in a pod. But, the time has come to break...

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Publisher wants 4th-graders to write about what makes them cool

Alice, the plucky heroine of the newly released book, TOO TALL ALICE (Great Little Books, LLC), is giving a shout out to all 4th graders around the country: Tell me the coolest 3 things about being you and send them off to me right away!
You could be one of 75 kids to win a copy of Too Tall Alice, a bookmark and an “I’m just right for me” wristband.
“I was lucky to have somebody write a book about me,” says Alice. “Now I’m looking for some new friends to tell their stories about being a 4th grader too. “I learned in my story that being 4 INCHES taller than all my classmates was not something to make me sad. It is who I am, and I am just the right height for me! Maybe you’re not too tall, but maybe you think you’re too short or too fat. Maybe you think...

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9 to 5 to 9: Breaking out on his own at age 5

I’m not supposed to be here.

I’m supposed to be at a museum 45 miles away, watching 80 kindergarteners ooh and aah over helicopters and fire trucks while they occasionally pay attention long enough to learn something.

I’m at home with Boots instead of on Big Guy’s final field trip of the year, though, after a giant baby-sitter fail. Siblings weren’t allowed on the field trip, and I had no one to watch Boots. Really, I don’t need a village but it would be nice to have a reliable helping hand once in a while.

I could see disaster coming yesterday evening, after I’d tried to call the alleged sitter repeatedly to confirm. No answer, and no returned calls. “I might not be able to go...

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How to put your kids in timeout and make it work

I’m a timeout mom. Granted, I’m still new at this discipline thing.

My twins are 22 months. People told me timeout wouldn’t work, that they were too young to understand. That a quick pop on the rear end would yield better results.

I’ll tell you this: The hiney hitters out there are really underestimating their young children’s ability to comprehend.

We’ve had very good results at my house using the timeout technique used by TV’s Supernanny, Jo Frost.

Here’s how we do the timeout technique:

1. The child gets one verbal warning in a stern but not angry voice. (“Stop throwing toys or you’re going into timeout.”)

Are bugs considered protein?

People in other countries eat bugs as a source of nutrition, but really are they a good source of protein?

Apparently my 11-month-old daughter, Katie, thinks they are.

Earlier this week, when she had free reign of the “office” portion of the house, she found a tasty treat lodged in the doors leading out to our patio. At first, I thought she found another piece of carpet, or fuzz, her two favorite treats, but as I looked a bit closer at her mouth, I noticed a wing sticking out. I did what any mom does – at first I panicked and thought about how the little bit of bug she digested would harm her little body, but then I remembered lots of people eat bugs every day and they survive, so she outta be fine. After a mere second, I grabbed her and ran to the...

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Newbie trying to find her way

Hello Lorain County!

I am very new at this, and to be honest, I am lost. I am a whiz at Facebooking, and can almost do that in my sleep – whenever I do sleep. But this is new territory.

A bit about myself, without boring everyone. I am married to Seth, and we will be married for nine years in August. I am a  stay-at-home mom to Ethan, and as an added bonus, last July I had twins — Katie and Derek who keep me running around non-stop day, and night (since they still wake up for bottles!).

And, in the spare time I have, I use The Chronicle as a way to stay in touch with the adult world when I work as a freelance news reporter.

So, with that being said, blog away on my page — I am interested to know how other stay-at-home moms spend their...

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