Credit Jean Winegardner

Christmas is my favorite holiday of all the holidays. I love the lights and the family time and the cookies. I love getting cards with photos of happy families and I love decorating Chr...

Credit Jean Winegardner

I wanted to write about Christmas shopping this week. It was going to be frivolous and silly and fun. Then an evil thing happened—a deep, angry evil thing that ended with the deaths of ...

Credit Jean Winegardner

I remember when I first told my oldest son, Sam, about Santa Claus. He was two months old and obviously incredibly invested in the myth. He stared vacantly at me, digesting the importa...

Credit Jean Winegardner

Way back when my kids were still very small, I went to an MCPS presentation about gifted and talented programs in the county. I don't remember why I did that; it certainly wasn't releva...

Credit Jean Winegardner

I've been buying some terrible music off of iTunes recently, and it is breaking my heart. See, my oldest son, Sam, got an iPod for his birthday and let's just say that his musical taste...

Credit Jean Winegardner

You guys, I don't want to freak you out or anything, but Thanksgiving is two days from now. I know. How did that happen?! Just thinking about it makes me a little panicky and sweaty. ...

Credit Jean Winegardner

You know how there are those things about parenting that you assumed would be totally easy, but turned out to be anything but? Dressing three boys, who would presumably not much care wh...

Credit Jean Winegardner

Today is election day, also known as The Day All the Horrible Phone Calls and Political Ads End. It is a good day. The problem for my family, however, is that my husband and I are on op...