Archive

I got called out on something the other day. This is unusual for me because I think deeply about most things and I don’t often find myself in the position of feeling like something I am doing is not in keeping with my philosophy (also, when I am called out on things – I am […]

Yesterday Miller and I showed up for the Amazing Race casting call held in Portland, Oregon. As you can imagine, this took a fair bit of engineering at the Miller-Mangiacotti household. We had to drive four hours each way, stay in a hotel, and arrange childcare for our little ones who are not at all […]

Alright, it is funny. The name is funny. In the Jr. High school boy part of my brain where I still giggle every time I drive by a BJ’s, I also hear Aspergers and think of the classic hamburger symbol with a bun that is every bit the double entendre the name naturally inspires. Aspergers […]

I don’t schedule a lot of time for a nervous breakdown. It simply does not fit into my day. I have 7 kids, an entire house to keep in order, I home school, and I have a husband who is, although amazing and adorable, more high-maintenance than a neurotic bulimic supermodel with a penchant for […]

It is not a trinket or a good luck charm. It is not a small animal. It is not a baby toy. It is not a novelty food item. These are things we give cute little nick names to, but that part of a woman we have so much trouble with – it is called […]

You Calling Me Fat? OK, I realize this picture looks like I am standing with the “after” in my “before and after” picture, but in fairness I am about 10 months pregnant in this photo (I’m the one on the left). The other cute girl in this photo is my friend Stephanie (she’s on the […]

First, a confession: I have the same dirty little secrets most women have. I suck-in my tummy when someone’s taking a picture. I totally want to be on The View. I cry when I can’t flirt my way out of a ticket. And, although I recognize that Taylor Lautner of the Twilight movies is only […]

I have a lot of kids. That is, a lot by most people’s standards – not by long skirt wearing, science averse, Dugger types – but still more than most people can fathom, or should ever have to, really. I have squeezed four children from my own body, and have been lucky enough to get […]

I read a Facebook status the other day that said “Thank you Disney for the unrealistic expectations about love. I am still waiting for my Prince Charming.” As I read that I thought “Huh. That is a little bitter. Sleeping Beauty has never updated her Facebook status using that tone, and I am pretty sure […]

It is New Year’s Day 2011. I spent the day driving two and a half hours to the Canadian border to visit friends in Vancouver. When we got to the border, my husband and I were told that we could not take our two babies into Canada because they did not have their birth certificates. […]