I’m not a sappy person. I don’t cry at Folgers commercials, romantic comedies make me roll my eyes, and I’ve often sat perplexed while a friend wept over a beautiful moment, wondering why I’m so cold-hearted.  This all changed the moment my first baby was born. I remember one early day of motherhood, when an episode of Oprah brought me to tears. “What is wrong with me?” I wondered. I was only watching the show because there was nothing else on television. I wrote it off to post-partum hormones. I had no idea that this was my new normal. As a result of my new weepy existence, sending my …

Despite the start of school this Thursday, there are still several weeks of summer and sun left before autumn blows into Mehlville and Oakville. That means there is still a lot of time to do damage to your skin. When summer hits, many of us seek out a “healthy glow,” believing it to not only make us look attractive and sporty, but maybe even a little more fit. I resist this erroneous thinking every year. I am very light-skinned, and despite my capacity to burn now, I had an almost immediate tan every year as a kid and teenager. When I was younger, I never burned and I rarely wore sunscreen. …

Girls as young as six years old want to be considered sexy, according to a recent study featured in the Huffington Post. In the study, 60 young girls were shown a series of two paper dolls. One was dressed in a trendy, but modest outfit, while the other was dressed in tight and revealing clothing. When it came to questions about which doll they wanted to look like and which girl would be more popular, the participants repeatedly chose the doll dressed to look sexy. As much as an initial read of the article shocked me, I had to stop and ask myself, “Why are any of us surprised by this?” Girls …

There’s a magical experience waiting for your family at the Missouri Botanical Gardens this summer. We attended the Lantern Festival Saturday night. We had been trying to go for weeks, but the heat wave caused us to keep putting it off. Finally, this weekend, we experienced the mystical celebration of Chinese art. At eight o’clock, the Garden greets dusk by turning on the vibrant Chinese lanterns that are scattered throughout the north end. The lanterns are made of silk, wire and fitted with lights that make them glow at night. We go to the Garden often, and my kids know where all of their …

Three weeks ago, we brought home a puppy. He is the cutest little fuzzy ball of golden fur with a mellow personality. We collected him at my sister’s house after her dog had puppies on their twelve-acre property north of Kansas City and we drove him home to Mehlville. The last time I had a puppy, I was a sophomore in high school. Our black lab and malamute mix, Shadow, lived long enough to move in with my husband and I after we married and was even still around to play with our first two kids. She lived an unusually long life of almost 16 years, and we loved her sweet temperament. I resisted …

Mehlville didn’t get snowed in this year for even half an hour. We Wescoats were disappointed with our lack of sled-worthy snow, and several sets of eyes were watching the weather forecast through April, holding out hope that one freaky front would give us an excuse to cuddle up with hot chocolate and a few good flicks. Little did we know that summer would bring the extreme temperatures that keep a family house-bound. Because we have a six-month-old, the temps were hot enough to make me question the wisdom of loading up in the car even for indoor fun away from home. We also have a new puppy …

Given the upcoming implementation of Sunbutter brand sunflower butter to replace peanut butter in Mehlville School District cafeterias, I decided to imitate the old Folgers’s commercials where they switch out the coffee in a fancy restaurant to see if the patrons notice. One Wednesday at lunchtime, I sneakily had the plates loaded and on the table before I called the kids in for lunch. I had scooped onto their plates a staple at many of our meals: apple slices. Next to the apple slices was what looked like peanut butter for dipping. My kids almost never eat apple slices without asking for …

I resisted joining Pinterest for a long time. I would hear my friends say that they found great recipes and party ideas there, but I envisioned another social networking commitment.  I love Facebook, don’t get me wrong. But sometimes, it starts to feel like everyone you encounter on your computer is on a winning streak. Each friend is witty, rich and just finished an advanced degree. Sometimes I log off Facebook feeling like I must be the scourge of the earth because I haven’t lost ten pounds, my husband didn’t take me out on a surprise date and my kids aren’t enrolled in soccer, scouts or …

He’s only entering the second grade, and my son’s brain is already fried. That is, he has discovered video games. My son, who in his younger years checked out book after book from the library on penguins, birds of prey and marine life, in addition to his fascination with the solar system and even eyeballs, has suddenly abandoned all reasonable conversation. I could even handle the obsession with Lightning McQueen and Hot Wheels, and though I tried hard not to roll my eyes when he started talking nonstop Star Wars and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, it was mostly interesting conversation. We don’t even …

I tell the 2-year-old to announce that dinner’s ready, and everyone bustles in. With anticipation of tasting my yummy dinner, I settle into my spot, right next to my husband. Then I hear a noise that bursts my Betty Crocker bubble: “Ewwww!” Despite multiple corrections and consequences for rude behavior at the table, my kids can still astonish me with their lack of consideration. We practice how to politely decline food when we are guests, but sometimes they forget themselves at our table. Recently I read The Blessing of a Skinned Knee by Wendy Mogel. Mogel’s book offers parenting advice, all…

There’s something I have to do that I dread even more than taking my kid to the dentist. Or going to the dentist myself, for that matter. It stresses me out more than taking my kids to get check-ups at the pediatrician, even if shots are involved. It’s one of those things that everyone insists is fun and exciting, and yet, when I talk to most moms, they hate it as much as I do. The task is getting my kids’ pictures taken. Every time I go, I tell myself, “This is so silly. We have a digital camera. Why don’t I just hang up a sheet as a background and do this myself?” But then I look at my …

I’m dying here. Not literally, of course, but my whole mommy scene is crumbling because I struggle to utter one very simple word: NO. You have the same problem, I know. All of us moms seem to find ourselves up to our elbows in to-do lists, and few of the tasks have a direct effect our own families. We’re baking for the church potluck, agreeing to watch our friend’s kids while she goes to a meeting, and picking up decorations for the class party. All of these things are part of being in a healthy community, and I strongly believe in being a contributing member when it comes to my friends and …

This week did not go as planned. No matter how well I fill out our family’s weekly planner, mentally prepare for the easy meals we will need for busy nights and make my to-do lists, no preparation can compete with the stomach flu. And I had big plans. Between writing assignments when my 2-year-old was napping, I was determined to make my way around my son’s bedroom this week, slowly but surely, with a can of gray-blue paint. We also had contractors coming over to bid on projects and play dates scheduled for nearly every morning. All that changed on Tuesday at 3:30 a.m. My 5-year-old ran in my…

The image most parents have when they worry about their kids using drugs usually involves something dark and sinister, like a back-alley exchange or kids hovering in a corner at a party. The reality might be something much different. Prescription painkillers are a popular choice for misuse among youth because they are so readily available at home. Even if a kid’s own parents don’t have painkillers in their own medicine cabinets, it’s easy to find a friend or a grandparent who stocks them. What parents want to know, however, is how to keep their kids from getting into the medicine cabinet or …

I make frequent visits to the Hill. I pretend it’s to visit my sister-in-law and her three adorable kids, but I also find myself craving the food on a regular basis. There’s been many a time where we’ve walked to a nearby deli or pizza place and we can always find a new place to try. They even have a great little hot dog stand nearby.  So far, Eovaldi’s Deli is my favorite and I just can’t get enough of their sandwiches. Though my sister-in-law would never admit it, I’m pretty sure she doesn’t want me drooling on her doorstep every day. But I envy all those great little restaurants where the …

Many people believe that a potty-trained child is the early parenting promised land. Parents get very stressed about whether their child is potty-trained at age 3, and those who happen to have a child who is using the toilet early are hailed as wise sages, with devotees lapping up their advice about how they did it. I’m in the minority camp on this one. While a truly potty-trained kid is a great thing, a lot of what people call potty-trained is, in reality, a kid that wets himself in public on random occasions. Not my thing. I prefer the control that diapers bring to my life. I hate the potty…

I call myself a homebody. My husband laughs at me because I refer to myself that way often, yet am always jumping to fire up the mommy mobile the second I think of a fun place to go. Family outings are my weakness. I can even go to the same St. Louis attraction twice in one week, and once at Gus’s Pretzels, the lady behind the counter said to me, “We see your crew in here a lot!” Over time, I’ve realized that I'm more of an anti-scheduler. I’m pretty sure this is a product of being on the young end of six children. Though I wasn’t an over-scheduled kid, I was an over-dragged kid. Even if …

Local elections often bring up discussions of needs versus wants for the community. Explaining to our children the difference between a want and a need is a daily event in some households. Teaching my son that he doesn’t need to play video games is a relatively easy one. Explaining to him why we, as a family, need a vacation, but that the need turns into a want when we discuss Disneyland, is a little trickier. Sometimes, needs and wants come together blissfully, like when my 2-year-old begs for strawberries or edamame. I congratulate myself for being such a good mom quickly, before I have a …

When I was expecting my first daughter, I remember sitting at the counter at my mother’s house, listening to my sisters and sisters-in-law do what we always do: eat junk food and talk about how bad it is for us. We compare recipes and talk about how yummy the appetizers are, but laced in the conversations are references to fat grams, calories and Weight Watchers points. This conversation invariably leads to the all-time favorite topic of any group of women, related or not. It’s the “what I’m doing right now to lose weight.” Some shrug and laugh about how they’ve just plain given up, while …

After voters decided to pass on Proposition C—the school district’s 88-cent tax hike— in November, things felt pretty gloomy around here. At our house, we discussed the campaign and filled out the surveys that asked our opinions about it. While we had a few reservations about one small aspect of the proposition, we knew it was great for not only the kids, but the whole community to propel the district forward. We were disappointed when it didn’t pass. But now it’s time to shake the dust off our feet and leave the negativity behind. There are great things going on in the Mehlville School …