Every time I think I know my kids, they surprise me. Twice in the last few days my children have shown me a whole new side of themselves. The first incident was on Sunday. My husband decided that he would go buy an electric hair clipper and have me cut his hair for him. I have only ever cut my own bangs before, but evidently he thought I was capable of winging it. He then changed his mind asking the girls if they wanted to play beauty shop and cut daddy’s hair for him. Turns out they were more up for the challenge than I was. I read the instruction manual that came with the clippers and …

Yesterday the girls had their first ballet class.  I was worried that it might not live up to their expectations as they were so excited about the class. Everything about the class excited them: the tights, the leotards, the ballet shoes and, of course, the tutus. As I helped them get dressed yesterday I asked them what they thought it was going to be like. Emily was looking forward to twirling and spinning. Isabella wanted to do a pirouette like she saw her favorite cartoon bunny do. Hannah wanted to show everyone her pretty ballet dress and see other ballerina ladies. Gwendolyn was excited…

I have had a job since I was 11 years old. My first job was working the snack bar and skate rental counter of an ice skating rink. I got paid $3.11 an hour and was allowed to skate for free. I have not stopped working since. I have a 20-plus year career in the hospitality industry and when my children were born I was the Director of Revenue Management Training for one of the largest hotel companies in the world. Today I have two moderately successful businesses, lead a branch of Ladies Who Launch--a community for women entrepreneurs--and write this column once a week. Oh yeah, and I have four…

Is there anything better than a snow day? No matter how old you are, the mere thought of getting an unexpected day off just makes everyone happy. As the weather reports started to hype the impending snow, I wondered if it would actually happen. Living in Atlanta, you never know. It's about a one in three chance. I remember getting out of school when they thought it was going to snow, only to have not even one flurry fall from the sky. The girls only watch “girlie shows” so they had no idea what might be coming. As the temperature started to drop I switched the TV from Dora to the news to look…

About eight years ago, I went to Boston to visit my brother and his family for Christmas. He had two children under age 5 at the time; I was single and had no children. Their house was charming and cute, perfect for their family, but to my eye it seemed that toys and kid stuff were everywhere. I remember thinking that when I had kids, my house would not be taken over by them. Oh how the mighty have fallen. We are all much better at being parents before we have kids aren’t we? I now have four kids under age 5 in my house and I look back at the state of his home with envy. In his house, at …

Last week several people sent me a link to a video of a little boy getting a book for a Christmas present and having a less-than-thrilled reaction. It was from last year, but evidently it went viral as we approached the big day.  The set-up is familiar: The little boy opens his gift, a book, and flips out saying, "A book, a book for Christmas? What the heck is that?... I don't get books for Christmas. I hate it."  Right next to him is an already opened pile of gifts, including a Wii video game system.  My first reaction was to laugh. My second reaction was to pass judgment on the parents, of …

We are all wrapped up in the gift-giving spirit in my house, since it's the first year my quadruplet four-year-old daughters really understand what Christmas is and what Santa can do for them. My birthday falls about two weeks before Christmas, and they were all about going shopping with Grandma to buy me a birthday present.  I am not sure which makes me smile more, what they choose or what didn't make it in the basket: a four-foot tall Dora balloon, a toilet brush, a bottle of window cleaner, an ice cream bar and a package of wash cloths. Such thoughtfulness. From Gwendolyn, a collection of…