Babies are in the air. Everywhere I go I see babies or pregnant moms. Among families and friends, it's no different. My children will have a few new cousins by year's end and a handful …

I've been tired, bordering on logy, all week. I eat pretty well, and I do a bit of walking, but I was beginning to think more was needed. I scanned the bulletin board at Whole …

My college friend Bernice was impressed with my feng shui research and spent the past week trying to rid her home of excess clutter, making way for feng shui. "I am such a packrat," she …

Last week, Patrick, normally the very embodiment of composure, chucked a pen across the kitchen island in frustration. It nearly landed in my scrambled eggs. "I have had enough of crappy pens!" he yelled. "Damn …

Everybody in our little coffee klatch knew that Suzy was going to leave her husband. It had been coming for years. So maybe that's why, on the day she finally broke the news, the conversation …

My friend Bernice's ten-year-old son is pleading for guitar lessons. He's decided to be the next great rock guitarist. "I'm not sure where he came up with the idea," she said, "because we don't listen …

The sweet old lady has moved out of her house at the bottom of our back yard. In her place are young people. Young people with tattoos; young people with a band that practices in …

Why is it that every time I use this jigsaw, the blade breaks right before I finish the project?" complained my father. My parents were visiting and Dad was spending a lot of time in …

It's the end of an era here at the Kelly home. For over a decade, I've bragged to friends about my Electrolux vacuum cleaner, the one I inherited from my husband's grandmother. I called it …

The Irish soda bread wriggled inside the lifeless Saran Wrap. The van rounded a corner and the bread pan slid to the edge of the seat, nearly toppling but for my last-minute grab. "Is there …

My first memories of California are of salt air, sun, and speed: the wind whipping past my face as I rode with my brother Bill on his motorcycle. I had come to visit him at …

I call my husband Patrick "Renaissance man." Five years ago he discovered his tenor voice while singing along with a Three Tenors CD I bought him on a whim. He started taking lessons, won an …

M y husband Patrick has been dreaming of the sea. After blazing through all 20 Patrick O'Brian Master and Commander novels in 10 months, he began to throw out wild statements such as, "I decided …

Our 15-year-old wedding ceremony VHS tape sits in the bottom drawer of my bedside table. The mini DV tape of our first child's birth and baptism lies in the inner door of my secretary desk. …

"Nobody likes a smelly dog," I said to my husband Patrick. We were discussing Nellie, our terrier, and the fact that the last time we left her with my friend Bernice, Bernice gave her a …

"I t is pronounced, 'bru-skay-ta,'" groaned my husband Patrick after I slaughtered the pronunciation for the millionth time. That thought kept popping into my head as I asked store clerks where to find bruschetta. Not …

Last summer, I spent a month on my brother-in-law's farm with the kids. They fed the goats, caught toads, fished and swam in the pond, and helped harvest vegetables from the garden. I picked endless …

T he cold fact of age -- ten years now -- has taken the spring out of our Scottish terrier Nellie's step. "She doesn't even jump up on the bed anymore," lamented Patrick, even though …

My little sister Nancy is turning 30 this year, and she's planning a grand bash at a swanky club in Manhattan. Unfortunately, big sis Eve won't be able to attend. But that's not going to …

'Idle hands are the devil's tools" was a favorite saying of my great-aunt Josephine. But as she's gotten on in years, she's become increasingly idle herself. Christmas this year may have provided a solution. Josephine …

M y friend Christine fears her two children are growing up without enough family traditions. As she, another friend Celia, and I power-walked through the neighborhood, Christine lamented, "I need to start some family traditions. …

All those bake sales and car washes must have paid off this year -- maybe it was my blueberry-nectarine pie. When our youth group broke open its year-end piggy bank, they found a little something …

The Kelly house is throwing a Christmas party this year. We have the professional carolers lined up to perform. "But I think we need a Santa," friend Bernice told me over the phone, "something to …

Everyone's got skeletons in the closet. Some people's rattle more than others. Mine's pretty quiet, but it's there, literally in the closet: piles and piles of photographs, still in those multi-pocket envelopes you get from …

For as long as I can remember, Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners have been identical: the oven-roasted turkey in the center of the table, surrounded by mashed potatoes, creamed onions, cranberries, and Mom's yams topped with …

This week, I have to reckon with Gladys. Three of my dearest friends and I are gathering for a Christmas party at Chez Kelly, and the e-mails have been flying fast and furious as we …

My sister Meg lives in a 100-year-old drafty home in Massachusetts. Every winter she is freezing. To make matters worse, she is a string bean -- no insulation at all on her bones -- so …

"Oh, and pumpkin pie is out. This year, I want chocolate. Nothing but chocolate." Uncle Max is at it again, ruffling feathers throughout the Kelly family chicken coop. He does love to see the older …

It's been a while since anyone in my social circle had a visit from the stork, but friend Lisa is expecting at the end of November -- her first. She's already had one baby shower, …

Last year's Halloween festivities involved policemen of the wrong sort: instead of water guns and plastic badges, we got the real thing. My dear friend Bernice was summoned down to the station to pick up …

My 82-year-old dad is like a character from a 1950s horror movie. All year long, he's a retired suburban gentleman who goes to church on Sunday, keeps his lawn mowed short, and waves to the …

A mischievous elf has been marking up my leather. First, it was our chair in the family room, a red armchair now graffitied with blue ballpoint pen. Then, a few weeks later, he was back, …

"Feels like another $35 for the chiropractor," said my husband Patrick, rubbing his back. He'd spent the weekend in L.A. on business, stayed at his sister's, and slept on an air mattress. "I'd have been …

'The love of money may be the root of all evil," sighed Bernice, "but the only sure things are death and taxes. Money isn't going anywhere. Except maybe my money." She had just paid a …

My husband is heading off to the high Sierras for a backpacking trip this month. Patrick has done this trip before and was freezing all night. "I bought a cold weather sleeping bag, but I …

'Kids today..." That's the tagline for my great-aunt Gladys. She's 75 and full of energetic complaint. Not a visit goes by when she doesn't train her sights on "kids today." "Are too lazy; watch too …

My pal Bernice's parents are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this winter. I've been hearing a lot of the planning over our weekly coffee meeting. "It's going to be huge," Bernice said, eyes popping out …

High cholesterol doesn't run in my husband's family, but he has become an exception. Last month he returned from a yearly physical looking glum. "Doc has given me three months to take some weight off …

The shortbread tasting was a success. Now I needed jam for the tea party shower I was throwing for my pregnant friend. Tasty strawberry jams I had covered, but I wanted to find a fruity …

This summer has been filled with parties. There was husband Patrick's poker party with pals. There was karaoke night with old college friends who have an obsession with Sinatra. An early-July barbecue and bonfire at …

For my nine-year-old, choosing a vocation is all about the gear. Now it's an astronaut, now a cowboy, now a fireman -- whatever equipment strikes him as cool that day. Last week while we were …

Word spread about how my friend Bernice was going to rent a margarita machine for her summer margarita bash. The guest list started growing from 20 to 40 to over 100. Along the way, someone …

'Last time, I burned out two blenders," sighed Bernice as she began plans for another summer margarita bash. "I guess I'll have to serve them on the rocks this year.""But the slushiness is 90 percent …

As a child, I wore out a few bike tires riding around my New England hometown. The wind whipping against my face as I raced up and down hills was exhilarating. At adolescence, my bike …

'We go through an awful lot of beer," confided my dear friend Bernice recently. "I'm almost embarrassed to put out the recycling, it's so full of cans and bottles.""Is your husband happy in his marriage?" …

Around the Kelly household, husband Patrick is called "Barbecue King." As the days grow longer, our kids tromp about the back yard later into the evening, and the barbie gets smoking. Tri-tip and sausages are …

My best friend Bernice is wearing her bikini. I lost that battle two years ago. But I can still wear shorts -- the old gams still have a little tone. And the maintenance isn't too …

My friend Bernice has shed the poundage. Dutifully hitting the gym every day and sticking with her South Beach Diet brought back her pre-baby body. Next month she and her husband are celebrating their anniversary …

Uncle Max is at it again. It seems he's got himself a new gal -- Mae. "A real Southern Belle," he proclaims. "When she drinks her iced tea, she rests her wrist on the side …

My beloved husband Patrick spent many teenage years on the golf course. He played for four dollars after school and caddied on weekends at a high-end country club near his house. Caddying made him spending …