My wife Jen and I aren’t fancy ladies. Jen and I can do many things: throw perfect spirals, build activity learning towers, complete crossword puzzles, cook meals, save lives and educate others. But one thing we routinely struggle with is getting dolled up. Perhaps it’s the fact that neither of …

“He’s so white! You need to Mexicanize him! Make sure he knows what a piñata is and a cascarón. He needs a tan. Does he tan? He’s so pale!” My 13-year-old niece’s enthusiasm for my son Danny when she met him overflowed. He was about five months old and this was …

“Waaaaaaah, waaaaaaah!  I want Auntie. I want Auntie,” is what I often hear when Lucas wakes from his nap. It is usually followed by permission to get up and join the party of children downstairs. This is a child who is remarkably gifted in the arts of running, climbing and …

Danny woke one Friday morning complaining of a stomach ache, but with a little love, water and food he seemed OK. He didn’t eat as much at breakfast as he normally does, but he also didn’t appear super uncomfortable. We proceeded with our usual Friday routine and occasionally he mentioned …

I was raised with five siblings in a Catholic, Mexican-American family that fostered 24 children and often housed friends and strangers. I was surrounded by family and playmates my entire childhood—and I absolutely loved it. The moments and love that I experienced as a child made me want the same …

When This Mama blogger April Flores had a bad day, she leaned on her wife, Jen Simmons, for support. The two compare notes on the day and the dynamics of parenting. April: I felt helpless and it was only 10:30 a.m. Danny kept crying and screaming during Tiempo Con Mis …

I’m at the point where I have to run to keep up with my two-year-old charges, Danny and Lucas.  Lucas is my friend’s kid whom I nanny and who has become a second son. As luck has it, the two boys are opposite zodiac signs, so I often manage conflicting …

Recently my wife and I engaged in two separate conversations regarding life before technology and the internet. Conversation No. 1: My wife’s friend commented on how life must have been mundane for wives in the 1950s and ’60s. She said something to the extent of, “Can you imagine? The husband …

People are blown away by my son Danny’s verbal acumen.  He chose to talk at an early age and hasn’t stopped since.  At his 18-month checkup, his pediatrician asked how many words he knew and all I could say was, “A lot!” A year later, Danny is as articulate and …