My firstborn son “graduated” from preschool yesterday. He’s beginning to read. He’s starting to write. He adds 2 plus 2. He loves Legos, video games and “Star Wars” (although he hasn’t yet seen the movies). I see him grow everyday. I watch him learn. I see his joy and...

In November of 2011, the J. Michael McGrath Elementary School located in Newhall received the prestigious National Blue Ribbon Award. The school has a large number of students who are low income, as well as a significant number of English Language Learners. Similar schools in California and Los Angeles...

“M” is for Mother, Mommy, Mom and Mama – but it’s also for so much more. Like memory-maker, magician and master of mystical folklore, and messes, meltdowns, master plans and minimizing fright, and the melodies of lullabies sung softly in the night. For monsters we run out of from under...

Star Wars loomed large in my childhood. I was born the year the first film came out (Episode IV: A New Hope). My baby and early childhood nickname was actually Yoda (terribly embarrassing to me as a little girl). Apparently, I had white hair, but not much of it, when I was a baby, and my ears were a...

Confession: We skipped the Easter party at our local park and decided to stay home and spruce up our yard together as a family. We were having fun and realized we didn’t need the silly toys and candy that we’d get at the party. We were amazed at how much we actually enjoyed pulling weeds when it...

Confession: I’m starting to get spring fever – or maybe it’s even summer fever, even though we’re certainly not getting those hot, high summer temps yet. Still, I’m wanting to get outside and pull my preschooler from school and just soak it all up. Or maybe I’m wanting to enjoy the weather...

April 14 through 18 is National Library Week, and it’s the perfect time to highlight all of the wonderful libraries we have in the Santa Clarita Valley and the activities they offer. As a parent on a tight budget, I love getting books and movies at the library for our family to enjoy and benefiting...

Although Spring is less pronounced here in Southern California than it is in much of the country – particularly in Boston or New York where I lived prior to moving to the SCV – there still are tell-tale signs that it’s springtime, signs that are fairly specific to Santa Clarita. 1. Senses returns...

It’s important to me to raise my boys with an understanding of the value of community – and I use that term in a broad sense. I want them to know  they are part of a family (of course), but that they are also a part of their school, their circle of friends, their local community and a global...

Lately, I’ve seen many reminders regarding the exodus of filming from Los Angeles with headlines booming about how Los Angeles or California is no longer the film capital of the world. On a personal level, I’ve seen this first-hand, with more and more Santa Clarita friends who work in the industry...