Serious Stuff – Toulouse and Tonic https://toulouseandtonic.com Making my kids hate me one post at a time. Mon, 01 Apr 2019 17:39:21 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.5.17 39181224 How Becoming a Parent Turned Me From An Extrovert Into an Introvert https://toulouseandtonic.com/how-becoming-a-parent-turned-me-from-an-extrovert-into-an-introvert/ https://toulouseandtonic.com/how-becoming-a-parent-turned-me-from-an-extrovert-into-an-introvert/#respond Thu, 06 Oct 2016 19:04:26 +0000 https://toulouseandtonic.com//?p=8356 Before I had kids, there was no one who would describe me as anything other than an extrovert. I went out all the time, I was social as could be, sometimes I even danced on tables if I’d had enough juice. But then becoming a parent turned me from an extrovert into an introvert. The […]

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]]> https://toulouseandtonic.com/how-becoming-a-parent-turned-me-from-an-extrovert-into-an-introvert/feed/ 0 8356 I Want To Go Back To College. And I Want To Be 18. https://toulouseandtonic.com/i-want-to-go-back-to-college-and-i-want-to-be-18-is-that-asking-too-much/ https://toulouseandtonic.com/i-want-to-go-back-to-college-and-i-want-to-be-18-is-that-asking-too-much/#respond Tue, 20 Sep 2016 19:32:46 +0000 https://toulouseandtonic.com//?p=8318 I’m having this huge battle with the green-eyed monster lately. Well, I exaggerate. It’s not a huge battle but it’s at least a small one. There may not be guns or I dunno, cannons involved, more like one person has a spoon and the other has a feather duster and they’re just kind of slapping each […]

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]]> https://toulouseandtonic.com/i-want-to-go-back-to-college-and-i-want-to-be-18-is-that-asking-too-much/feed/ 0 8318 Genius Tricks to Take the Stress Out Of Family Photos https://toulouseandtonic.com/ingenious-secret-make-taking-family-photos-stress-free/ https://toulouseandtonic.com/ingenious-secret-make-taking-family-photos-stress-free/#comments Thu, 26 May 2016 13:00:57 +0000 https://toulouseandtonic.com//?p=8078 I recently learned a GENIUS TRICK to take the stress out of family photo shoots. Why is this important? Because taking family photos is always a trigger for someone, right? I’m not sure what it is, but somebody always freaks out and starts a fight, which sets you up for some not-so-good pictures. Sometimes the […]

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]]> https://toulouseandtonic.com/ingenious-secret-make-taking-family-photos-stress-free/feed/ 1 8078 My Night With Prince (a sorrowful goodbye) https://toulouseandtonic.com/my-night-with-prince-a-sorrowful-goodbye/ https://toulouseandtonic.com/my-night-with-prince-a-sorrowful-goodbye/#respond Fri, 22 Apr 2016 01:50:48 +0000 https://toulouseandtonic.com//?p=8009 The night I spent with Prince still stands as one of the sexiest nights I’ve ever experienced in my life. There were no milk baths. Thousands of candles were not flickering around the bathtub as we faced each other while he gave me that sexy smirk. We were not at Paisley Park nor in a swanky […]

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]]> https://toulouseandtonic.com/my-night-with-prince-a-sorrowful-goodbye/feed/ 0 8009 20 Things The Second Baby Taught Me https://toulouseandtonic.com/20-things-second-baby-taught/ https://toulouseandtonic.com/20-things-second-baby-taught/#comments Tue, 18 Nov 2014 20:24:59 +0000 https://toulouseandtonic.com//?p=5904 My little one will be 3 in a couple of months and I’m feeling nostalgic as his babyhood slips away.  I remember wondering if there was enough room in my heart to love another child as much as I loved the first one.  Turns out, there was no need to worry — and this one from […]

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]]> https://toulouseandtonic.com/20-things-second-baby-taught/feed/ 10 5904 Little Boy in the Men’s Room. This Mom’s Dilemma. https://toulouseandtonic.com/little-boy-mens-restroom-moms-dilemma/ https://toulouseandtonic.com/little-boy-mens-restroom-moms-dilemma/#comments Thu, 13 Nov 2014 20:08:15 +0000 https://toulouseandtonic.com//?p=6728 Yesterday my 1st grader didn’t have school and because he’s kicking butt this semester, I wanted to take him out for a special treat.  We ended up seeing Big Hero 6.  So great – best kid movie I’ve seen since Despicable Me. Except for the villain Yokai.  I guarantee he’ll be responsible for me getting […]

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]]> https://toulouseandtonic.com/little-boy-mens-restroom-moms-dilemma/feed/ 25 6728 20 Things That Never Get Old About Having Kids https://toulouseandtonic.com/things-kids-never-get-old-many-things/ https://toulouseandtonic.com/things-kids-never-get-old-many-things/#comments Tue, 26 Aug 2014 16:00:36 +0000 https://toulouseandtonic.com//?p=6413 So many things about having kids are boring and stressful and repetitive and get old really, really fast.  Like diaper changing, wiping butts, the crying, the lack of sleep, the never-ending efforts to feed people involving shopping, cooking, cajoling and cleaning up.  The bathing, the fighting, the paci retrieving, the constant echo of “Mommy, mommy, mommy.” […]

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]]> https://toulouseandtonic.com/things-kids-never-get-old-many-things/feed/ 6 6413 What Makes a Father? https://toulouseandtonic.com/everything-cape/ https://toulouseandtonic.com/everything-cape/#comments Thu, 12 Jun 2014 21:40:12 +0000 https://toulouseandtonic.com//?p=6231 My dad was almost never on time, but he always showed up. When I was in elementary school, Gene was a postman.  He always wore an official postal service-blue pith helmet to protect his head from the sun, carried a skinny can of dog-spray and drove a super cool mail truck with low built-in benches in the back that I […]

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]]> https://toulouseandtonic.com/everything-cape/feed/ 2 6231 Don’t Vajazzle Your Vajiggle Jaggle and 20 Other Things I Wish I Knew When I Was 20. https://toulouseandtonic.com/dont-vagazzle-your-vagiggle-jaggle-and-20-other-things-i-wish-i-knew-when-i-was-20/ https://toulouseandtonic.com/dont-vagazzle-your-vagiggle-jaggle-and-20-other-things-i-wish-i-knew-when-i-was-20/#comments Tue, 06 May 2014 19:00:08 +0000 https://toulouseandtonic.com//?p=3046 Every now and then I want to be inspirational.  It’s not that often, perhaps, but even I stop wisecracking once in a while and get serious.  Today I’m sharing one of my favorite pieces, full of very real – but still very funny – advice to my niece. All the things I wish I knew when […]

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]]> https://toulouseandtonic.com/dont-vagazzle-your-vagiggle-jaggle-and-20-other-things-i-wish-i-knew-when-i-was-20/feed/ 67 3046 Ten Things I’ve Learned As My Kids Become Adults https://toulouseandtonic.com/ten-things-ive-learned-kids-become-adults/ https://toulouseandtonic.com/ten-things-ive-learned-kids-become-adults/#respond Wed, 16 Apr 2014 13:58:52 +0000 https://toulouseandtonic.com//?p=6073 Today, I have a surprise for you.  Mike is not all snark.  He has a real, beating heart under there – and some serious smarts when it comes to raising kids.  Since his kids are young adults and mine are still little curtain-climbers, I’m gleaning some wisdom from this post while I laugh.  I bet […]

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