Here it is, time to get the kids ready to go back to school. Besides new clothes and school supplies, you’ll have to deal with the five-day-a-week question of what to pack for lunches and snacks.

“You wind up e-mailing your friends to see what they’re packing,” says West University Place’s Bettina Siegel. “Because you run out of ideas.”

A …

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Fireworks, fire ants and fire – oh my!  The Dunes of West Beach home of Nicole and Glenn Lowenstein on Galveston’s West End was rockin’ on the Fourth of July. Guests, including Micki and Ben Bronston, Carmen and Phil Bechter, Lauren and Jeremy Blachman, Jennifer and Scott Tiras, Elizabeth Cohen Toubin and Mark Toubin, Inna and Scott Wizig, and …

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Think school spirit is dead? Maybe it did appear to wane for a while. Just 20 years ago there was little else for teens to do for recreation not involving school. Without Facebook or texting, flirting had to actually take place face to face.  Those more mature readers will recall the pulse that ran through their school on game days. …

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Lots of happy campers

A few years ago, I began helping out busy moms who needed an extra set of hands at their home or at the park. I love being a mother’s helper because I am helping out mothers while having fun with their kids at the same time.

During the summer of 2009, I took my mother’s helper …

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Boris, age 5
Dachshund
Bissonnet Street

I’m a 5-year-old dachshund who relocated from West Palm Beach, Florida, to Bellaire four years ago with my mom. I enjoy my daily walks along the train tracks in Bellaire. Don’t be fooled by my small size. I can hold my own with big dogs, and I’m very territorial and protective when with my …

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Some people look back on their high school years as ones of insecurity and hesitation. If they had the chance for a do-over, they say they would be more self assured and worry less what others think. Easier said than done, but perhaps a bit of anonymity helps.

By staying behind the mask, high school mascots get to do just …

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Each month, Jeanne Polocheck visits the snowy French Alps and a small village in Germany – all while sitting in her Spring Valley home with her husband and two young daughters. They chat with former nannies who spent a year caring for the girls and are back home.

“The hardest part about having these au pairs has always been when …

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During the summer of 1972 in Italy, 9-year-old Stefano Costantini watched his father, Mario, diligently build a model airplane. For months, Mario worked in his basement, crafting the glider from balsa wood. Stefano dreamed of the day they would launch the masterpiece.

Finally, father and son climbed a hill near their home and found the perfect place for takeoff. Mario …

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Before we get set for another exciting season in high school sports, let’s put the final wrap on this past baseball season, which included a state championship for the St. Thomas Eagles. St. Thomas defeated district rival Houston Christian 7-5 in the state title game to win the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) 5A State Championship.…

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Wrangling a state championship
The 8U Houston Wranglers are the 2010 Nations Baseball, South Texas, state champions. The state tournament, held in Humble, included an invited field of 24 of the best 8U select baseball teams in the region. The Wranglers defeated the Titans of Spring by a score of 18-6 in the championship game. In tournaments, the Wranglers are …

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If you’re not yet guilty of texting while driving – ever – then skip this article and go get in line with Mother Teresa, Gandhi and all the other saints.

But, if you’re like a majority of modern, mere mortals and have succumbed to the fierce temptation of TWD, then frankly, it’s high time for a reality check.

The fastest growing …

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Clear flowing rivers; towering cypress trees; Texas two-step in western dance halls and lazy summer days in the shade of the live oak trees.  There’s something about the Texas Hill Country that brings out the country girl in me – and I do mean girl.

Take, for example, the first time I went tubing down the Guadalupe River. It was …

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