Illyse Lane

Vacation Day

When I looked into the drained, empty bath tub, there was a ring.Â Not the kind that would have slipped off my finger, but a good, old fashioned, genuine ring of grime.Â It must have formed as the water turned a funky shade of brown while the grass and dirt stains were being scrubbed off Little Guyâs knees, feet, elbows and fingertips.Â Â

Posted 11 mon. ago.

Giving Thanks

Driving down a busy road after school, Iâm every mom, in my multi-seat, multi-row vehicle, lugging children from point A to point B and then onto point C, D and maybe E. Â Sure, we may all look different.Â Our vehicles are different makes and models. Some of us come from home.Â Some of us come from work. But I would bet that the conversations we are having with our children, our husb…

Posted 11 mon. ago.

The Great Big Book of Nothing

There are days I could get a medal for my parenting skills.Â Then there are days when the bottom falls out.Â And I thank goodness thereâs not a hidden camera in my home. Whether itâs a good parenting day or a bad parenting day, Iâm in a constant state of trying to figure out what will work and what wonât.Â As I make these discoveries, I write them in my unwritten handb…

Posted 1 yr. ago.

Love is Blind

In an interview with W Magazine, Angelina Jolie said this about her man, Brad Pitt and his thoughts on her body after childbirth:Â "I'm with a man who's evolved enough to look at my body and see it as more beautiful because of the journey it has taken and what it has created.â Seriously? I can bet money that if I asked Really Big Guy if my body was more beautiful because of its journey, he…

Posted 1 yr. ago.

The Sugar Season

Help me. I'm in a sugar daze. Itâs worse than my usual coffee-induced state. That gradually tapers off as the day goes on. This is different. This is a delectable, melt-in-your-mouth, chocolate, sugar hangover. And though I try my best to break the cycle, I canât. As soon as I feel weak and sleepy, I just reach into the bag of mini Reeses and Iâm brought back to the land of the…

Posted 1 yr. ago.

Control Freak

I hate to fly. I am the crazed woman that will hold your hand â yes, you â a stranger â during turbulence. As we climb to our cruising altitude, I pray we make it. When those bells ring midflight, I count them, for I remember an old friend telling me that three meant inevitable emergency. The mere anticipation of a flight has led me to get physically sick. Just ask Really Big Gu…

Posted 1 yr. ago.

The Times They Are A Changing

It is unusual for anything to render me speechless. Â So I was quite surprised when I opened my mouth to respond to my mother and nothing came out. You see, my mother, sitting in her kitchen, hundreds upon hundreds of miles away, uttered words I never thought I would hear. "I was thinking about moving down there for a few months.Â Testing out the area.Â I could help with the kids, spend m…

Posted 1 yr. ago.

Mirror Mirror On The Wall

Two weeks short of twelve years, with two kids, a house, and all the other stereotypical suburban essentials under our belt, Really Big Guy and I are happily muddling through.Â But remember the movie "Parenthood?"Â It's a rollercoaster. The fact is that when you live with someone for a while, for better or worse takes on a whole new meaning.Â And while there are varying degrees of worse, …

Posted 1 yr. ago.

The Cure For What Ails You

Iâm in a bad mood. For no specific reason. With no rational explanation. And, no, itâs not because of the whole âfemaleâ thing. Believe it or not, sometimes we are just having a bad day and it has absolutely nothing to do with our anatomy. Message to husbands: We make some of that up so youâll just leave us alone.

Posted 1 yr. ago.

Easygoing, Easy Play

Part of being in a family is learning that you don't always get your way. In our house, this lesson repeats itself. Daily. Every time Big Guy and Little Guy are forced to get in the car and head to their siblingâs practice or game.

Posted 1 yr. ago.

about this blog

Illyse Lane

Illyse is a TriangleMom2Mom featured blogger, appearing every Thursday.

She is a stay-at-home mom who also works as a freelance writer. She resides in Raleigh with her husband and two sons, ages 8 and 10.Originally from New York, Illyse fled the cold to attend Florida State University. After a brief return to life in the city, she relocated to Raleigh to work for GE Capital and has never looked back. Illyse is sure that as long as all the boys in her home continue to speak, she will have plenty of material to write about.