Sappy Love Songs and My Husband

The other day, I was listening to a particularly sappy love song, sung by a man, and the thought popped into my head—are these lyrics representative of what a man really thinks about his woman? Or are these songs targeted to the female audience and therefore, only give the women what they want to hear? I asked my husband this question, and he shared some interesting insights with me. “The mushy songs, no,” he said. “But the songs that talk about faithfulness and feelings that endure, yes. Those are the songs that resonate with me and the way I feel … Continue reading

How My Ancestors Came to America

The other day, as I was taking a walk with my dad and my son, we talked a little bit about family history. I forget exactly how we arrived at the topic, but as we were talking, I found out a little bit about his parents and his grandparents. As a novice genealogy researcher, I realized that although I was interested in obtaining information about my ancestors from my dad, I was not interested in totally grilling him about everything under the sun regarding our heritage. With this in mind, I only talked about it for a little while before … Continue reading

Mystery Solved!

My great grandfather was born to a single mother in 1898. She never disclosed who the father was, or if she did, it was kept secret by anyone who knew. She married a man within a few years of my great grandfather’s birth, and my great grandfather assumed his stepfather’s last name. It is unknown if he was ever officially adopted. I first became aware of my great grandfather’s illegitimate birth when I first began diving into my genealogy. There were a few theories as to who the biological father was: a traveling businessman, a married man, or even a … Continue reading

No, That’s Not Cottage Cheese In My Baby’s Mouth

I love when my daughter smiles, and I love making her laugh. She has yet to pop a tooth, and her gummy grins are almost too cute to take. It was during a smile-fest last week that my husband and I thought we noticed a little white spot on one of her gums. At first we thought it might be a tooth, but realized it was something else. My first thought was that it might be thrush, and we decided to keep a close eye on her mouth. Sure enough, a few days later, we noticed another white spot, this … Continue reading

New Genealogy Blogger

Hello, my name is Jacky Gamble, and I am a genealogy addict. I am also the newest genealogy blogger at Families.com. I have already posted a couple of blogs here, but before I go any further I should tell you a bit about me, and why I chose to blog about genealogy. Genealogy is one of my passions. I began researching my own family tree back in 2003 because I was curious to find out how many relatives were in my mother’s family (her grandparents had 11 children, and their children had children, and so on). I wasn’t expecting to … Continue reading

Actor Andrew Koenig Missing and Apolo Mystery Explained

The eyes of the world are focused on Vancouver as the winter Olympics are currently going on there, but some are looking towards Vancouver for another reason. Andrew Koenig, who had a reoccurring role in “Growing Pains, was in West Vancouver in early February visiting friends. The 41 year old actor missed his flight back to Calif. on Feb. 16 and was last seen by friends on Feb. 14. Koenig is the son of “Star Trek” star Walter “Chekov” Koenig. The Vancouver police issued a statement that said Koenig “had recently been despondent and his family and friends are concerned … Continue reading

My Son is Here

I’m very excited to be able to announce the birth of Cillian on August 8th, 2009 at 2:57 in the early morning. After being the Father’s blogger for about two months I finally have a son who can look back into my eyes to write about. The entire event (labor, birth, sleep deprivation, etc.) has been quite exciting and somewhat indescribable. I must say that, particularly for fathers, seeing your child is a surreal experience. I don’t want to take away from mothers’ experiences but the father has a role that is physically separated from their child until the birth. … Continue reading

My, How Hospitals Have Changed!

I can’t remember the last time I was in a hospital — maybe it was back in 2001, the summer that both my grandmother and grandfather passed away. If I’ve been in a hospital room since then, it’s lost in memory. But I was in a hospital room today — some very good friends of mine welcomed twins into the world. After I stopped being distracted by holding the tiny babies, I started looking around. Things certainly have changed! Probably the most impressive thing (at least to me) was the wristbands. Mom, Dad, and twins all had barcoded wristbands. This … Continue reading

Bad Dads Strike Again: Father Poisons Kids for Cash

Here’s another one for you guys. And by guys I mean gals. And by gals I mean moms. Outraged moms let their fury fly via comments left on my previous blogs detailing the sick, twisted and demented doings of bad dads from coast-to-coast. However, before I share this latest loser with the group I should note that I am by no means a dad basher by trade. It’s just that these guys make it so easy. Their reprehensible actions are constantly making headlines, and frankly some of what they do is simply too outrageous not to address. In all fairness, … Continue reading

Shaking Things Up at the Emmys and Taking Flight in Tennessee

SHAKING THINGS UP AT THE EMMYS Dare I say I am looking forward to this year’s Emmy Awards? Usually, I tune into to see who’s wearing what, and go about my chores while the show’s host and winners drone on in the background. This year, though, I think I might actually sit down and watch some of the festivities. Why the change of heart? I’m thinking this year might not be as boring as years past since there won’t be a single Emmy host this time around–there will be five. Tom Bergeron, of “Dancing With the Stars”; Ryan Seacrest, of … Continue reading