The other morning, my husband and I looked outside our kitchen window and noticed fruit growing on one of the trees. We moved into this house over 6 months ago and just realized we have a fig tree! Life feels like that for me recently. If I give myself the space to watch and […]
On My Bookshelf
I admit I don’t read a lot of parenting books. (Ironic for someone who is authoring a blog based on parenting experiences, I realize.) They often make me feel some combination of stressed/overwhelmed/bored/guilty. Maybe it stems back to my maternity leave with baby #1 where the stack of books on babies and parenthood remained largely […]
The Things That Now Come Out of My Mouth
Frequently, I find myself saying things to my kids and then thinking, “Did I actually just say that?” Inspired by this clever dad’s illustrations of his utterances to his kids, I listened to myself this past week and compiled my own list. It actually becomes kind of a game to capture the assortment of […]
Family Album
My mother-in-law passed away the year before my son was born. Even though neither of my kids ever met their Grandma Louise, she’s part of their lives. We talk about her a lot. We have photos of her around the house and tell stories about her. About her adventurous spirit. Her quirky personality. Her love […]
Why I Run
This weekend, in an attempt to get some fresh air and tag team on exercise, our family trekked over to Sawyer Camp Trail, one of our favorites these days. I took a run while my husband and kids walked, scootered and inspected bugs. As I turned the corner of the trail at the end of […]
My Favorite Baby Gear
Warning: If you have no interest in or need for baby stuff, please do yourself a favor and stop reading now. You have been warned. Maybe it’s the blossoms on the trees, the smell of spring in the air, or simply wishful thinking that my youngest will be out of diapers soon, but I’ve been […]
A Moment of Grace
“Would you like help with your groceries?” The clerk behind the counter asked me. “No, thanks.” I replied out of habit. I glanced at my 2 year-old, snot trickling out of her nose, attempting to hoist herself out of the cart yet again, while clenching a balloon. “Um, on second thought, yes. I’d love some […]
An Open Valentine To My Daughter
Dear LC, When people ask me to describe you, I often say you’re “tough, but tender”. I don’t remember when exactly I started thinking of you that way, but it was in the early days of your life. Some of this may be wrapped up with my memories of the extra time you had to […]
Notes To My Post-Partum Self
The other evening, I was looking for a photo on my computer and got stuck on a trip down memory lane, flipping through photos of our family over the last few years. Since my kids are a little more than two years apart, a lot of my recollection of that first year with baby #2 […]
The Power of Storytime
I’m in the middle of reading The End of Your Life Book Club, a tender story of a son and his mother, who is battling pancreatic cancer, and their relationship through the books they read together during her treatment. At its heart, its about love, family and the role books play in our lives. So, I’ve […]
Alphabet Scramble 