Recently a friend gave us a big bag of hand-me-downs. They included a bunch of clothes for Thomas, and for Mary, several pairs of boots, some pajamas, one particularly gorgeous dress, and one pair of gold sparkly high heels that are just her size. When the kids got home from school, I had all of
You might not have heard of Beyblades. They’re these toys that spin sort of like a top. (Though, DO NOT CALL THEM TOPS IN OUR HOUSE. We have had many, many “Beyblades are basically just tops” arguments that have lead to me making a family rule that you are not, under any circumstances, allowed to
It’s mid-February, which means it’s high time to talk about New Year’s resolutions! If research is correct, most people have already abandoned their resolutions. If that’s you, consider this a timely reminder to get back to it! The year is young! This year I’m making it my personal goal to reduce our family’s trash. I’ve
When you have more than one kid (in my experience, anyway) you start to look for ways to recognize and celebrate your kids as individuals. The more kids you have (in my experience, anyway) the harder and more important it becomes to find ways to spend one-on-one time with each of your kids. It’s nice
We had a weekend with back-to-back-to-back activities with our kids. We had a basketball game, an awards reception, a playdate. But the marquee event, the one we were all waiting for, was the Father Daughter Dance. You might remember the Father Daughter Dance from years past. Mary has gone several times (2016, 2017, 2019, and
I’m not sure why, but I’m suddenly really aware of Thomas and Anna’s friendship. All of my kids have individual relationships, but each one has to be forged. Maybe I’m noticing their friendship because it’s just now really emerging. Anna is finally old enough to really play and be a part of Thomas’s shenanigans (which she
Anna calls David “DayDay.” She calls Mary “MayMay.” She calls Brigham “Ma,” and she knows the names of several neighborhood dogs. In an ultimate little sister power move, she doesn’t even attempt to say Thomas’s name. There are actually a lot of words Anna doesn’t attempt. She has a decent vocabulary, but she’s almost impossible
Tom was out of town last weekend (pause for dramatic effect)(insert shock and awe)(add comment about me being the best ever and Tom being the worst ever)(remember that people do stuff like this all the time and your whining might induce a lot of justified eye rolls)(regain consciousness and move on). One of the many,
Last summer when we were in Pennsylvania, we visited Tom’s cousin. In addition to an actual roller coaster, they also had an amazing swing set in their backyard. We really liked the size and design of this particular swing set, so Tom made a mental note to get back in touch with his cousin after
A huge part of the life of a toddler is just evolving methods for getting attention. Anna’s newest strategy is to just yell: “MOM! MOM! MOOOOOOM!” Not Mommy, not Mama. Mom. It’s such a funny thing because she’s not crying, and it’s not shrill or whiny like typical toddler fussing. It’s top-of-the-lungs shouting: MOOOOOOM! It’s
I’ve mentioned before that Thomas doesn’t know colors. Actually, let me rephrase. Thomas refuses to conform to the names society has given colors. Instead of using the names of the colors that you and I use, he came up with his own. For example, instead of red, green, blue, and yellow, Thomas would say David
The Krieger family started 2020 with a bang. That bang came in the form of a stomach bug that hit most of us, one by one, in the span of 12 hours. Our house was the scene of a gastroenteritis horror movie — the kind that haunts the dreams of caregivers of small children. We
One morning Anna’s pajamas were half-on. (Ok, so sometimes/all the time after a diaper change we don’t bother to wrestle Anna back into her clothes. Whatever, we get the important part taken care of.) Somehow this transformed into a game where Thomas was holding the legs of her pajamas and pretending she was a dog
For Christmas Mary got a FitBit, and became obsessed with getting steps. (Or, more accurately, with getting more steps than David.) One of the days after Christmas was unseasonably warm so we went for a walk together. As she ran ahead on the path, it occurred to me that I went for the exact same
Mary started the Christmas season feeling overly burdened by the season, what with being a “Mary” and all. As if sharing a name with the Virgin Mother of the Savior wasn’t enough, her name is also a homophone with the salutation of the season: MERRY. She makes it look easy, but believe me, it is not.
Christmas morning anticipation — Tom gathers the kids on the stairs to read the Christmas story before rushing down to see presents. Before you get distracted by David and Mary’s looks of concentration, Thomas’s impish grin, or noticing that this is the first year Anna isn’t being held by one of us — before you
The 52 Project: A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2019. (Alternate project title: The 52 Project: A mother frantically scrolling her camera roll on Saturday to see if she happened to take a picture of each of her children in the past week.) David / When it’s pajama day at school
I haven’t blogged in the past few weeks, because I haven’t been doing much of anything in the past few weeks. Anything besides knitting, that is. I’ve been frantically filling Etsy orders for Christmas, and this year has felt more stressful than other years. It’s not because I had an influx of order, I think
Mary is on a crusade to make homemade gifts for all of her family members. Also all of her friends, classmates, people she rides the bus with, and she’ll throw in a free Christmas gift to anyone who signs up for Disney + before the end of 2019. She’s so ambitious and excited about it,
This morning I took Thomas and Anna outside. I was planning on cleaning out the garden and adding compost to the soil. I thought Thomas might like helping with raking and digging, but as soon as we went outside he and Anna immediately started playing on their own. That was fine, too, but I still
Most families don’t talk about this, but there is usually one family member that takes up most of the energy and patience. Sometimes it’s the oldest, sometimes it’s the toddler, sometimes it’s the mom. For the past month, it’s been the almost-two-year-old. It happened out of nowhere. One day I was talking with Tom’s mom
A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2019. We are finishing up birthday week here. We ate the last of Anna’s birthday cake for lunch, and Tom’s birthday cupcakes for snack. The week started warm, and then it snowed, and then it stayed freezing and I gathered the children for a
There are a great many traditions I started when I had my first baby. Almost none of them have lasted through the fourth (R.I.P. baby book intentions) Some things I’ve mostly given up on (R.I.P. baby book intentions) and other things I haven’t gotten around to, but I still hold out hope (like making a
Thomas, my little herpetologist: Mommy did you know that snakes are the same as people? Except we have hands. And feet. And also talking powers. Thomas is currently in a strong animal phase. He’s always loved bugs and other creepy crawly creatures (like frogs and lizards), but now he’s old enough to remember obscure facts
The 52 Project: A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2019. David / Tom built a swing set in the backyard for the kids. As soon as they got home from school this week I’ve rushed them outside to play, because after this week it’ll be too dark. #happyfall Mary
BOO! Our family had a great Halloween, but as I sit typing this my eyelids are heavy and I’m feeling judged by the spooky decorations that became unseasonable 12 hours ago. I’m already feeling the busyness of the holidays and taking it as a reminder to try to slow down and enjoy the season. Perhaps this
On the morning of Thomas’s preschool field trip to the pumpkin patch, I was in the bathroom frantically getting ready. Because she never strays farther than six inches from my heels, Anna joined me in the bathroom. She insisted, INSISTED on using my blush (I tried to just hand her the blush brush but baby
A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2019. David and Mary / Are your kids unbelievably, impenetrably silly when they come home from school? I can take some silliness but WOW. It’s a good thing they have each other because Tom and I can’t even understand then when they’re all spun up.
When our cat was an adolescent — not a kitten, an adolescent. It’s an important distinction because kittens are adorable imps and adolescents are adorable jerks. So as I was saying, when our cat was an adolescent he spent all day being cute and all night demolishing our house. We were living in a house
A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2019. David / It’s a bummer that this photo is blurry, because David asked me to take it. When your 8-year old asks you to take a silly photo, you grab your camera so quickly that everything ends up out of focus. (This is one
Last week Tom had a minor eye injury. That’s how Thomas, Anna, and I found ourselves having lunch on a 97-degree day at a picnic table in an office park. Because we had to give Daddy a ride to the optometrist, and I needed to figure out what to do with my two toddlers during
It was so hot this week. I’m not usually one to grumble about unseasonal warmth, but this week would have been a doozy even in July. The forecast promised relief from the heat and humidity on Friday (but still no rain) so until then I called kibosh on outdoor play past 10 a.m. and exercise
A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2019. David / This photo is out of focus and through a window because I wanted to snap it without him noticing to send a picture to my mom. The kids have a chore chart and opportunities to do extra chores. David is really,
Yesterday Anna, my 22-month old, was throwing a tantrum. She threw herself onto the floor, curled her body over her knees with her forehead pressed to the carpet, and wailed. “Look!” Mary exclaimed. “Anna is doing a lockdown drill!” David and Mary laughed and laughed at the absurdity of a lockdown drill! At home! Ha!
The 52 Project — A photo of my children, once a week, every week, in 2019. David / The big kids are playing soccer for the first time this fall. There’s a little grove of pine trees behind the Mary’s field. While she played soccer, David made these trails through the woods for their bikes. This
A week after the big kids started back to school, Thomas started preschool. He didn’t want to hold his bag like I asked; he wanted to hold this plane instead. FOUR! What a difference a year makes. Thomas went to school wearing the same shirt David wore to the first grade, and hand-me-down Crocs with
One afternoon a few days before my birthday, David and I were riding bikes to the birthday party of one of his friends in the neighborhood. I was telling David that I enjoy riding bikes with him and he asked, “Is that why you asked to go for a bike ride with me for your
These photos were actually taken on week 33 and I never got around to posting them, so week 34 it is. Not that you’d ever notice, I’m only telling you because I’m extremely honest and this entire blog is built on trust. There’s a time when babies are teeny, and parents post weekly updates and
When we got home from Deer Valley, these guys were our welcoming committee. In the spring when I planted our garden, I was so excited about all the produce. I imagined big batches of roasted tomatoes every week, slices of tomatoes with every meal, and giving excess to neighbors and friends. But (maybe you’ve already
In an effort to expose our kids to a variety of sports, David and Mary started soccer this fall. While we are super excited to become a soccer family, we are not excited about all the gear. Kriegers are runners. Runners are unfamiliar with gear. Cleats, shin guards, special gigantic soccer socks. It’s all a foreign language
Our school district starts late — after nine — so we never have to wake them up and we don’t have to rush. The kids have plenty of time to play, eat breakfast, get dressed, and hold down a part-time job. As he does every morning, David curled up on the couch with a book.
After I published my post about our week in Deer Valley, I loved how many people read the words “rustic,” “sore,” and “exhausted” and responded, “sign me up!” Oh yeah, I guess I did mention the snack bar, too. Maybe it was that? Several people messaged me saying that after they read about our experience
Eight years ago Tom and I were going to bed and I started crying and told him some version of, “He’s never going to be born and I’m going to be pregnant for the rest of my life.” About four hours later my water broke, and about 14 hours after that David was born. Little
I’m in the middle of recapping our family vacation (and David’s birthday, and the end of summer, and, and, and, and, and…) but I’m taking a break from all that to post some photos from this week. This week was normal, boring. We didn’t go anywhere or do anything. I even put off post-vacation grocery
If you’ve been around here for any amount of time you know the summer vacation drill — our family drives to a lake where we jump off the dock a thousand times, catch a catfish, and line the kids up at the end of the week for a forced cousin picture. This year we completely
The last time David was featured in a Semantics post was August 2017. TWO YEARS AGO! This wasn’t intentional. I suppose I didn’t even notice because I was getting so much great material from toddlers, not to mention a little girl who has been trolling me since she turned two. (That’s a direct quote from
This week I didn’t pick up my DSLR one time. That’s abnormal for me, an overly-sentimental person who’s surrounded by memories that are, let’s be honest, getting bigger every day. I declared this week a rest week. We’re in-between summer adventures and will spend this coming week preparing for our next trip. But this week
I am interrupting my previously-scheduled recap of our trip to Vancouver to get back to my previously scheduled weekly photo project. Last week Tom had a work trip, and I decided to take the opportunity to take the kids to visit my parents. I have a lot to say about this trip. I could do
On the banks of Beaver Lake at Stanley Park, watching ducks with Mary… Mary: There are so many ducks here. It shouldn’t be called Beaver Lake, it should be called Duck Lake! Me: Seriously, who named this lake? Probably a beaver! Me: pause…waiting for Mary to laugh… Mary: Mommy. No one would ask a beaver
Steveston Village is a small harbor town close to my sister’s house. It’s so close that we technically visited it on a “home day.” (We actually went the day Thomas was sick with a fever, during Anna’s nap.) I thought about lumping Steveston in with my home day post, but ultimately decided it deserved its