Guest post from Tom: When we were dating I used to write Amanda letters all the time. On our five-year anniversary, I wrote her a letter. She always writes blog posts encourage friends and family and tell them how much she appreciates them, so instead of just writing her a letter, I decided to write
Fanatics, the leading online retailer of officially licensed sports merchandise, invited me to be part of their Future Fanatics campaign to show how the super-fans of tomorrow are getting their start. Fanatics.com has everything from MLB hats to football jerseys from your favorite college team. Or if you still need a World Cup jersey, they’ve got those, too.
Two days before Mary Virginia’s birthday, Tom and I were outside cleaning up the back yard and Tom got stung by a bee. Since Tom grew up in a suburban utopia where the only bees were ornamental, it took over 30 minutes for me to convince him that it was, in fact, a bee sting.
Mary Virginia’s birthday was over a week ago and I’m just now getting around to the details. Things were so busy last week after the cupcake sugar-high David still hasn’t come down from, Father’s Day, and Mary Virginia getting Hand Foot Mouth Disease. You read that right. Just when I thought Rickets was the only childhood
Even though Mary Virginia is a freshly-minted one year old, I still think of her as an itty bitty baby. But nothing makes my itty bitty baby seem like a monster, more than seeing her next to an actual newborn. Welcome, Baby Rosie. Mary Virginia would love nothing more than to liberate you from that
On Memorial Day we decided to take advantage of the three-day weekend and amazing weather and head to Franklin County. Franklin County is a three-hour drive from Richmond, and the whole week leading up to the trip Tom and I discussed strategy for the drive. Do we drive during nap time and hope they sleep?
David finished his first year of preschool last week. Assuming we can get him potty-trained by August, he has two years of preschool left. After that he’ll go to kindergarten, then elementary school, middle school and high school. If he decides to go to college that’s 20 years of school. His time in the classroom
Tom and I have always predicted that our kids will either love running or hate it. That’s what happens when you spectate your first marathon as a three-month old. When it comes to your parents’ passions, there is no half way. We expect they’ll have similar opinions about Virginia Tech football, Java Chip Frappuccinos and Microsoft
Easter day this year was extra special for our family because Mary Virginia was baptized. For David, any celebration was secondary to the fact that his cousin was at our church. If you’re curious, when David was baptized, I shared this link as a helpful explanation of why we have our children baptized, and here
Hippity hoppity, Easter’s on its way When I took these pictures two years ago, I thought it would be the last time I’d be able to convince David to wear bunny ears. What I didn’t know then was that my little boy loves accessories. He doesn’t mind — and even requests — hats, sunglasses, suspenders, and
A few weeks ago Tom was traveling, so the kids and I went down to Franklin County to spend the weekend with my parents. There was a snowstorm a few days before our trip, and when we arrived there was still a bit on the ground, so my dad took David sledding. I’m not a
Strawberries aren’t in season this time of year, but don’t let that stop you from making this cake. It’s red, sweet and special; perfect for Valentine’s Day. Don’t let this stop you either: If you add up the time it took to shop, whip, slice, allow the meringues to dry, and include a few breaks,
It seems out of order to write about looking back after posting about looking forward. But one of my favorite things about having a blog is having a record to look back on; it’s amazing how much and how quickly I forget. When I sat down to look back at last year you know what
Our family is in a great phase, the phase where Christmas morning changes and is more and more delightful every year. We spent Christmas day with Tom’s family. David played while we waited for everyone to arrive. He isn’t old enough to understand the anticipation part of Christmas. We didn’t really talk much about
We didn’t send out Christmas cards this year. As soon as I decided to skip it, I started justifying myself. Not sending them will save money. And it’s better for the environment. But honestly, I love Christmas cards. I love getting mail this time of year, and I appreciate every card we receive. The truth
Tom and I agree that our Christmas tree is…fine. It’s small, droopy, a little wonky, and full of mismatched ornaments. But it’s definitely better than last year when we didn’t have a tree at all. We started with good intentions. Tom brought the tree home on a Tuesday night and started stringing the lights. He
Last year my mom and dad made the switch to an artificial tree. I ridiculed them for the anti-tradition, Grinch-like move. To drive the point home, I bought them a Balsam Fir scented candle to overcome the artificial tree smell. Then I had a bizarre, scratchy-throat allergic reaction to the candle. I guess we all know
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Ours was great, one for the books, even. It was maybe even the best trip we’ve taken since adding kids to our family. There was coffee with whipped cream, and chocolate for breakfast, and Mary Virginia got to gnaw on her first ever turkey bone. But there was
Brigham’s fan club has a very active, capable, creative, passionate president and founding member. His position as Brigham’s number one fan is pretty well-established, so I, personally, would never suggest a change in leadership. That’s not what I’m suggesting at all. I am suggesting, though, that someone else might be preparing to challenge his status as
Halloween was awesome. And how could it not be? We’ve got Berkley Grace toddling around in an elephant suit, a wagon ride through the neighborhood, staying up past bedtime, coming home with a bag of candy. Even when it rains all night, it’s hard to not enjoy Halloween. This is the first year David could
Anytime I post photos that are this cute, I feel compelled to start by saying: these photos weren’t staged. Caleb has been obsessed with Mary Virginia since before she was even born. What’s the baby doing in your belly, Aunt Manda? I wanna see her. When’s she coming out? How’s she going to come out,
Before I had kids I was unsure about a lot of things. I didn’t understand breastfeeding or schedules and had no idea how to bathe a newborn, but there was one thing I knew I would be great at: discipline. I had plenty of practice watching other people do it all wrong. I knew exactly
Last year, while we were on vacation, Tom caught a catfish. Since Kriegers are really good at data management and cleaning up after dinner, but don’t know much about fishing, we considered this a serendipitous event. Even crazier was that he caught it with a piece of macaroni and a homemade fishing rod. Maybe catfish are
Every day at the lake revolved around the sweetheart of summer: water. Like the name suggests, Smith Mountain Lake is in the mountains, and it’s considerably cooler and less humid than it is in Richmond. Plus, the week we were there happened to be an unusually cool week. But that didn’t keep us from being
Ladies and gentlemen, the birthday boy: Note: David’s diaper is hangin’ low because it’s full of water from the sprinklers. Video transcript: D: Oh, I fine. A: Are you ok, David? D: David the bicycle!…Riding the bike…Come on, Na-EE (Mommy). Nah-EE! Push David bike. A: Hey, David, how old are you? D: I’m two! A:
Last week Tom and I spent a week at Smith Mountain Lake with his family. We also got to hang out with my family, since they happen to live in the area. Our vacation included four children under age three. Even though the adults outnumber the kids (6:4) every day still felt like a series
David is slowly warming up to his sister. And by “warming up” I mean “ignoring”, which I think is best case scenario for a newborn and an almost-two-year old. He checks on her, gives her trains, or occasionally runs up to me and says something like, “MARY’S DRINKING WATER!” And I have run through the
A long time ago, before David (my little brother David) was even old enough to drive, he started dating a pretty girl who lived across town. They went to prom together, and kept dating even after high school graduation. They went to Virginia Tech together, and then after college graduation they both moved back to Franklin
Mary Virginia Krieger Born right on time, at 10:53 am on June 7, 2013, her due date. 7 lbs., 8 oz., 19 inches. She was born with a full head of black hair, which is why, when they handed her to me, I looked at the doctor and said, “Um. I think I gave birth to
You never realize how many holiday decorations revolve around balls until you have a ball-obsessed toddler. There are pumpkins at Halloween, ornaments at Christmas, and then there are Easter eggs. David calls them Easter balls. Our church hosted a huge Easter egg hunt, an event David has been training for his entire life. He treats
Tom’s maternal grandfather gave Tom this wagon when he was little. I never got a chance to meet Tom’s Granddaddy; he passed away when Tom was still a boy. I was told he didn’t give gifts often, but he thought every little boy needed a wagon so he made sure Tom had one. A few
When I used to work for a newspaper, the editorial staff would have a budget meeting the day after deadline. The budget meeting wasn’t about money, it was about planning the content for the next publication. We had to decide what stories we had room for, what would be on the front page, how many
I’ve known Tom for 11 years, and this is the first year he hasn’t mentioned making New Year’s Resolutions (or, more appropriately, New Year’s Goals). Tom and I haven’t talked about goals or why we are or aren’t going to set goals, but if I’m going to be completely honest, it’s hard to think about
Here’s to a Christmas full of gifts, time with family, photo ops… …and lots and lots and lots of balls.
I sort of forgot about sending a Christmas card, but as soon as they started arriving in my mailbox I was decided we wouldn’t sit out this year. So I combed my hair, put David in his Christmas sweater, and went down to the James Center. Tom’s brother generously took the photo. He took a hundred
Today is Tom’s birthday. Tom would probably appreciate it if, instead of using David’s naptime to write this post, I cleaned my house and prepped dinner. Instead of a clean house and dinner simmering on the stove, Tom will come home to Cheerios all over the living room floor and his wife frantically cooking with
The nation has been looking forward to this day for months. Or is it just the people who live in swing states? I live in Virginia, so my mail has been full of political flyers, and I haven’t seen a commercial for Ranch dressing since August. Everyone in the United States has also been inadvertently counting down
What does a dragon say? Rooooooaaaaaaar! Once Tom taught David what dragons say, he roared the entire time we trick-or-treated. Check out these two guys. It took a Halloween miracle to get them to sit still in that wagon and look at the camera. It’s amazing to see how much they’ve grown since last year.
Today is Halloween, and I didn’t even have a chance to get excited because we all spent the past week preparing to get blown away by Hurricane Sandy (which didn’t happen, and my pansies are fine). This year we’re going trick-or-treating with David’s cousins Caleb and Berkley Grace. Since this is our second year, I
You might not know this, but my blog has a fan club. Its president, founding member, and director of marketing is Peggy: Tom’s mom, my mother-in-law, and David’s Mimi. Last Friday was her birthday. Peggy loves the blog, and she’s called me, emailed me, and shouted it from her rooftop. It helps that the blog
My brother-in-law Jason’s birthday was like two weeks ago. We’re running a little behind here, ok? Next year Jason and my sister will celebrate their 10-year wedding anniversary. Really? TEN YEARS? It seems unbelievable, so I did the math over and over. I’m mentioning their upcoming anniversary just to show that Jason’s been around for
Watching Daddy mow the grass. Then, when Daddy came inside to take a shower, David pressed himself to the floor and tried to look under the door. This boy loves his daddy.
Did you ever see the show Fear Factor? It was a reality show where bikini-clad women and shirtless men would “face their fears” by competing in icky and scary challenges for $50,000. Most of the challenges involved eating, and some sort of swimming/underwater challenge. My brother and I really wanted to apply — most of
One of the highlights of our vacation was watching David and Caleb play together. David is just now old enough that he notices Caleb and wants to hang with him. And Caleb is an amazing cousin; he is patient and gentle with David. Caleb is great at sharing, and since David doesn’t share yet, “sharing”
I grew up near Smith Mountain Lake, and if you grow up near a lake you perennially hear stories of scary things that happen on the water. Though growing up on the water made me a confident swimmer, it also made me a little more nervous than the average lake-goer. Take lake nerves, add in
You might have noticed that, for the past two weeks, my posts have been a little mature than before. It’s because I’m a year older. But it wasn’t just a year, I turned 30. Thirty. Dun, dun, dun, right? Starting with my nephew Caleb’s birthday last year, I’ve done a birthday post for my immediate family
When David woke up last Saturday morning, balloons were floating around the living room. I like to think that’s when his birthday party officially started. We planned a backyard party in August, in Richmond. And somehow it wasn’t hot and the mosquitoes weren’t (that) bad. David woke up from his afternoon nap just as guests
Tom and I love throwing parties. We’ve thrown birthday parties, Christmas parties and 10K parties. When I’m planning a party I usually don’t worry too much about dishware and decorations and instead focus on having a lot of food and making sure everyone feels welcome. It’s not that I don’t appreciate a well-set table and
I’ve set an alarm just once in the past year. Every other morning Tom and I wake up when David starts making pterodactyl noises in his crib. Tom is always uncharacteristically optimistic early in the morning and says, “Maybe he’ll go back to sleep.” But David never goes back to sleep. One of us (usually Tom) rises from
David never hugs me like this. We’re happy to be home. Traveling with a baby is hard; in 9 days David slept through the night just twice. And oh my goodness the stuff. Our car was packed with baby contraptions, brightly colored plastic and bags and bags full of nothing but items designed to absorb