Pumpkin patch

Pumpkin patch

If you follow me on Instagram (if you don’t, I’m amandaleighvt), you know that my family’s version of a trip to the pumpkin patch was a trip to Kroger to buy pumpkins. There are pumpkins on my porch; everyone’s happy. No thanks to me, they did get to visit a real pumpkin patch, too. A

Read More

Bunk mates

Bunk mates

There are times as a parent when you feel like you’re the first parents to ever do something, even though you know it’s not true. Tom and I weren’t the first people to have two children, but when Mary Virginia was born, the waters were so dark and uncharted, that it felt like it. Maybe we weren’t the first

Read More

Kickoff

Kickoff

We’re celebrating this weekend. The sort of celebrating that calls for standing in the front yard wearing a pajama shirt waving a flag. All before 8 a.m. Today is my 32nd birthday and tomorrow the Hokies kickoff their football season. Here’s to the start of a great year. A year in which maybe we’ll get around to

Read More

Adversaries

My parents still live in the house I grew up in, and it’s awesome because I get to see my kids exploring the woods I used to explore, swimming in the pool I used to swim in, and sledding down the same hills I used to sled down. And they do things that we never

Read More

Adding to our arsenal

Adding to our arsenal

The other night I snuck into Mary Virginia’s room and put a half an onion under her crib. I didn’t tell Tom because I knew he’d think I was crazy. And, ok, I thought it was a little crazy, too. It’s just that she’s been fussy and pulling on her ears and, by now, all

Read More

When Mommy gets sick

When Mommy gets sick

We’ve been sick a lot. We’ve been sick so much that I’m even tired of writing about it. Ear infection, flu, fever, blah, blah, blah. We’ve caught every cold, and virus except for one. We have not gotten the stomach bug. All our friends and family have gotten the stomach bug, and we’ve stood like sentinels in

Read More

Whatever, it’s bath night anyway

Whatever, it’s bath night anyway

I got an email the other day from Babycenter.com that said  kids should play outside everyday to burn off some energy, and because, “Being outdoors also provides sensory stimulation (the sun, the birds, the dirt) that can’t be replicated indoors.” Great idea, Babycenter.com, but where are you when it’s time to clean up this mess?

Read More

Strengthening our immune systems

Strengthening our immune systems

Albuterol, saline, labeled oral syringes, Azithromycin, Tamiflu, ear-numbing drops, thermometers, acetaminophen dosage chart for quick reference. If I had to choose one photo to sum up fall/winter for our family, this would be it. Usually when one of the kids are teething or has a cough, I keep their medicine on the counter and put

Read More

Snow mom

Snow mom

By now, these snow pictures are two snows old. This is before the southern snowstorm that’s currently outside, before the three-inch snow-pacolypse that knocked out our power, left us without internet and cancelled schools for a week, and after the “2014 Cold Wave” better known as the Polar Vortex. This was our first snow, a typical

Read More

Mary and bright

After snapping this photo, I decided to Google, “Is it ok to let a baby chew on Christmas lights?” And that’s exactly when I realized the effect of 24/7, unrestricted access to the world wide web: loss of even a modicum of common sense. The answer? No. No, it’s not ok. Not even a little

Read More

Student

Student

The color for the month of November at David’s school is brown. This shirt isn’t exactly brown, but it’s the best we could do. David loves preschool. Loves. I can’t emphasize that enough. He would go to preschool every day for 18 hours if he could. When he’s running away from me in the morning

Read More

Sunshine

It feels appropriate to post these photos today — the first day without rain in over a week. It rained every day last week. And even though it hasn’t rained here in maybe months, let’s all agree that a week of rain was a little much. Every day is amplified when you have a toddler.

Read More

Little girl blue

Part of being the second child is wearing hand-me-downs. Mary Virginia already wears hand-me-downs all the time from friends, her cousins, her brother. This blue sleeper is actually a hand-me-hand-me-hand-me-down. At least two of my sister’s kids wore it before David. And now, even though it’s blue (which ubiquitously means boy in baby language), Mary

Read More

David the Goliath

David the Goliath

Mary Virginia is noticing her brother more and more. It’s adorable when she looks at him dancing and jumping and playing and a smile explodes across her face. It’s also adorable when he wants to interact with her and hold her and brings her her pacifier announcing, “Here ya go Mary ‘ginia! Here ya go

Read More

Drawing battle lines

Drawing battle lines

There’s a pile of maternity clothes folded on the floor of my bedroom. Even though I’m still shaped like Humpty Dumpty, my maternity clothes don’t fit anymore, so they’re waiting to be sent back to the attic. They’re sitting in my closet, under my regular clothes that don’t really fit either. Ah, postpartum is such

Read More

Just like that, I’m 39 weeks pregnant

Just like that, I’m 39 weeks pregnant

My baby is the size of a watermelon and my due date is on the horizon; just one week away. I know I’ve mentioned this before (so consider this a reminder to myself): this time I’m trying to look beyond the horizon. Even though well-meaning strangers tell me I won’t be late with this baby

Read More

The fun police

The fun police

Summer is finally here. It sort of snuck up on us this year. After weeks of one day in the low 60s and the next in the mid-80s, we’ve started seeing mosquitoes and are appalled at the humidity. Welcome to summer in the south. Yesterday after eating fajitas on the porch, Tom grabbed the hose

Read More

The second time around

The second time around

When I was pregnant with David, every time I had a doctor’s appointment I’d wear a polyester-blend sundress, preferably sleeveless, with teeny tiny flip flops so that when they weighed me my number wouldn’t include any superflous clothing weight. This time, even though I’m having another summertime baby, it’s been too cold to wear any

Read More

34 weeks…and done

34 weeks…and done

When I look at that belly, all I can think is: no way does that belly have six weeks left. I hate to admit it, but I sort of agree with the lady at the grocery store who wouldn’t believe me when I told her I wasn’t having twins. “Are you sure there aren’t two

Read More

The glamorous life

The glamorous life

I was really looking forward to Easter Sunday. Really, really looking forward to it. But then my son and the rest of my extended family came down with Flu-nami 2013. It hit everyone differently, but it leveled David for six days. It started with vomiting, clinginess and a fever, and ended with diarrhea and grumpiness.

Read More

So far…

So far…

This is David’s belly. This is my belly. See the cookie in my hand? I was trying to bribe David to come over and touch my belly for a photo shoot. It didn’t work. But I think this turned out just fine. This pregnancy is very different from my first pregnancy, and it seems a

Read More

Announcement

Announcement

For months now David’s been working on his memoirs. The working title is, “My life with the most boring Mom ever.” Like most toddlers, David is nothing but energy. He loves playing with other kids, especially older kids. He desperately wants an older sibling, four older siblings would be even better. Unfortunately for David, that’s

Read More