Nothing makes you appreciate your house (the way it has walls an a roof, for example) like spending the night outside. Last weekend we took David camping for the very first time. Two years ago a couple known as Tom and Amanda Before They Had a Baby went backpacking in West Virginia. We ran into
According to the Farmer’s Almanac, the last frost date in Richmond was April 6. That means our garden is two days from being a month late. The gutters are still doing great, but the only thing growing in the ground is grass and our neighbor’s liriope (which doesn’t seem to respect the boundaries of our
David has a new trick. It’s very technical. It’s called “crawling through the coffee table.” The first time he did it I went nuts. My heart exploded and I grabbed the camera. These photos? They’re for his college applications. I didn’t take any photos of the dismount because at that point he hadn’t quite mastered
I’ve been a knitter for years, and I’ve been knitting for other people’s babies for just as long. The most popular item I knit is these hats. It’s from a pattern I learned from a friend’s mom. Through the years I’ve knit hundreds of these hats, so I’ve got the pattern down. Now that I
After being rained out of Blacksburg, we drove to Smith Mountain Lake in Franklin County. I grew up in Franklin County. It’s rural, southern, and as the Ambassador of Franklin County, I’m here to tell you it’s one of the most beautiful places on earth. Tom’s parents have a place on Smith Mountain Lake. They
Last weekend we drove down to Southwest Virginia for the weekend. When you have a baby, you have to select your road trips carefully. Tom and I have already cancelled our summer vacation plans to avoid a long road trip. This weekend involved a total of 9 hours in the car. David no longer sleeps
You’re looking at four bags of clothes we don’t wear and things we don’t use. It’s sitting by our door because it’s all on its way OUT. It always feels so, so good to get rid of things. It’s a vicious cycle; the temptation to acquire new things followed by the oppression of clutter and
You can’t go to Hilton Head without going to the beach. The weather was a little cool, but not too cool to see the Atlantic for the first time. He loved the waves, and tried to convince us to just toss him in the water so he could swim away with the dolphins. But do
It’s been almost a month since we built our gutter garden, and a few days ago we had our first salad from early greens. Check it ouuuut. See the sugar snap peas climbing up my make-do-with-what-you-have trellis? It doesn’t look pretty, but the peas don’t mind. This is something I inherited from my dad. Why
Last Monday while I was busy polishing my “Mother of the Year” trophy, David fell off the couch. Actually, I was right there. My hand was on him and he lunged off the couch head first. Doesn’t that make it worse? If I can’t keep him on the furniture while under my complete supervision, then