I don’t know if all kids go through this phase, but all of MY kids go through a phase where they write random letters in a line and ask me what it says. It hits right at the moment where they realize that the letters and letter sounds they’ve been learning have magical powers. These
Here we are, the day before the day before the marathon. Christmas Eve Eve, if you will. Almost 800 miles of running over 24 weeks in the early mornings, heat, and humidity. Nearly six months of what I lovingly call “No Fun Fridays” — kicking off the weekend with no good food, no alcohol, and
It took me 16 weeks to come realize this, but marathon training is going well. For 16 full weeks, whenever anyone asked me about the marathon, I’d exhale deeply, dramatically say, “I don’t know!” and then mumble something about being tired. It’s hard to say that something is going well when you’re tired all the
A week or so ago the humidity broke in Richmond. The change is massive. And I’m not just talking about how the air feels, but everyone is acting differently. We’re all just happier. It’s still hot, but the sharp edge of summer has retreated. It’s like the music is still loud but someone finally turned the subwoofer
Every summer when we go to Deer Valley, people ask us what it is. Short answer: it’s a family camp! Or, as I like to say, “it’s like summer camp but your mom and dad are there.” Perhaps a better description is that it’s like the camp in Marvelous Mrs. Maisel except instead of a
Right around the end of August, the laziness of summer starts to feel gluttonous instead of luxurious, and mom decides it’s time to whip our ship into shape. Mostly, this means taking the controls around screentime from Bluey. This doesn’t mean our family is never on screens, it just means Anna and I are working
Back to school! Fifth grade, fourth grade, and first grade. School started for my kids exactly two days after we got back from our week in Deer Valley. On their first day of school they still had mosquito bites and camp songs stuck in their heads. They went directly from their sleeping bags and bunk
I’m writing this very important, breaking-news blog post from my couch where I have my feet propped up, and I’m from a mixing bowl full of salty carbohydrates. I’m on week 10 of training for a marathon, so this is sort of my m. o. these days. That’s right, Mom’s training for a marathon. Before
This summer has been a super busy one in which we have had almost zero free time, but we’ve barely left our neighborhood. Three of our kids have been on swim team, which absorbed nearly all of our time and energy. We have had no time to do any of the normal summer things I
Eight awesome cousins, together for the first time since 2019. 2019!! We haven’t seen these guys in THREE years. For anyone that’s a long time, but for a kid it’s a loooooong time. It is, without exaggeration, 3/4 of Anna’s entire life. A looooooong time. When your cousins live in a different country, you do