My kids pulled out our bathroom scale this morning and weighed themselves. That’s how we found out that they weigh 55, 44, 33, and 22 pounds. If you’re thinking, “What a coincidence!” you’re completely wrong. I’ve lowered and completely eliminated standards on my kids’ haircuts, wardrobe, and bath frequency, but doing whatever it takes to
After our visit with my sister’s family, David stayed an extra week at my mom and dad’s for some extended cousin time. Maybe you read that sentence and thought, “Oh! How wonderful for David!” If that is the case, I need to warn you, you might not relate to the rest of this post. Here’s
Mary is, by far, my busiest child. She is always buzzing about preparing, arranging, collecting, and always, always talking. I cannot keep up. I try, but I have to be honest with myself about my physical limitations. I cannot breathe underwater, I cannot see into the future, I cannot wear my pre-pregnancy jeans. I cannot
It’s been nearly three years since my kids have seen my sister’s family. Three years is a long time if you’re (almost) seven. Or five. Or three. Or eight months. Ok, ok, it’s a long time if you’re 35, too. My sister and I both have four kids; two girls and two boys. Hers, ages
There comes a time in every baby’s life when they realize they are destined to be bipeds — descendants of homo erectus. As soon as the baby realizes this, it is the only thing they can think about. Practicing standing becomes the baby’s only focus, their sole pastime. It’s their browser home screen, their phone
It’s mid-July, and right on schedule we have homegrown tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers from our garden. We didn’t plant much this year. We have a small space for our garden, but more importantly, I was trying to be realistic (for once) about my ability to maintain a garden. I tried to be really thoughtful about
We’ve had this thing for three summers and no baby has ever really used it. Every now and then someone comes over and their baby tolerates it for a bit, but it never lasts too long. Usually they put the baby in, it’s happy for a few minutes, then it realizes it’s been tricked! It’s parents are
This past week Mary started summer camp — her first time ever doing something like this. (The first time any of my kids have done any sort of camp.) A few weeks before it started, she asked me, “Mommy, how long is camp?” I answered, “It’s just for a few weeks.” Mary looked down at her hands
One morning after I put Anna down for a nap, the middle two were distracted so I stole a few moments with David. He’s doing big kid stuff — working a 300-piece puzzle, drinking seltzer water, wiggling his two loose front teeth with his tongue. Moments earlier, I’d just peered into Anna’s mouth, checking to
Thomas was standing on the pool stairs, bending his head backwards into the water. When he stood straight, his hair was all slicked back. His curls, when wet, reach his shoulders, and his hair is so blonde on top it almost looked like he was bald with a mullet. “You guys, look how funny Thomas’s