Thomas was filling a cup of water one day, when some water splashed on his sleeve. (A quick aside: Thomas enjoys the privilege of getting his own cup of water ONLY because he is in the unique position of having a six-year old brother and a 6-month old sister. He sees his brother doing six-year
Last month we took Mary Virginia to kindergarten registration. Everyone told me that the second kid would be easier, but it was exactly like last year with David. I was just as emotional, just as uneasy, just as feeling like I was holding my baby over a cliff (dangling her above the outstretched arms of
Occasionally Mary says things that raise my eyebrow. Things like, “I can’t play soccer because girls don’t play soccer.” Or. “I wish I could be a scientist, but I’m a GIRL.” I try to be redirect these comments and encourage her, and I try to not feel too bad. After all, I AM her main
A few weeks ago I bought this little patio set for our back deck. I love the design, and as it’s (finally) warming up, I’m looking forward to spending more time outside. In the summer I eat breakfast on the porch almost every morning, and the deck is home base for so much of the kids’
I told myself I’d never straighten her hair, but today she needed some Mama time. I did her hair and listened as she talked about Pound Puppies, and I told her about my girlfriends in college who used to straighten and curl my hair. When I lifted her onto the counter, I didn’t notice that my compact
Two weeks ago we found a turtle. Or, rather, it found us. Judging by the way it swam right up to where we were standing on the bank, and by the way it fit perfectly in the palm of my hand, we immediately knew we were destined to keep this turtle. When my kids ask
Tom’s dad has always called Anna Banana. I mean, almost everyone calls her that but he really commits to a nickname. One day he was holding Anna, saying, “Hi Banana! Such a sweet banana!” David walked by and said, “Pops, why are you calling her ‘Banana?’ She doesn’t look like a banana, she looks like
I’m still pretty new to motherhood — I’ve only been doing this for six and a half years — so most of what I know involves pregnancy, babies, and little kids. So far, my current phase (four kids including one infant and one kindergartener) has been the most demanding. If my life was a sporting
David has a habit of picking dandelions for me. He finds them everywhere, on the walk home from the bus stop, in our yard, poking through cracks in sidewalks. He’s done it for years, at least since he was three, right around the time I told him yellow was my favorite color. I never keep
A few days before Easter, as soon as we had nice enough weather to be outside, we dyed Easter eggs. I marched all the kids outside and told them to sit at the table and wait while I made several trips inside to get everything. Asking kids to WAIT and NOT TOUCH is a big