In the past few months, our family has had the great honor of dog sitting for some of our friends’ dogs. This all started when we offered to help a friend who was traveling internationally and needed a longterm dog sitter. We had six weeks of sheer fun and chaos with Boaz, an energetic yellow
A few weeks ago a few of Mary’s friends from her class came over for a pool party to celebrate her ninth birthday. Every time I think about whipping up a quick blog post about the party, the headline I write in my head is for her sixth birthday party. Six fits more neatly in my motherhood
The last day of school! CELEBRATION EMOJIS ALL AROUND!!!! Summer, we are ready for you even more than we’ve ever been before. Mary – third grade; Thomas – Kindergarten; David – fourth grade; Anna – bus stop side kick. On the last day of school, I arrived in the pickup line earlier than I have
As long as I’ve been a runner, I’ve always said that I don’t understand the concept of a runner’s high. I’ve never entered that sacred space where running is effortless and wonderful and I could just continue forever. And what are these endorphins people talk about? When I’m running, I’m working. Regardless of the pace
Last Friday was Anna’s last day of preschool. She went to school with her trademark “cute” smile, her hair swept into a ponytail, and her siblings sent her off with a chorus of complaints, “WHAT!?! Her school is over? And we have two more weeks? NOT FAIR!!!” These kids! There’s nothing like your 10-year-old comparing
This week Anna and I spent a lot of time getting our garden ready. This year we’re growing three, four? kinds of peppers, eggplants, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatillos, kale, lots of herbs, and even though I say every year that I’ll never grow tomatoes again — we’re growing tomatoes again. I also planted a big patch
This week the kids had a day off school in the middle of the week, and I decided to throw them all in the van and haul them to a playground like I used to when they were little. There’s a nearby private school that just revamped their equipment, and I wanted to let the
MOD Pizza, Starbucks, Richmond Lager, Surge Adventure Park. Know what they all have in common? They all have Anna’s letter — the letter A. I know this because Anna shouts enthusiastically whenever she sees her letter. “MOM! GUESS WHAT I SEE!” she shouts from the back seat, straining against her straps to make her point.
We celebrated Holy Week and Easter weekend by being very, very busy. That always happens, though, doesn’t it? If normal weeks are busy then holiday weeks will feel extra busy. I feel a temptation to chastise myself, “I’m doing this wrong. We need to slow down, simplify, take in the season.” But I also know
We just finished up a spectacularly glorious week of spring break in which we did absolutely nothing. When the kids went back to school on Monday I realized, to my horror, that I must have even skipped a day or two of laundry. Laundry math is like kid sleep math; it doesn’t make any sense