Friends keep asking me if we’re swimming yet. The answer? A resounding yes. Yes, we’re swimming twice a day, every day. I’ve only been in the pool once. Not because of this, but because we’re in the middle of the coldest, cloudiest, rainiest late-spring/early-summer I can remember. It’s so cold that every time I go in
If it wasn’t for Mary Virginia’s extensive duck collection, we probably could have stayed in our old house for a few more years. Immediately after I took this photo, I found four more rubber ducks. (And this doesn’t even include her plush ducks.) I got so much awesome moving advice, and now that we’re on
We moved over the weekend and WOW. Moving is a lot of work. And I am not good at work. I am really really good at watching reality television. Thankfully the kids are doing great with all the transitions, and they’re already used to living in wall-to-wall clutter and chaos. A portrait of my children, once
A few weeks ago as I was getting ready for bed, Tom rushed into the bedroom holding his laptop open to what looked very much like our dream house. Look at this room! And that one! A fireplace! A sun room! The next day we went to see it. I only had about fifteen minutes to look around, but
On her last day of school, Mary Virginia did not want to get dressed, eat breakfast, or let me fix her hair. She definitely did not want to stand on the stairs, and look directly into the sun while I took her photo. She’s dressed and on her way to school because, even though she didn’t want
Moms pack a lot of snacks. A LOT of snacks. In fact, my grocery list usually includes “snacks I can pack.” When we’re out, keeping the kids’ well-fed is second only to making sure they’re buckled in their carseats. Cereal? Packable. Crackers? Packable. Muffins? Packable, not durable. Popsicles? Not packable, sorry Mary Virginia. I pack
A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2016 David / I’ve been really hesitant to sign my kids up for activities. The schedules and commitments at such a young age make me nervous. A friend of ours coaches a soccer program in the spring, and we decided to take David. It’s perfect for
Today is Thomas’s birthday. At 12 months, Thomas can eat an entire hotdog by himself. He is nowhere close to walking, weaning, or sleeping through the night, though. He does hold my thumb while not-doing those things, though, so I’m not only complaining. We celebrated by having a party last Sunday. It was almost a week early, but family
Last Sunday, just before his first birthday, Thomas was baptized. Baptism is a practice in which the pastors of a church increase the faith of parents by asking them to stand on stage with their young children. (Picture Tom reading this, looking up at me and saying in a stern voice, “Amanda. Do not make
One thing I didn’t know about before having kids was the social aspect of the kid birthday parties. We go to kid birthday parties all the time, and they’re all super fun. Adult birthdays are different — unless it’s a milestone birthday you celebrate with a few friends or family with dinner or drinks. Sometimes