Way back in May when I found out I was going to have a baby in mid-November, I immediately thought through the calendar. It will affect Tom’s birthday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. And then there’s Halloween. At 38 weeks, I wasn’t expecting to have a newborn, but I was expecting to be very big, very exhausted, and
Last weekend our family took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and went to the James River. The only word I can think of to describe Tom and I as we got out of the van is “laden.” We had three kids, plus water bottles and a picnic lunch for five people, two blankets, and
There is a pile of baby clothes on a desk in my bedroom, and I’ve started knitting a pink baby blanket. Other than that, we haven’t done anything to prepare for our fourth baby. But, whether we’re ready or not (we’re not), a baby is coming in November. Recently I commented on a friend’s Instagram
Today is the first day of fall, and I’m celebrating by living in complete denial that summer is over. It is, after all, in the mid-80s for the next week or so; our pool is still open and I still have to water my potted plants every 12 or so hours or they start to
The day before my birthday HAPPENED to be the our first full day back after vacation. I don’t know if my kids are the only kids who do this, but my kids spend at least one entire day after vacation punishing us for going on vacation. Like, if you parents think you’re going to take
Today I’m twenty-one weeks, two days pregnant, meaning (even if the baby is born after my due date) I’m past the pregnancy halfway point. Except that this is my fourth pregnancy and I know that the second twenty weeks packs a very serious wallop. Thirty weeks should be considered the halfway point. At least. Except
Eight years ago today Tom and I got married in the Blue Ridge Mountains. To celebrate, instead of following suggested tradition with a bronze gift, my mom and dad took our kids for a few days. We’ve never done this ever, never ever. Not even close. Everyone keeps asking what we plan to do with our
The past two weeks have been busy, busy, busy over here. I guess that sort of goes without saying because we’re always at least a little bit busy — even if we’re ONLY talking about laundry. But in the last two weeks two kids got sick (including a 105.7 fever that stuck around a little too
On Christmas morning, before opening presents, Tom sat with the kids and read the Christmas story from the Bible. It’s something he started last year, and when he told me the idea I told him it was horrible. It would make the kids resent the Bible, I said. It would be a wrestling match, I
This morning at preschool drop off, a friend of mine commented that Thomas looks a lot like his dad. I agreed, and I actually hear that a lot. In fact, I hear that about all our kids. They look SO MUCH LIKE TOM. I said, “Yeah, he does. But let me show you something.” And then