Tomorrow is the first day of the pre-race taper for the half marathon. For weeks now Tom and I have been running 10+ miles every Saturday. Long runs on Saturday means carb-loading on Fridays. I discovered long ago that the best pre-run meal for me is one that’s quick and easy (being on your feet cooking
Halloween was awesome. And how could it not be? We’ve got Berkley Grace toddling around in an elephant suit, a wagon ride through the neighborhood, staying up past bedtime, coming home with a bag of candy. Even when it rains all night, it’s hard to not enjoy Halloween. This is the first year David could
Here’s one way I’m probably different than you: I don’t love fall. I have to admit, I like football and the break in the humidity and the opportunity to gain 15 pounds between November and December, but I do not look forward to fall. Fall leads to winter, and winter means fewer hours of sunshine,
One of the side benefits of having a newborn in the house is that they draw lots of admiring visitors. When you’re lucky, the visitors are some of your oldest, dearest, out-of-town friends. The other side benefit is that since you have a newborn in the house, you don’t even have to come up with an excuse
We celebrated July 4th with two of Tom’s best friends. He grew up with these guys, and they’re all married with kids now. Nothing much has changed except they don’t play nearly as much GoldenEye on Nintendo 64 as they did back in middle school. Between the three couples there are seven kids under the
A few weeks ago we had the Purdy family over for dinner. The Purdys have an insatiable appetite for pizza, so we thought, why just have DINNER when we can have a PIZZA PARTY!? Before they arrived, I made dough (the dough recipe I use is at the bottom of the post) and rolled out
Memorial Day weekend already seems so long ago. It was just a week ago, 1/41 of David’s life. I specify the exact amount because David is suddenly very specific about the way he spends his time, and a point he’s been trying to make for most of his 41 (now 42) weeks was finally drilled
Nothing makes you appreciate your house (the way it has walls an a roof, for example) like spending the night outside. Last weekend we took David camping for the very first time. Two years ago a couple known as Tom and Amanda Before They Had a Baby went backpacking in West Virginia. We ran into
After being rained out of Blacksburg, we drove to Smith Mountain Lake in Franklin County. I grew up in Franklin County. It’s rural, southern, and as the Ambassador of Franklin County, I’m here to tell you it’s one of the most beautiful places on earth. Tom’s parents have a place on Smith Mountain Lake. They
Last weekend we drove down to Southwest Virginia for the weekend. When you have a baby, you have to select your road trips carefully. Tom and I have already cancelled our summer vacation plans to avoid a long road trip. This weekend involved a total of 9 hours in the car. David no longer sleeps