We were driving home from the playground one day and Mary Virginia announced that she was bored. I guess that’s what happens when you spend all morning frolicking at a playground. I was on the highway and focusing on the road so instead of my routine of twirling flaming batons to keep Queen Mary entertained, I said, “Ok! Let’s
Any serious baker or pastry chef knows — the secret to amazing results is precision. Serious bakers weigh the ingredients because measuring cups are approximate at best. They use temperature-controlled cookware, and regularly-calibrated ovens. ‘ You can’t just dump all the ingredients in the bowl, you have to follow the instructions. You must not over-beat, you must not over-knead. You have to
It’s true. Since I had kids, certain things have fallen to the wayside. Things like trips to the doctor and dentist and shopping for a pair of warm boots for the fall. Of course I’m talking about appointments for me. Don’t worry, my kids are set in the appropriate-shoe department. I’m the cookie-cutter, stereotypical mom you see
This morning my kids woke up at 5:30 a.m. because they were SO EXCITED! SO EXCITED FOR THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! Perhaps they knew I was worried about getting out the door on time. Just doing their part to help; I appreciate it. Mary Virginia looks like she’d been crying for the past 15
Mary Virginia loves to play doctor. Usually I’m the doctor and the game starts out by me telling her that I can’t play doctor because I’m cleaning up the mess from painting and, remember Mary Virginia? When you were painting 15 seconds ago? Can we have even a little bit of transition time? She now
This is not a political post. This is a post about the fact that, regardless of your politics, it’s a big deal that a woman was just nominated for president. This morning I pulled Mary Virginia into my lap and told her that the first female was nominated as a candidate for president last night. I knew
Every year as my kids’ birthdays approach, I swear I’m not going to do it. Then, after the birthdays, I swear I’m never going to do it again. The parties, I mean. They’re just too much work. The cleaning, the food, all that prep. And then there’s the small matter that Mary Virginia asked me
I’ve been putting off this post for a long time. There are two reasons. First, I have a lot to say. A lot. Second, I’m not sure how to say it. Describing a baby every month is different than describing a toddler. And describing a toddler is different than describing Mary Virginia. I could not, would
When I told Mary Virginia that I was excited for her birthday and she said, “Mo-o-mmy, excited is only for kids!” Whoops. Perhaps I should work on my enthusiasm. We are celebrating with ducks, purple, Cinderella, and 36 cupcakes. Everything that makes Mary Virginia light up. Three years ago today Tom went to a concert and
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