I have so many things on my to-do* list. There are “summer organization” projects and fun activities to do with the kids. But all of it remains, untouched, on my to-do list, along with piles of mess on every surface of my house. *The to-do list, of course, is metaphorical. If you know me at
Anna is 18 months old and she is as independent in the pool as an 18-month old can be. She can jump in, she goes down the slide, and she kicks herself where ever she needs to go. When David was a baby, he was happiest in the water. It was so much fun to
The 52 Project — A photo of my children once a week, every week, in 2019. David / He built this inconspicuous tower in the middle of our living room and doesn’t understand why no one will leave him alone. The sign says, “Do not talk to David while he’s reading.” Mary / One morning just before
Suburban gardening is almost exactly like urban gardening. The only differences are that we don’t keep up with new music and we pay lower taxes. After nearly two years of barely doing anything to take care of our yard, Tom and I devoted several weekends to mulching, weeding, and getting our garden started. We removed
We opened our pool about two weeks ago. It is entirely too cold to be swimming, but that hasn’t stopped any of our kids. And so, even though pool season is over a month away if you ask me, I’m spending my afternoons out by the pool. Having a pool in your backyard is really, really fun.
I never really talk to my kids in a formal way about the environment. I didn’t even realize it until I sat down to write this. I don’t talk to them about it, even though it’s very important to me to raise kids who respect and enjoy plants, animals, and the great outdoors. Enjoying God’s
Last week my parents were visiting and we were all outside doing some yard work. Scratch that. I THOUGHT we were all outside. My dad went inside and he found Thomas in the kitchen, holding a worm in his hand, looking in the refrigerator. My dad backed Thomas out of the refrigerator and before he
Last Saturday our family laced up our racing shoes and participated in Thomas’s preschool 5k. We’ve participated in this race every year since David started preschool. Annual events always cause me to reflect on how my family has changed through the years. We’ve done this race with different combinations of toddlers, babies, and big kids.
All of my toddlers have gone through this phase — the “outside” phase. It’s the phase when they want to be outside more than they want to be anywhere else, when they bang on the door to go outside regardless of the weather or time of day. And when it’s time to go inside for
On Sunday we had a little snow and ice storm. It didn’t really amount to much, but the roads were covered enough that it wasn’t safe for the buses in the morning. Do you remember how you found out about school closings as a kid? The radio? The news? These days, the school superintendent texts,