Reference materials

Reference materials

I don’t often given parenting advice here. But. If you insist. My top two parenting tips are: 1. Hold off on introducing the song “First is the worst, second is the best, third is the one with the hairy chest” as long as possible. You might have a sleep-deprived, frustration-fueled moment when it SEEMS like

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A certain kind of lifestyle

This morning, before 8 o’clock, my kids dismantled the playroom. When I say “dismantled” I don’t mean they made a typically giant toddler mess, disproportionate to their small size. What I mean is they took apart their toy bins and moved around furniture. Thomas spent the morning wondering how we fit all of Disney World into our

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The late afternoon light

The late afternoon light

Every afternoon my two napping kids wake up around 4, and after a quick snack we go outside. When we first moved, my kids seemed uncomfortable and listless in the yard, which was a total shock to me. Our new yard is bigger and has more places to dig and explore, but they just weren’t really

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Sneaky food swaps for picky eaters

Sneaky food swaps for picky eaters

Alternate title: How I’ve kept my kids from getting scurvy on their preferred diet of jelly beans and begging for jelly beans.  At David’s 5-year check up, the doctor asked if he ate a variety of foods, and I kind of tilted my head and admitted, no, he’s pretty picky. The doctor asked me to tell

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3s and 4s

3s and 4s

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

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Imitating life

Imitating life

It has been unreasonably hot here for the past few weeks — we’ve spent all of our time in the air conditioning or the pool or wishing that’s where we were. But don’t misunderstand me — even when I’m sweating through my shorts at the park, chasing the shade and praying for a breeze? Just a small one? Is a breeze be too

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30/52

30/52

A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2016. David / He’s spent weeks trying to catch butterflies, but he can never even get within feet of them. Lucky for him, though his mother really struggles to pick out paint colors or organize a mudroom, she’s excellent at catching insects. (His mother also really

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