The Monday before Christmas I drove to Rockville, MD by myself with all three kids. I was very, very nervous. It’s just a 2-hr. drive, and I know, two hours is not a big deal. I have friends who have flown across the country, and across the Atlantic Ocean with kids. My sister flew from Taiwan
When I had David I constantly thought about what it would be like to have more than one child. My day was so full — so consumed. From the moment he woke up in the morning to the time he went to bed at night I was harried and overwhelmed with every step of caring
We got David a bed for Christmas last year and it was a huge flop. For weeks leading up to Christmas I tried to build excitement (A new bed! A BIG BOY bed! Just for you!) but he was still disappointed. “Where are all the other presents?” he asked. When all is said and done,
Recently I wrote age order posts about each of my children (David, Mary Virginia, Thomas) because, when I have time to think, I think a lot about my kids — about who they are and what they need as individuals, and about how they fit into and shape our family. Our kids are pretty close in
Over the weekend Thomas got his first fever. It wasn’t a horrible. It was just a 24-hour thing, flanked on both sides by fussiness and hold-me-all-day-ness. After two doses of acetaminophen and 72 straight hours of snuggling, he was back to his normal self. People often make comments about Thomas, that because he’s my third baby he
The other day I was reading with David and I put my arm around him and said, “David, do you know Mommy loves you so much?” He looked up at me and replied, “But, Mommy. Sometimes you say…you say…you say that…” He started to stutter as he searched for the right word. I held my breath; I wasn’t sure
Me, talking to Tom: Did we decide we want to have P-I-Z-Z-A for dinner? David: Mommy, did you just say “pizza” in letters?
Do you know any babies who do not want to be held all the time? Cuddled, snuggled, toted around on Mommy’s hip. And babies should be held all the time, especially the giggliest, wiggliest, chubbiest, smiliest ones. But there are chores to do and laundry to be put away. And there’s preschool, a quick stop at the
I don’t often give parenting advice here, but Thomas asked me to tell you about this. Give your babies a chicken bone. A chicken bone, cooked and stripped — it’s nature’s teether. All my babies have loved chicken bones because all babies love chicken bones because, what’s not to love? It has flavor, it’s the perfect shape for holding and
If anything is harder than being the middle child, it’s being two years old. Mary Virginia is both. And only because she hasn’t learned the phrase (yet) I’ll say it for her: IT ISN’T FAIR! At two, she isn’t a baby anymore, but she’s not quite one of the big kids. But, because we do