I love beautifully-wrapped gifts. I really enjoy taking time to wrap gifts well and make generous bows. The presentation, I think, is part of the gift. I love neutral wrapping paper and prominent bows. That’s what I do for baby showers and birthday gifts and especially Christmas. Never in my life have I ever used
When we play with Play-Doh, David usually doesn’t ever really form the dough “things”, he just smashes and drops it on the ground and asks me to flatten long pieces into roads for his cars. Meanwhile, his sister constantly tries to sneak tastes the Play-Doh even though, after every time she manages a bit in
There are times as a parent when you feel like you’re the first parents to ever do something, even though you know it’s not true. Tom and I weren’t the first people to have two children, but when Mary Virginia was born, the waters were so dark and uncharted, that it felt like it. Maybe we weren’t the first
David has taken almost zero naps since he turned three. We still go through the motions, though, every day. After lunch we read a book, turn off the light, close the blackout shades, and I cover him with his blankets just the way he likes it — white blanket first, then green blanket. I give him
Can you tell what Mary Virginia is chewing on? It’s an onion. A raw onion. It’s the raw onion I stashed under her crib to try to heal her ear infection. She found it and walked around the house gnawing on it. Mary Virginia loves raw onions. Every time I slice an onion, she cries
David has had a total of two “haircuts” in his life, but he has never had a legitimate capital-H Haircut. This summer his hair got a little long and shaggy, which we thought was cool, except that he had a very important gig as a ring bearer and I wasn’t ok with him walking down
Tom recently had to replace one of the poles for our clothesline, and after the project we had a wheelbarrow full of dirt and gravel in our back yard. And. Well, my kids would sleep out here if I’d let them. David asked me if he could put water in the mud. This kid just
The other night I snuck into Mary Virginia’s room and put a half an onion under her crib. I didn’t tell Tom because I knew he’d think I was crazy. And, ok, I thought it was a little crazy, too. It’s just that she’s been fussy and pulling on her ears and, by now, all
I have so many questions about the idyllic 1950s housewife. Is the Betty Draper housewife a myth? Or when husbands came home from work, did their wives really greet them at the door with a kiss wearing heels and lipstick? And then did they all sit down to dinner in their tidy home, with their
Last Wednesday I mostly slept through the night. I woke up completely hung over from all that sleep, but not at all refreshed. Turns out, one night of sleep does not make up waking up at least twice a night for nearly twelve months and the occasional night of nearly no sleep at all. (Starting