Mary Virginia: Mommy, do you want to hear the song I made to help Thomas stop fussing? Me: SURE! Mary Virginia: Quack, quack, quack goes the little feather duck! [Thomas continues fussing] David: Um, Mary Virginia. I think you need to make the song longer. Mary Virginia: QUACK QUACK QUACK QUACK QUACK QUACK QUACK QUACK goes
I completely forget the circumstances that sent me there (which is maybe best?), but one day I was standing in the kitchen, shoving pretzels in my mouth faster than I could chew. Mary Virginia: Mommy, why are you eating pretzels like that? Me: Well, Dear, It’s because you’re stressing me out. Mary Virginia: [starts laughing] But,
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
Mary Virginia likes to play house, and whenever she does, she assigns everyone a character. For example, last weekend she was playing house at the beach. She was the mommy, David was the daddy, Tom was the grandpa, and I was the mermaid statue. One morning before playing house we were ironing out the details: Mary
If you know Mary Virginia at all you know that she is very, very aware of her wardrobe. She prefers dresses. Skirts are ok. Pants are intolerable. She also loves anytime I wear a dress or a skirt, which actually isn’t very often. The first time she saw me in my bathrobe she exclaimed, “OH MOMMY! I
After breakfast, the kids were asking about our plans for the day… Me: Guys, I have a great idea! Let’s have a Mommy Day! Let’s just do all the things that Mommy does ALL DAY! So we’ll be cleaning and doing chores… David: Um, Mommy? If we just do what you do then we’d just
The other day I was playing with Mary Virginia, and I was just struck by how lovely and sweet she is and how thankful I am to be her mommy. So I told her, “Mary Virginia, did you know that I used to pray that God would give me a daughter? I prayed that God would put a baby
On our way to preschool we drive on a number of roads, several that are two-lane, most that have a 35 mph speed limit. None of that matters to David, who thinks our Toyota Sienna is racing in the Daytona 500. David: Mommy! Go faster! We’re losing! Can you pass that guy!? Can you race
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?
A few weeks ago I saw one of my neighbors, who doesn’t have kids, walk out her door, get in her car, and drive away. I watched her, completely amazed. Even more amazing, I thought, was the possibility that the idea had struck her just moments before, “Oh, I think I’ll make a quick trip to Starbucks!”