Thomas was standing on the pool stairs, bending his head backwards into the water. When he stood straight, his hair was all slicked back. His curls, when wet, reach his shoulders, and his hair is so blonde on top it almost looked like he was bald with a mullet. “You guys, look how funny Thomas’s
Thomas walks up to me, gives me a big hug and says, “This is the best mommy ever!” I lean down, hugging him back, “Thomas! You think I’m the best mommy ever? Thank you!” Thomas pulls away, confused, “No, Mommy, my TIGER is the best mommy ever.”
Mary Virginia, talking to herself while playing with a mound of freshly-picked Azalea blossoms: “Flowers are so wonderful! They tell us, ‘God is good! God is great! God loves us! … They’re also nice for weddings!”
Recently Thomas hit some sort of verbal milestone. He’s been talking in sentences for a while, but now he’s putting together real sentences, not baby sentences. For example, instead of saying “I go OUSSIDE!” Now he says, “Mommy! I want to go outside!” Since he’s our third child, phrases like, “She did it on PURPOSE”
One day over lunch Mary Virginia and I were talking about how things were when I was a kid. I explained that we only had one phone and it was attached to the wall so we couldn’t take it into the yard or in the car. And the only thing it did was make phone calls. It
On our second snow day last week, the boys went outside. Since it was too cold for Anna, I stayed inside. Since I stayed inside, Mary Virginia stayed inside where she could maintain at least one point of contact with me. The boys were running around, criss-crossing the yard and going into our playhouse, so
If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to have four kids ages six and under, this is exactly what it’s like: Don’t touch the baby. Leave the baby alone. Give her some space. Back up. Let her sleep. You can hold her in a minute. She’s eating right now. Don’t touch her eyes. Don’t touch her
I lose Thomas a lot. Like, in my house. It’s not because we live inside of a TJ Maxx, it’s because Thomas is a lot faster, quieter, and more creative than me. This has been happening since he was very young, but now that he’s older and can work our doors I get more worried if
Whether it’s dolls or stuffed animals, Mary Virginia is always very, very busy arranging and preparing things. Her hands are always full, she is always rushing to pack her purse and runs out the door with it swinging against her shoulder. One day as she was struggling to multitask, she handed me a doll and
When I try a new snack with my kids, I’ve learned to expect anything. They have rejected all things sweet, savory, salty, crispy, and crunchy. Recently Mary Virginia stuck a dagger directly into my heart when she told me that she doesn’t like Cheetos anymore because they’re “too juicy.” Recently I made these, hoping they’d