I was a chaperone for Mary’s class trip to the pumpkin patch this year. It was my first time chaperoning an elementary school field trip — in my kids’ school you have to express interest in chaperoning, and the teacher picks volunteers out of a hat. I was not selected to go to the zoo,
Thomas tripped, and when he put his hand out to catch himself his palm hit a rock. He walked to me, holding out his hand, crying, and I did what all moms do. I said, “Thomas, come here. Let Mommy kiss it.” I took his hand in mine and as I drew it to my
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
Have you ever played “Would you rather?” with your kids? It’s a great time. I can be fun and funny, or you can come up with things to really make them think. I remember once I asked the kids if you’d rather be hurt by a hit or a scratch, or have your feelings hurt.
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