This photo is sweet, peaceful, and beautiful. It is my favorite photo of my son Owen while in the NICU, because he looks like a baby, not a baby bird. He isn’t in pain, or hungry, or lonely. He’s sleeping, like a newborn should. But the photo is misleading, too. You can’t tell how small he […]
How to make an advent calendar
November 16, 2012 by
I think I’ve said a few times here that I love creating traditions for my family and my kids. The Christmas season is like the candy store of kid traditions, the ultimate celebration of expectation and surprise. Kids need order and stability in their lives, which is probably why they love traditions so much. My younger son, especially, […]
Exactly what’s needed
November 12, 2012 by
Here’s when I feel best: When I’m home with my sons and they are happy to see the first snow, jumping up and down at the window, putting on their coats and boots over their pjs. When they come in cold and rosy, warming up their bellies with hot chocolate and pumpkin muffins. When I […]
How to make last-minute Halloween projects with kids
October 29, 2012 by
I like holidays and I’m always ready to dive in and make them fun for kids and thus, very involved for me. But Halloween was never my favorite. I thought Halloween decorations were either gross or silly and could not imagine why I’d spend any time or money on them. And then I had a […]
Afternoon at the pumpkin patch
October 22, 2012 by
It is one of our family traditions: an October afternoon at the pumpkin patch. In the car on the way to Afton Apple Orchard today, the boys were counting up how many times they’d been there: Owen figured nine times, Noah had seven (counting his kindergarten field trip a month ago, of which he is […]
Ah, brothers (volume 1)
October 10, 2012 by
I have boys. When I embarked on this motherhood project I didn’t really think one way or the other about how boys and girls were different or how I would parent them. Six years later I had two children of the male gender and have since learned to “get” boys. Fortunately, this is pretty easy. […]
The pursuit of happiness
October 4, 2012 by
So yesterday was not a very good day for me. Heart disease has forced its way back into my life. It is taking things I wanted. It is reminding me I’m not in control. Most days I can manage that. Some days I can’t. Yesterday was one of those can’t-manage days. My friend Kristen came […]
Just Like Me
October 2, 2012 by
I haven’t been around much for a few weeks, so I thought I’d share some of what is going on in my life. My brother, just 32, had a heart attack one year and two weeks after mine. Then three weeks later I found myself back in surgery getting a new stent. So heart disease […]