I call this photo: “The Calm Before I Lost My Cool” It was March, 2017. A simple doctor appointment for plantar warts. He wouldn’t let the doctor look at the warts; kept hiding his foot, kept pulling away. After about 15 minutes of this little dance, I could see that the doctor had other patients to get to […]
our big, boring family
“Mom, I’m bored.” I’ve been a parent for the past 26 years, and I swear if I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that sentence come out of my kids’ mouths I could probably fund a trip to Hawaii for our entire family. (okay, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but I have heard it […]
the reluctant purger
We have been preparing our upstairs for new carpeting. What a chore! Everything must come out of the closets, out from under the beds, and out of the dressers so that the installers will have an easier time moving the heavy furniture. Everything must go into boxes, packed away and labeled by room, as if we […]
the beauty of life and dead caterpillars
The other morning Afton was in town due to a dentist appointment. She has been super busy with work and school so she hadn’t been “home” in a quite some time. It was good to have her home, if only for a few hours. Before she had to leave to go back to college, I suggested we […]
the good mommy moments
Good mommy moments and bad mommy moments. As mothers, we have our share of both every single day, yet we seem to mention our bad mommy moments way more than we mention the good ones. Why is that? Why do we put more focus on the bad mommy moments? Is it because we are too hard on ourselves? Or […]
tips on making park visits more enjoyable for the kids AND you!
Playing at a park has got to be one of the best things about being a kid. The sand, the swings, the slides -so much fun. But for us parents? Not so much. So today I’m going to share with you some ways that I make our park adventures fun for the kids and for me. Visit […]
my three year old
So Aiden is now three and a half years old. The time is seriously flying by with this little guy. He’s growing up, and quickly. And in case you are wondering, no we still have not cut his hair. I think we have gone past the time where a haircut would go easily with him, […]
the field trip
My kids have this thing that they do. Whenever someone leaves our house after visiting, or even sometimes when I leave the house to go somewhere, they will run on the sidewalk alongside the car and “race” the car to the top of our street. The person in the car will drive slow at first, […]
my first 5k run
Recently I ran in a 5k race. It was my first 5K. Running (as exercise) has always been on my “list-of-things-to-do”. I have this long list going (my “list-of-things-to-do” which some call a bucket list) and since I’m almost 45 years old (how did that happen?) I figure I better start getting some of these […]
Nine Months!
So this is my sweet baby boy at nine months old. His new thing: chomping down on the spoon when we feed him. He thinks he’s so clever! Grrrrr!! I pity the fool who tries to take this spoon from my mouth! He’s been a busy boy. Lots of new things going on with […]
Old Maid
My Kindergartener gets out of school each day two hours before her siblings do. During that time she eats lunch, plays with the baby for a few, and then it’s all about “Mommy, will you play with me?” Today she wanted to play Old Maid. I told her that Old Maid is best played with […]
SOMETIMES YOU JUST GOTTA JUMP
Our boys’ room is getting a make-over. This has been a plan of ours for a long time, and now it’s finally happening. The boys are excited! And so am I. Because the new boys’ room will be very cool. New beds are being built — yes, BUILT. What we are doing will look something […]
let’s talk diapers
Aiden is now three and a half months old. Being that he’s our tenth, you could say that I’m pretty well versed with mothering an infant…. To me, infants are the easiest stage in a child’s developmental years. They sleep a lot. They aren’t very mobile yet, so for the most part you can put […]
Wednesday Walk Day
We are near the end of our second week of school and I will say that things are going great so far. A few things I am enjoying… Driving Alex to school at 6:45am. He starts school an hour earlier than everyone else, and for that short ride to school it’s just me and him […]
She’s Leaving Home
Well, the day finally came. I thought I was mentally and emotionally prepared for it. But I wasn’t. We dropped her off at her college, and I bawled like a baby. I don’t know, maybe it’s the pregnancy/baby hormones still going through my system or something because I’m normally not so emotional…but Afton’s moving out […]
I have help
When people learn that I have so many children, one of the things that I get asked is: Do you have help? And by “help” they are referring to a nanny, or a house cleaner, or some kind of outside service that could assist me with everything that I have going on each day. And I […]
the next time daddy is home
This was Aiden’s first time at the beach! It’s not like he played in the sand or touched the water or anything, but hey, he was THERE. And it counts! As soon as we get to the beach, my husband always digs the kids a huge pit to play in. He usually makes it so the […]
IF THE HELMET FITS
For the past 21 years I have been married to a fire fighter. Yes, the same one…for those of you who might be wondering! During his career my husband has saved lives and helped many people. He has revived heart attack victims. He has pulled toddlers out of swimming pools. He has pried […]
life resumed…
Rich went back to work after having a month off. Having my husband home 24/7 for a month straight was a treat that I am not used to. I didn’t have to wake up early in the mornings; he handled breakfast for the kids. I didn’t have to get in and out of the car […]
39 weeks and counting….
And just when you thought I’ve fallen off the face of the earth… Here I am!! And I still have my big belly, bursting at the seams. I’m 39 weeks along now – so exciting! Okay, so I’m still pregnant and getting bigger by the day. I’m 39 weeks now. Just one more week until […]