We have to hide half the magazines now that LittleMan can read. We bury the Time underneath the Highlights and the Lego Club and the Cooking Light. We quietly tuck the headlines -- about terror, about sex abuse, about disease -- into our gym bags and out-of-sight. I feel as though we exist on two intellectual planes: one, where we talk in hurried, whispered tones with other adults about the heartbreaking and incendiary news of the day, and another where we talk to our children and go swimming and see the Secret Life of Pets twice in one week, which lately feels like an exercise in ... [READ MORE]
The Only Grown-Up in the Room
July 11, 2016 by 1 Comment
Home. It's good to be home. Last week, after a glorious, extended July 4th weekend, I found myself standing in a hot, dry wind in the parking lot of an insurance office -- or possibly a bank, I'm honestly not sure -- in Travis, California. My heart was beating in my ears and every inch of me was sweating as I stared at our crumpled hatchback and (perhaps slightly hysterically) instructed the agitated children in the backseat to PLEASE AFTER EVERYTHING THAT HAS HAPPENED JUST STAY IN THE CAR. I was breathing hard, trying process all the thoughts and questions stacking up in my mind. In no ... [READ MORE]
Love…ish
July 8, 2016 by Leave a Comment
It is Saturday morning and I'm making Star Wars pancakes in the kitchen while the kids wait expectantly in their chairs. They both want Yoda, of course, but there is only one Yoda mold, meaning I have to do two batches before we can put food on the table lest I be accused of the heinous crime of serving one of my children before the other. (As an aside, do your kids like Star Wars? Have you seen these? I bought them on a whim four years ago, thinking the whole time, Ugh, I am such a sucker, this is such a frivolous splurge, but you know what? Roughly 200 Saturday mornings later and it's ... [READ MORE]
Being There
June 9, 2016 by 1 Comment
I'm feeling a little bit under-appreciated by my kids lately. Can I say that? Is that selfish? It's summer vacation, and unlike past years when I froze in the face of tackling childcare/camp/travel for twelve weeks, this year I stared it right in the face and planned -- if I do say so -- a pretty fah-bulous summer break for my kids, complete with Lego Camp for the kickoff, a camping weekend, and no fewer than 3.5 weeks in Tahoe including 4th of July fireworks. BAM. I am #winning at summer. Except that we are, oh, 4 days in, and my kids are not sharing the feeling. Instead of being ... [READ MORE]
Nature
June 3, 2016 by 1 Comment
LittleMan and I announced our arrival at Mother-Son Scout Weekend by nearly killing some people and damaging Boy Scout property. In a move that would elicit more than a few "Oh, that was YOU..." comments in the ensuing 24 hours, we (and by we I mean, ahem, A Scout is Helpful) lost control of the steel wagon we had used to haul our two bags up a bumpy hill from the fairgrounds to the campsite, sending it rocketing back down the hill, scattering 7-year-old boys and their already-kind-of-skeptical mothers in all directions before it hurtled into a creek bed about ten feet deep. As I ... [READ MORE]
Friday Recipe Roundup No. 3 (and on a Thursday!)
April 1, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Last Spring Break, back in 2015, I took it upon myself to spirit my kids to Tahoe, where it was very cold, but Babygirl insisted on walking around in goggles and a swimsuit because, Spring Break. The girl just felt it in her bones. It was quiet, and chill, and a whole lotta mom-and-kids crafting, and cooking, and Penguins of Madagascar, and Easer-egg dying, and of course Chutes and Ladders, and dressing Bitty Baby. This Spring Break, I am knee-deep in this professional proposition, which is really fun, and such a dynamic change of pace, and also...hard. We had an incredible Easter (like, ... [READ MORE]
Happy Moms Who Hate Clutter
March 8, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Every December (and yes, I know it's March...bear with me), I get a strange yearning to remodel my apartment completely. This is obviously very convenient timing for everyone, but especially for my husband, whose company policy dictates a furlough between Christmas and New Year, meaning that the days leading up to Christmas Eve are a mad dash to get things in line at work. Also to reupholster furniture, replace all the kitchen cupboard knobs, and build stuff at home. Have I mentioned that I love him? This year (meaning last year, I guess), I spontaneously decided that we needed to ... [READ MORE]
