The kids have this writing curriculum at their school in which every year begins with "small moments". As a writer I get this: the moment begets the scene, which begets the idea, which begets the plot and so on. (I love this about their school.) If the blog died a quiet death in 2017 it wasn't for lack of small moments. It was because those moments weren't mine. The year belonged to other people. Other people's battles. Other people's pain. Other people's triumphs. The false starts and the great, big, smiling, deep, breaths. I was a bystander, and a support system. I ... [READ MORE]
Recipe Roundup No. 12: Monday Musing
March 20, 2017 by 1 Comment
The clouds rolled back in with a vengeance yesterday afternoon. The kids and I were caught unawares, having been at a gymnastics birthday party that worked everyone into a sweat, but we emerged from the ritual pizza-and-cake to find that our spring temperatures had dropped and our t-shirts weren't going to cut it. I have a good spot here on my living room couch on Mondays. Through the sliding door next to me, the deck looks bright and pretty despite a gray sky (and windows that need a cleaning if this rain EVER STOPS), the bridge soars above the choppy Bay waters, and through the rails of ... [READ MORE]
Hello, Again
January 6, 2017 by 1 Comment
Further evidence of my incredible photography skills. The sun was shining straight into the Tahoe house and the kids were watching Home Alone 2, and I was finally (finally) revisiting the blog. I was going to write about how being a parent of small children sometimes just doesn't offer many chances for reflection. And just when I was typing that, my children decided they were bored and wrestled one another off the couch, so I stopped reflecting in order to keep the peace and set up a craft station. If that's not life in a nutshell half the time, I don't know what is. Part of the problem ... [READ MORE]
Stripped Down
July 14, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The long-timers know that back in the day I used to write a column for my girl Jess at Nest Studio called Stylin' Mamma, where I'd put together an outfit based on stuff going on in my fascinating, glamorous life as an inexpert mom-of-two-children under-ten/part-time philanthropy consultant. (I know. Don't be jealous.) I would sometimes link back to LotF and sometimes not; I generally thought of this blog and that blog as two separate pursuits. However, I recently decided that writing is writing, and I might as well start writing all in one spot. Also: I spend an (unjustifiably) ... [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]
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]
Blank Slate
January 9, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Sometime around 10am on Christmas morning, long (long) after all the wrapping had been demolished and LittleMan was on to Lego Number 5, Babygirl started to do that thing that she does when she wants to "make". Girlfriend loves to get her make on. She loves to make cupcakes and make lunches with mommy and make hard-boiled eggs and -- picture hand-on-hips here -- "make something, like, with glue...and paint...and glitter..." Anyone who has made a habit of reading this blog (and, frankly, anyone who ever met me) is aware that crafts are not generally my jam. DIY has always been ... [READ MORE]
