I want to tell you a story about perhaps the most frightening parenting moment of my life and the bravest kid I know. We went to a horse farm for a field trip last week. The farm was tidy and organized and smelled of hay and dirt and horse manure and sky and life and [...]
We have those weeks at our house. Like everyone else I assume. Weeks where the grocery budget has been spent and we end up eating tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches (at an estimated cost of less than 80 cents per family member) or tuna casserole (a throwback from the quick, easy, low cost dishes [...]
Today. It’s the first day of the 2010-2011 school year here at our home. And this year the School of Keigley has a record number of students. Three. A second grader. A first grader. And a kindergarten student. (Not to mention that we also manage and maintain a very elite preschool and a rather crème [...]
It’s a long walk (especially if your legs are only about two feet tall). And carrying your baby brother only adds to the heavy load. But the hike is always worth the effort when we reach the top and stand in front of one my favorite local spots. Connemara. The home of poet and writer [...]
Over the course of today I had the following series of conversations with my son Bergen. (He’s five, you know.) At The Breakfast Table. We sang a song we like to sing every morning after we eat breakfast. (It’s a song I was reminded of many months ago by my sweet friend Rachael.) And it’s [...]
At the end of this school year it seems that London’s reading skills have finally taken off. She reads everything. All the time. Beckett wore a shirt that had an arrow and said “He did it”. London cracked up and whispered to me, “Mom, I think Beck’s shirt is perfect because it says he did [...]
Dear My Children, I can’t or I won’t pay the full cost of your first car. Your father and I probably won’t be footing the bill for your entire college education. The latest fashions at Abercrombie (or fill-in-blank-overpriced-popular-store-at-your-appropriate-age) won’t be paid for out of my debit card. I might not be able to afford one [...]
And while I’m talking about the river. (DuPont State Forest – in the mountains of North Carolina. Worth the drive.) Here’s what we like about rivers, streams, creeks and flowing water in general. Wilder’s first ever experience walking in a stream. He liked it. He showed no fear. And he showed no concept of [...]
They are right. Those cliche writers are right. Those real estate gurus know what they are talking about. It’s all about location, location, location. Today I served my kids a hodge podge, mostly boring though basically nutritious, type of lunch. But here’s the thing. They loved it. They devoured it. They thanked me for my [...]
It’s true around here. Summer time . . . and the livin’ is easy. A little too easy, actually. A lot too easy in fact. Remember our schedule? I think I forgot that it served a purpose. A really good purpose. I am okay with summer. I like it, in fact. A big fan, really. [...]
This photo is bad. Just too much sun, bad timing. All that. But even its awfulness, I think it’s pretty cute. Because it still reveals a certain aspect of my kids. And isn’t life like that? Real. Funny in its irony. Joy in the failures. It’s what my life really looks like some days every [...]
This weekend I took Bergen, Mosely and London to a community theatre’s production of Oliver. (It’s from my favorite Charles Dickens’ novel and I only just read it for the first time last year. How did I receive an English degree without reading that novel, Cumberland College? How?) I love community theatre. I miss [...]
You’ve already read about the routine. You know we eat scrambled eggs every Wednesday morning and that on Fridays we bake together. Pretty soon any number of you could run my household – more smoothly and efficiently than I myself can. (Ahhh, Master Plan is progressing nicely. Cue sinister soundtrack.) During my few years [...]