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 [...]
Last year was our first ever Tybee visit. And we fell in love. So this summer we steered the Suburban (or “suh-burr-ven” as Piper calls it) southeast to see if, in fact, our family and Tybee were still a great fit. This year’s house was actually not that far from last year’s house. We stopped [...]
Last week we were at Tybee Island. This week we are not. (Although the eight pounds of sand piled on the laundry room floor makes me think perhaps we are.) Please allow me to list a few things I learned while on vacation. Last week I learned that limited internet access can be a good [...]
There are a lot of things I love about where we live. You know. Pisgah’s beautiful forest. My sort-of-because-my-cousin-Sherry-once-explained-it-to-me relative Carl Sandburg’s house. Hendersonville. (What can I say? Its streets likes my feets!) Downtown Greenville. The vast and varied assortment of fellow homeschoolers. Incredible local theatre in every direction. Target is so much closer here [...]
Goodbye Beth. Drive safely back to Kentucky. I will miss chatting with you this week, flopping on the sofa after the kids were finally in bed and watching DC Cupcakes and some show about Gene Simmons that was surprisingly entertaining, scooting around town seeing cool stuff and swimming (or standing) in the lake with our [...]
Today. Not everything on our list was accomplished. Tears were shed when someone’s head was sat upon and when someone’s neck was poked too hard by a plastic dragon and when someone felt sad that someone’s sister’s neck was injured by someone’s prized dragon and when bedtime arrived earlier than it seemed it should have. [...]
The summer season seems to be crashing to an end around here. Oh – the calendar still says August. The days are still sticky and hot. But the summer schedule is winding down. Camp ends this week. The School of Keigley will be back in session shortly. A beach trip is calling to us. (The [...]
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 [...]
Do you think when e.e. cummings penned the word mudluscious he was thinking about something a little like this? Could there be a day more puddle-wonderful Mr. Cummings?
I haven’t been home for a full week. Seven days. Seven nights. It’s July. And in our framily July means one thing. The annual July Fourth party. A tradition at least twenty years in the making. And – oh boy – will I have a lot of things to say about this past week. Here’s [...]
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 [...]