My sister-in-law gifted me the beautiful (aesthetically and prose-wise) book “GraceLaced” by Ruth Chou Simons for my birthday. Ruth is a mama to six boys, the youngest of whom is 3. She is a talented watercolor artist and writer. And she’s a mom to – I’ll say it again – SIX BOYS. As I leaf …
I turned 31 yesterday. I didn’t weep or ponder my wrinkles or dwell on the fact that I’m a decade over 21 and no longer get carded (though I have complained about that lately). What does this 31-year-old have to grumble about?! I have a happy, healthy toddler, a caring, hunky husband, two families (the …
What do you get when you combine two of my childhood nicknames: Tootsie and Bird? One evening, as the Chandler family gathered around the dinner table, my dad combined them. “What do you think about that, Turd?” The whole family died laughing. My father had called his only daughter, the 9-year-old princess, a turd. And …
How many micro conversations do we have in a week? Not every chat can be epic and deep and cathartic, but how often are our conversations the complete opposite? Short, shallow and suppressive. There are definitely people who have more of a need to express themselves through words (sup. That’s me.), and those who process …
I cannot write while simultaneously making sure Skylar doesn’t stick her finger into an electrical outlet. However, I can listen to podcasts and keep Skylar alive at the same time. I’ve listened to everything from TED talks to the “Love and Relationships” podcast to various mom podcasts. I like efficiency. I like quality. In the midst of some mundane …
I started this sometime in July (Sky was 8 months): We lowered Skylar’s crib today. There are three levels. We started our girl on level one and Matt was wanting to skip down to level three today. I instantly said, “No way!” Not because it wouldn’t make sense to move it all the way down and not …
Carley was intimidating on paper. She was part of the studly class of swimmers I came in with at the University of Arizona. I thoroughly stalked each of my fellow incoming freshman. I remember my dad getting in on the excitement– “This girl from Colorado is top 16 in every event!” Top 16 in the …
It seems like every time I hop on social media one of my peers is announcing their pregnancy. We’re moving out of wedding season and into baby season. So this one goes out to all of the moms-to-be.***Disclaimer: I’m no pro, but there are a few things I wish I’d known before my daughter made …
No, I didn’t throw a half birthday party for my Sugar Plum Princess, but she did wear a dress and a headband for perhaps the second time in her life. Solid effort, Mom! She doesn’t seem to mind headbands, so I might start throwing them around that noggin more often so people stop calling her …
My mom underwent a routine hysterectomy on October 18, 2016. As far as I knew, it went well. Skylar’s due date was November 25, but I knew that was way off, so I told my folks to plan on driving westward around November 20. But Sky came into the world like a freight train on Wednesday, November …