Shortly after I lost my mom, I ran into a neighbor who told me her father had passed 8 years ago. She said she didn’t like acknowledging how long he’d been gone because it made her feel even farther away from him. I sense that now. I think we cling so tightly in the first …
Dear Skylar, Today you turn two. In the months before you were born, we found out we were having a GIRL. I cried. For some reason your daddy and I were confident we were going to have a boy first. We were shocked, but not let down in the least. I cried because I knew …
I’ve read my fair share of parenting books at this point. Many of them defend those so-called “terrible twos” saying they really can be terrific twos! And I remember reading their words when Skylar was an angelic 14-month-old and nodding my head, thinking “Yep, that’s gonna be my girl”. But Skylar’s 2nd birthday is in …
I grew up worshipping my mom. I loved her handwriting, her nurturing voice, her enthusiastic responses to tiny victories in my life. When I succeeded in the pool, no one was more excited than my mom. She used to come into my room in the mornings and wake me up by rubbing my back and …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …