MAS CHRISTMAS! (we had 4 to be exact…this is the 3rd, we’re almost there). Christmas with my Parents. Not sure what it was about this year but I went all susie-homemaker on the gifts for my family…thank you Pinterest. A giant ruler measuring-board for my sister-in-law. DIY tie pillows: Lion and an Octopus for two of my nieces. Dragon Tails for my nephew and...
Christmas at home means chasing each other in Santa hats. Candlelight service Christmas Eve. Staying up into the wee hours assembling gifts. And just all around pajama merriment. One benefit to being pint-sized is that your presents are sometimes bigger than you! Our sweet neighbors delivered the kids these candy-wrapped and very exciting bouncy ball presents. The kids could hardly get past their excitement...
2013. What a wild year it has been. These kids have grown and changed so much! Most notably, Whitney (3) had a big year with open heart surgery in March (successful full repair of a congenital heart defect), and then in August she started going to special preschool every weekday. She is delightful, affectionate, a little social butterfly, and loves copying her brother’s every move. When...
Earlier this year the New York Times published a compelling article about the importance of knowing and retelling the positive parts of your family’s story. Familiarity with both the beautiful moments and those when the family overcame challenges contribute to a person’s strong sense of connectedness. Each person has a place in the family, and there is strength in knowing you are a part...
In general, we don’t get out much. I am not the mom who takes her kids to the park or on walks every day. I’d like to be, but most environments are just not fun for very long with my two littles. I’ve been feeling like we’ve been growing out of some of the chaos and that the kids are starting to follow directions...
Most years since graduating college, a collection of Princeton friends have reunited at each other’s houses for a weekend to play, reminisce, and continue to be inspired by one another. This year the gathering was in Chicago. I love these reunions, but with a family of four seat-holders now, we weren’t sure we could swing the ticket prices this year. Rather than opt out...
I’m playing a lot of catch up from my Nomadic November…the nice part about it is stopping to rethink again how special it was to have these visits with family and friends. Before meeting up with Tyler and Whitney for an early Thanksgiving with our Phoenix Family, Dylan and I went on a Midwest tour: first to Chicago (post to come) and then to...
We got to gather with my in-loves last month. While there, we had the privilege of watching some of Uncle Jason’s Ironman Triathlon. Tyler went and took pictures throughout the whole event and we joined him for a few hours in the middle of the day. If you’ve never seen an Ironman let me tell you…it is amazing. First of all, it starts before...
Last year was the first year of Christmas Advent in which I ventured beyond tiny numbered doors hiding chocolates and did something a little more festive. I scrawled out ideas of special things big and small to do each day and wrapped notes or items that represented those things for Tyler (or in some cases myself) to open. The kids were still clueless about...
‘Tis the season for tradition! This is the first Halloween that either of the kids had any clue (and still, not much) of what’s going on. I have been loving ushering them into the world of pumpkin farms and crunching on fallen leaves. They may have been more interested in throwing straw and crawling around decorations than anything else. We pulled together a Mary...
Antics: foolish, outrageous, or amusing behavior. Lately…I’ve been witness (or victim) to: Opening the stall door in the public restroom during “mommy’s turn”. Climbing into the kitchen sink. Putting diapers and PJ’s on dolls and plush animals. Climbing in the bathtub fully clothed and turning the water on. Taking iPhone selfies of one’s forehead 20x in a row. Obsessions with replaying family videos...
Dylan Boy is TWO. This Little Dude came into the world on 10/14/11. At TWO he loves: climbing, jumping, shouting, dancing, singing, running music (profoundly Mary Poppins) FRUIT. anywhere. all the time. picking (and immediately eating) from the garden doing things on his own pulling up a chair to the counter to “help” buttons and switches building towers and “robots” with blocks recalling...