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Sleep sleep sleep. It’s the obsession of parents. If you have one child, maybe you got lucky and he’s a super sleeper. If you have two children, chances are that at least one is a crumbum sleeper. Or at least when they teethe. Or they grow. Or they are sensitive to their sheets, or the color of their walls, or the company that’s allowed with them in bed (me, AA, baby dolls, baby Jesus, baby bunny, NOT her brother’s bunny). If you have more than two, you’ve probably come up with a sleep system that works for your whole household and involves some kind of cry-it-through-I-can’t-deal-with-this-you-have-to-sleep-now when they reach a little bigger baby size. I keep this whole section on sleep, with articles like (from oldest…
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Our amazing 100 year old house has a library with built-in shelves. Yes, ample reading space & material (and yes, took this pic before the winter whereas now the windows are covered in sheets of ice. On the inside). But I end up always reading these: I was an English major. You know the kind in college. The annoying kind of wanted to talk about reading and what she was reading and what other people were reading and where the AWP conference was going to be held this year, and which writers groups she was a part of, and how she loved poetry! Oh gawsh, don’t you want to read my thesis that’s a creative writing manuscript?? Then I realized I either had to give…
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the kiddos, my mom, and my awesomest Tia Ali living it up on the lake It’s true. I’ve written about them before {Five Simple Steps to a Healthier You}. I’ve sworn I’ll drink that gallon of water that the internet is ablaze about that we’re supposed to be drinking per day (per DAY, not bathing in, drinking up). I’ve sworn I’ll not eat after 7pm. Not even Grand Ole Creamery Mac Daddy ice cream. And I’ve promised not to blog in my pajamas when my kids are busy destroying each other’s lego castles. But even so, even though I suck at New Year’s Resolutions, I’ve done them again. Come over to my monthly contribution to Rachel’s Day-2-Day Joys and read all about post holiday health recovery.…
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This is a common question when friends & family learned I’m expecting our third (boy!) and I’m (gasp!) only thirty years old. And the answer is quite simply: I don’t know! Grace over at Camp Patton wrote a great piece about number of kids, Lindsay over at My Child, I Love You wrote a great one about why most families have 2 kids, and my girlfriend Rachel wrote about fear of the larger family for Crisis Magazine. A little better reading for your minds! Most of my lawyer mama friends have one child, and maybe have two. Very few of them have families larger than three. It’s pretty impossible to juggle a career as an attorney, if both parents are working, and three children. I…
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Did you survive? We survived! But the real key is how am I going to survive without eating all the faux-Nut Goodie Bars my sister Bridget concocted that are peanut-free. Let’s just say I’m wolfing them down. I’m sure you have no food vices whatsoever around the holidays. The biggest delight was having a great priest friend come for our sit-down-formal-china dinner on Christmas Eve. He’s 85 and sharp as a whip. His voice is so dramatic and well modulated that you could listen to it forever. He happens to be one of SuperBoy’s favorite people in the universe as well. SweetPea did a lot of peeking from my shoulder and then burying her face every time he tried to talk to her. You know…
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It’s so simple. But I’ve got it. The secret to having your kid turn out great. I mean GREAT! Outstanding. His or her best self. It’s so simple I almost shouldn’t tell you and make you guess. I’ve arrived at this secret after hours and hours of analyzing parenting styles and habits. If I know you, you may have been part of my secret study. Sorry. And it’s pretty basic. And I’m sure I’m right. Ready? Pay attention to your child. Mind blown? Me too. Here’s why. The experts offer a million different styles and solutions to your child’s developmental and behavioral antics. But every single one’s suitability depends on who your child actually is. You can only make the appropriate determinations if you’ve been…
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