Stir Crazy

We’re home now but the weather today reminds me of the first two and a half days of last week’s beach vacation, rainy and cold. Much too cool and windy outside for the two and six month olds, just cold enough to drain the excitement from the toddlers in the first five minutes, and no …

Stubborn Refusal

“I’m sorry. I completely forgot.” My daughter waited for me to return to the room where she was nursing the baby. I walked across the house to put away a few stray items and became distracted by several things at once. Half an hour later, she emerged, baby in her arms, searching for me and …

Caught Off Guard

“We won’t melt,” I said to my daughter as the sprinkling rain came. The overcast sky had been threatening all day but we’d finally pulled our chairs outside along with the sand box and the water table. Thomas’s front was already soaked from play so we sat, half an hour or more, in the drizzle, …

How Full Are You?

“You’ll never finish that!” My brother in law’s words sounded like a challenge. I was trying a new pizza and though it was personal sized, it was loaded. The toppings were piled higher than the crust and by the first bite, I knew I wouldn’t be taking any home. Loaded with veggies and spiced with …

Corners First

Normally I wash and dry the bed linens and they go immediately back on the beds, but this week, with temperatures suddenly in the eighties, the flannel sheets had to go. Folding the king sized sheet set to put away means tackling the fitted sheet, corners first. Once you get the corners right, tucking the …

Exclamation Mark!

https://videopress.com/v/JJCADgtT?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true “Poppy, I’m coming!” Thomas hollered in what he calls his Poppy yell. When his family spends the night over, it’s what motivates him to transition from bath time to bedtime without a fuss. Once he’s said goodnight to his mom and dad and baby brother, Timothy, he starts across the house to Poppy’s room. …

Really, Not Really

“I’m going to jump in the shower,” I told my daughter last night. Quick as a flash, Thomas quipped, “Not really jump, Lolly!” The quirky smile on his two and a half year old face proves that he has his Poppy’s wit already. Maybe he gets it from his mom and dad, but who’s to …