Ezra is one of those rare and wonderful children, at least in my experience, who can still nap after age one without ruining bedtime. He enjoys his nap time and will tell you when he’s ready for bed. He points to his room and says bye bye to everyone. Even at my house, we have …
Covered In Dust
I turned my face away as the wind gusted dust from the unusually dry red clay upward. The little rain we’ve had this fall has been quickly dried by sun and wind. Ground that was saturated in spring and early summer is now parched. We have been waiting for October to plant grass across the …
Temporary Shelters
A blanket fort still stands in my bonus room turned playroom. I am amazed it has lasted this long with four very active under fives coming and going but the weather has been quite nice lately so we have spent much of our time together outdoors. It only took a few throw pillows, a quilt, …
Conflicting Thoughts
It all started with hearing mom say no to baby and then watching as that precious little soul reflexively did the very thing, whatever it was, that he was instructed not to do. Maybe he looked up and grinned and it became a game. Perhaps she ran full tilt in the opposite direction, all the …
Hard Hearted
I asked Amelia to choose two apples from the crisper drawer. She wanted to help make apple cinnamon pancakes and she had already pulled her stool up to the kitchen counter. She turned to open the refrigerator and stopped. “Ezra can’t help,” she started. Then grinning slyly, she continued, “Tell me I’m gonna be last.” …
Suppressing Truth
If you’ve ever had a standoff with a toddler then you know just how deep your humanity runs. It doesn’t take very many days for a newborn to effectively communicate displeasure and by age three or sooner, self will surfaces with a vengeance. No! Followed by foot stomping and back talking is just the beginning. …
Coming To An End
“Do we get to have another sleepover?” Amelia asked as I tugged her pajama shirt over her head. “For sure, we will have lots more sleepovers!” I replied, misunderstanding her question. The kids and I had packed up what probably looked like half of what we own to bring the cousins to Great Wolf Lodge …
Reason To Celebrate
“Amelia learned to spell her name,” Valentina confided, proudly, as I hoisted Ezra onto my hip and took Amelia by the hand and headed to the Lolly bus. “We’ve been practicing in the car,” she continued. “I only spelled it two times for her before she could say it by herself. Tell Lolly.” We’ve learned …
Mutually Encouraged
My daughter and I know better. When she visits and her boys are in bed, we should not be far behind them. She needs more sleep than she tends to get and so do I. I am able to buy her a little time in the mornings, but her boys will be up with first …
Don’t You Care?
“How is it Tuesday already?” I wondered, not for the first time. I am keenly aware that we all share the same twenty-four hour days rotating around the sun but some days and weeks, some seasons just feel different. Sometimes time seems to stand still and then it flies warp speed ahead. When sharing a …
A Fitting Reply 