Pin the Tail on the Door
I had a conversation with Taylor on Wednesday night about Mack. (You know – our beloved lab mix who is sometimes on Prozac.) “He’s getting old, babe. He just doesn’t keep up like he used to. He’s always kinda just in my way and doesn’t hear as well as he used to.” I mean he is technically 56 years old…so…he’s pretty ancient. JUST KIDDING, MOM. Anyway. Had this conversation Wednesday night. The next afternoon as we were doing the leave-the-house/”WHERE ARE YOUR SHOES”/”IF YOU DON’T PUT THAT TOY DOWN RIGHT THIS SECOND” shuffle to meet some friends at the park, I began making my rounds to shut all the doors…
Amerrrrica, Amerrrrica
We went to the pediatrician the other day for our bi-weekly visit. (If you ever want to prepare for having small children, spend 80% of your time either being sick or taking care of sick people.) The doctor walked in the room, sat down, and started asking what was going on with Hutton. Doc: So he’s been sick. Ok. How high has his fever bee – wait – *studies her notes* Is this a typo or is that really how much he weighs?“ Me: Uh…yea. Almost 19 pounds? That’s how much he weighs. Doc: Wow. This is the weight they just took? Just a second ago? Me: Yes. Doc: Wow.…
So Many Feels, So Little Words
Every time I sit down to blog, I am at a loss. I have a lot of feels these days and can’t land on one to talk about. I have the happy feels because Beckett is stinkin hilarious these days, like tonight when he waited for upwards of 5 minutes inside a closed box on the front porch for the mailman to “ship him somewhere”. And happy feels that I have a 5 month old linebacker punkin who is made of steel and gummy smiles. And that this handsome fella is our gentle, sneaky-funny main man. Lots of joy. But I also have a serious case of the exhausted feels.…
Pre-Planned Encouragement
My new go-to phrase when meeting someone with both kids in tow is “We’re comin in hot.” I often use it as a warning, like, “Yes, we’re almost to your house but both kids are screaming bloody murder and I have to pee immediately upon entering your home.” A few weeks ago, we “came in hot” to Bath & Body Works. It dawned on me that it was the last day of preschool and I hadn’t done anything for Beckett’s teachers. Despite my better judgment, I unloaded both kids into a store with thousands upon thousands of brightly colored toddler magnets. We were only in the store for about 5…
Even When I’m Tired
I spent the past week and a half visiting my parents, partly so Beckett could ringbear the heck out of Miss Taylor Brooks’ wedding (yes, two Taylor Brooks. It’s been awesomely confusing over the years.) … (My apologies to the families of those who perished after viewing the photo of that breathtaking gentleman above.) …but also so I could have a mom break. Regroup, if you will. I’m finding that the more tiny humans that enter our house, the more self-focused our life becomes. Not out of selfish desires, but rather out of necessity. At any given moment, one of two small children need me. They can’t eat, potty, bathe,…
Hutt the Gentle Giant
I made Taylor come home from work early the other day because I couldn’t deal. My eyes were being crazy and bloodshotty again, Hutton was extra screamy for some reason (possibly because I tried to sneak dairy into my diet – as if his digestive system wouldn’t notice – in the form of not 1, not 2, but 3…fine 4…break-n-bake cookie dough squares), Beckett wanted to play “where’d the (pretend) fire go NOW?” 837 times, and I literally could NOT keep my eyes open. I fell asleep on the couch, at the table during breakfast, putting out fake fires…I had sudden onset narcolepsy. Honestly, I thought I had sudden onset…
Changing my Answer
This is a post I wrote recently for our church’s upcoming Renew Weekend, a weekend set aside to support organizations that fight injustice and hunger and loneliness. So why am I sharing it here? Because I love my church, I believe in Renew Weekend, and I want you to join the rebellion in your own city. And also because my child continues to amaze (and humble) me so I look for any and all opportunity to talk about him. My husband and I went to a benefit dinner last week for an organization fighting human trafficking. As I was getting ready, our almost-3-year-old boy came in the bathroom. “Where are…
Play-Doh Therapy
RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) is the gift that keeps on giving, apparently. My boys contracted it several weeks ago which is old news…except it’s the fun kind of virus where just when you think it’s gone, it morphs into something else. It’s been a vicious cycle of grossness ’round these parts, which is why I rocked my Warby Parker glasses recently. This is a conversation I had with my eye doctor during my emergency appointment, compliments of “broken eyeballs” (the words I actually used to describe the reason for my visit…because I’m 12): Doctor: Wow, yea. Your eyes are super red. Me: (Drr. That’s why I’m here.) Doctor: Have your…
Turning Over a New {Palm} Leaf
At lunch with my dear friend Amanda today, I had to choose between wiping poop off my forearm or vomit out of my hair first after a dual eruption from the wee one. Just livin’ the life, you guys. Livin’ the life. Really though, I’ve already hit rock bottom this week, so I’m hardly even phased by such a decision. Airborne Acer Probably the hardest part about having multiple kids so far is getting them ready and in the car, along with all 5,564 of their “essentials”. Step 1 is getting Hutton strapped into the infant carrier. He screams from the time the buckles snap to about 5 minutes into…
Living the Moments
This post was originally written for my friends over at thirtyone17. Their site is a charming, fabulous, unfiltered take on being a modern day Proverbs 31 woman. I wanted to share this post here as well, because the response it generated tells me I’m not the only one who struggles with what I shared, BUT I only repost it under the assumption you’ll read this and then immediately head over to their super awesome site. Capeesh?! (Or “capiche” if you’re fancy.) Name the last 5 Instagram photos you saw on your news feed, in order, without cheating. Can’t do it? Me either, even though I liked pretty much all of…
