That One With the Adorable (Killer) Bunnies
Once upon a time, my friend gave me a title for my future autobiography. It is perfect. It is, simply, “Phone Calls to My Husband”. The calls I’ve made to him over the years are nothing short of spectacular. These are actual sentences I’ve said over the airwaves: “Hey, so…I accidentally cut off our dog’s tail and the duct tape isn’t holding the tube sock bandage.” “I’ll be late because I have to stop by a random lady’s house to pick up a craft Beckett lost in a parking lot that she posted about on Facebook.” “The doctor said my neck is fine but I have a bird poop in my lung.”…
Oooklahoma, Where the Wi…ldlife Comes Shopping at Walmart
Up until this point in parenting, we’ve avoided most Fun Places. We’re firm believers that even the most magical place on earth isn’t magical with a toddler. But now? Now our kids are slightly older and definitely more fun. Now with 7, 5, and 3 year olds who don’t immediately run into oncoming traffic and are mostly fine without a nap…now we adventure. Like this weekend. I knew Taylor would be working a lot, so I decided at about 10am on Friday to take a miniature road trip with the fellas. A quick Google search led me to an exotic animal park a few hours away and an Airbnb on a farm a…
“You Should Really Know What You’re Doing Next Time”: A How-Not-To Guide to Adventuring
I’m not a planner. It’s both a blessing and a curse. Blessing, because I’m always flexible. I just get an idea and do it. Right then. Curse, because Taylor isn’t a planner either, so we infuriate everyone trying to plan around us. It wasn’t until this week I realized that “everyone” also includes our firstborn. It’s Spring Break here in Texas and – shocker – we didn’t plan anything ahead of time, so 4 days ago I decided we’d go on adventures around the city each day. Sunday we adventured into Petco where we accidentally bought a hamster. Beckett thought we’d have a better shot of Taylor being okay with our impulse purchase if we…
His name is Frank(s).
We have this dream for our children – one that was birthed out of a trip to the state fair last year. After winning a carnival game of what can only be described as Kid Beer Pong, we walked away with our first pet goldfish. Not just one, actually. When the nice, bearded game lady took one look at our crew and their excitement over winning a single fish, she leaned over and whispered conspiratorially, “Tell ya what. Imma give you boys 4 fish, seein’ as there’s 3 of ya. Whaddya think, parents? Sound good?” After a moment’s hesitation, we agreed and left with 4 new pets (for our 3 boys). Their names, in order, were Happy, Buddy, Goldy, and Frank.…
Turkey and Grave…y
“We have a situation.” my mom whispered, 30 minutes after we’d arrived at my grandpa’s house in rural Arkansas for Thanksgiving. “What do you mean, ‘situation’?” I asked. “Sam is dying. And we can’t find him.” she answered. It took me a minute to process what she was saying, partly because it didn’t make sense; mostly because it was late and I was a little preoccupied trying to clean the toddler’s clothes and car seat from where he vomited during the road trip after eating 2 pounds of gas station gummy worms and Taco Bell, in that order. “Sam is dying…and he’s missing.” I repeated. “Correct.” she confirmed. Sam, of course, was my Papa’s ancient hunting…
The Little Craft that Could
“What are the positives of social media?” is a question I’m asked fairly regularly by parents and teachers alike. To be honest, I don’t have an overwhelming amount of answers. But. A miracle happened to our family yesterday that simply would not have happened in a pre-internet age. Gather ’round, everyone. This is the tale of The Little Craft that Could. At lunch with a friend yesterday, I got a text from another first grade mom friend. “Is this Beckett??” she asked. As I zoomed in to the picture she’d attached, I saw a screenshot of a random Facebook post. “DO YOU KNOW BECKETT’S FAMILY???” the post started. “I’ve been searching for this boy’s family since Friday.…
The Importance of Asking…Twice
This post was originally written for my friends at Teen Life. If you’ve spent more than 3 minutes with me this year, you’ve heard me gush about the teen support groups I get to facilitate through this organization. The curriculum we use is very straightforward and highly effective, the students are amazing, the time commitment is totally manageable…long story short, this non-profit is near and dear to my heart. If you want to learn more or find out how you can get involved, check ’em out at www.teenlife.ngo. ——— I had a mild panic attack the morning I was set to lead my first Teen Life group. When I started looking over lesson one, I…
If By “Toilet” You Mean…
Before we begin, if you are underwhelmed by potty humor, you might want to move along. If, however, you are the parent of a small child – especially of the male gender – welcome. This is a safe place. Solidarity, my friend. So… I’ve been under the assumption my three year old is potty trained. I have believed for the past few months that he was taking himself to the bathroom when he needed to go potty. Now that I know the truth, I long for the days of naiveté. Ignorance is bliss, isn’t it? I caught him a few days ago with his underwear around his ankles and a…
Grace, even for the Embers
I don’t know about you, but nobody can beat me up worse than I can. I am my own worst bully because I fail miserably, often. Don’t we all? Even people you think would be exempt from failure aren’t, because human. Mother Teresa, the Pope, Mr. Rogers…Jesus’ own disciples. Let’s talk about those guys for a minute. Honestly, if anyone should have it figured out, it should be them. The ones who walked beside Jesus, followed in his footsteps, saw all the miracles he performed, witnessed firsthand the overwhelming reckless love of God we sing about today…if anyone should be failure-free, it’s these guys. But, no. No one is exempt. And so it was in John…
To All the Young Moms Whom the Internet Has Failed
It starts so innocently. What begins as a single search for a specific purpose – a recipe using overripe bananas, a solution for toy organization, a printable for fall decor – ends in a 3 hour internet binge. Instead of a recipe, solution, or printable, I find myself with 14 new home improvement projects, 3 new at-home workouts, and 12 easy steps to raising genius children overnight. It’s a hard thing, navigating life in the digital age. It’s not just hard for teenagers, it’s hard for women and men and moms and teachers and spouses and humans. All the expectations. All the opinions, all the comparison, all the “could be”s and “should be”s and “why aren’t you”s that make it…
