From the category archives:

The Little Things

To my Lily: I love you the most. You introduced me to the world of motherhood and made us a family. I love how genuinely kind and sweet you are. I love how you consider any alone time with me now a special date, even if we just go to the market. I love how nurturing and compassionate you are to animals and people, alike. I love watching you draw and the pride you take in your art. I love how you hug like you’re never going to let go. I love how thoughtful you are, always. I love your tan lines and the tiny birthmark on your cheek. I love hearing from teachers and neighbors how wonderful you are, even though I already know. I love talking to you on the phone, on the rare occasion when I’m not at home. I love reading the little notes you leave around the house and hearing you read to your brothers. You are my absolute favorite.

To my Ben: I love you the most. You were the sweetest baby in the world and I literally didn’t put you down for over a year. I love your exuberance and enthusiasm. I love how you wake up every morning in a fantastic mood, no matter how you went to bed the night before. I love how easy to please you can be. I love the smell of your neck and the color of your magic eyes, whether they are green, gray or blue that day. I love holding your hand and the face you make when you spot me at school. I love the way your voice gets really high when you’re excited and that you actually squeal with delight. I love that you “remember being born.” I love how much you worship your sister and the way you watch her when she’s not looking. I love your favorite teddy bear and how cool you look in sunglasses. You are my absolute favorite.

To my Evan: I love you the most. You will always be my baby, even though you insist that you are a big boy. I love your husky voice and the way your repeat everything you hear even though half the time, you have no idea what you’re saying. I love watching you try to keep up with your siblings and their friends. I love the humming sound you make when you really like what you’re eating. I love watching you play and how you can make a game of pretty much anything. I love how much you love making people laugh. I love the way you say my name. I love your pudgy thighs and your knees and the way you look in your pajamas. I love the way you hold my face with two hands when you give me a kiss. I love hearing you thump down the stairs in the morning. You round out our family, completely. You are my absolute favorite.

{For the record, you each got the exact same number of words. It’s even.}

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Life is a Picnic: A Summer Wedding

06.28.2010

{Alternatively titled: An excuse to torture my children with never ending photo-ops.} 

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The Perfect Teddy Bear

06.23.2010

As a child, I had a special bear named Polar. (He was a Polar Bear, after all. Ten points for creativity!) He was my companion through thick and thin and despite smelling like wet dog, I loved him more than any other toy I owned. He was is real, there was no doubt about it. [...]

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To cut or not to cut? That is the question.

06.06.2010

Jeff and I have a major disagreement going on over the state of Evan’s hair. I won’t influence your opinion by telling you who feels which way, so let me just ask: Should we cut his most adorable wringlets that are seriously the cutest thing ever hair or keep it long? Help us decide, won’t [...]

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Reason number 1,893 why Jeff and I are unfit parents

05.11.2010

We spent ten minutes in hysterics over Lily’s homework assignment tonight… They had me at Uranus, but the gas? And the large object knocking Uranus over? And, Lily showing me her Uranus’ movement? Is it just us, or have the teachers been sniffing a few too many glue sticks?

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Dumpster Diving

04.16.2010

During and following a move, there is always a shortage of many things: Hours, for example. there just don’t seem to be enough of them in the day. Home cooked meals, free hands and babysitting volunteers. Where are those things when you need them? Nowhere near us that’s for sure. The one thing that there [...]

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Head of the Class

04.12.2010

Evan’s new school sends home reports at the end of the day. It’s great to see what he has been up to and makes the time away from him a bit more bearable. It’s also wonderful to see that he’s a really advanced two year old who is clearly blowing all of the other children [...]

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My Husband Drives Me Crazy V

03.11.2010

I haven’t talked much about it, because I’ve been terrified that things will fall through, but… We seem to be on track for a (local) move the first week of April. Jeff and I love the new house, the new neighborhood, the new yard, the new school, the new everything and are anxious to get [...]

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Big Brother & Little Brother

02.23.2010
Thumbnail image for Big Brother & Little Brother

Last night, I walked in on Ben and Evan coloring all over themselves with markers. {Again} Benjamin, I scolded, you are the big brother. You are the one who needs to help teach Evan what’s right and what’s wrong. This is wrong. Don’t you understand that? I know, mommy, he answered. That’s what I was [...]

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