A few days ago my mother-in-law invited me to go shopping for some shoes and perhaps some clothes for the the kiddos and work wear for my husband (my husband hates shopping so I usually buy clothes that I think will work for him and return or exchange as necessary) before the holiday rush that typically starts after Thanksgiving. She threw a date out when she would be free and luckily, we were also free that afternoon. We planned to meet at one of the less busy malls in our area. I told my son of our plans to meet … Continue reading →

I had a wonderful experience with my pregnancy and with the birth of my daughter. I found a marvelously well informed and experienced midwife to attend my unborn baby and I. We planned and achieved a fabulously peaceful and intimate home birth. Through the course of my pregnancy and in the early weeks after my daughter’s birth, we developed a great relationship with our midwife; she really feels like family. I occasionally make an effort to drop by her home and office just to say hello and so she can see how much my daughter (and son) has grown and … Continue reading →

While the first tradition I have for my son’s birthday parties involve chocolate cake, the second tradition involves making my son some kind of crazy crown hat to wear for the party! Made out of colored construction paper, this party hat is the envy of all. It is not a traditional crown but more a circular head piece with lots of colorful paper sticking out all over. Every year it is a little bit different than the year before. After making said birthday party hat, I turned my attention to the chocolate cupcakes. I used my favorite chocolate cake recipe … Continue reading →

As the summer heats up, we have been scheduling our play dates earlier in the day if they involve being outside in the heat. This past week the temperatures reached highs of just over one hundred degrees but we were able to avoid the discomfort of such high temperatures by going out early in the morning. On one of our recent playdates we made plans to go to the only lake within the city’s limit. This lake has a lot of nice features. It has a beach for swimming and sand for playing as well as a good sized playground. … Continue reading →

My sister and I have always been really close. She is a mere eighteen months younger than me. We have done many things together as children, through high school, and through college. Both of were married right after our graduation from college and both of our husbands pursued graduate degrees that took us to different states putting us more than one thousand miles apart for the first time in our lives. Life continued as it does but we were only able to see each other once or twice a year. During our time apart, after I had my first baby, … Continue reading →

While enjoying our picnic in the park at the playground, two little girls probably six or seven years old took it upon themselves to help my son play. I watched as they held his hands to help him up and down and over to the different playground features. One would stand at the bottom of the slide while the other went down the slide with my son. I might have been concerned that these two older girls had attached themselves to my son but they seemed genuinely interested in helping him play; like little mothers. It was actually endearing. They … Continue reading →

This past Sunday I celebrated my twenty eighth birthday. Today, in honor of my birthday, my husband’s sister-in-law, the one with a son and a daughter very close in age to our son and daughter, invited the kids and I to the park for a celebratory picnic. She brought lunch and a blanket and we all sat in the shade on the blanket next to the pond and ate sandwiches and fruit. We chatted about our week while the boys nibbled their sandwiches and giggled. Her daughter sucked on some honey dew melon while my daughter dozed contently. When we … Continue reading →

Our daughter’s nap did not last long. It seems there is too much exciting things going on for her to sleep more than ten minutes. Ten minutes must have been enough time for a nap because she awoke in a good mood ready to be held by one of her great aunts. She smiled as she was passed from one great aunt to another. After a good thirty minutes she fell asleep in the arms of yet another great aunt and had yet another nap. Meanwhile, it was time for Easter dessert. I made fifteen individual Creme Brulees and grandma … Continue reading →