John Craigie sings a song, What Phase is This? and that is the refrain playing in my head when I think about life with a three-year-old. What phase is this?
Three Years with Theo
We recently spent a week in the San Diego area with family, rolling in the sand, splashing in the waves and exploring as much of the Southern California food scene as we could squeeze in. I hadn’t spent much time in that part of California, and it’s lovely. It’s a perfect place for a family…
I lost my temper yesterday, and I had extreme mom guilt last night. To be honest, I’m a pretty patient person, and I don’t lose my cool very often. Almost never, actually. Being an older mom helps with patience, I think. I know I’m generally a more patient person at 43 than I was a…
The Pacific Northwest is covered in a haze of smoke right now, which seems to be a new reality for late summer weather. The loss of lives and homes are heartbreaking, and the environmental implications and impact are alarming. For people with asthma or health conditions, it’s harmful. For us, it’s just a nuisance. And…
I became a mother for the first time one month before my 41st birthday. I don’t know if my experience as an ‘older’ mother is much different from someone who becomes a mother at 21 or 31, but I suspect that it is. Partly because I had 41 years to practice selfishly focusing on myself…
One day last fall, I was sitting in the kitchen, looking around the first floor of our house at baskets of LEGOS and blocks and drawers overflowing with trucks and tractors. I thought, “We need a playroom.” We have lots of storage on our main floor, but at the end of the day, it always…
My word for this year is ACTION. Because sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in dreams and planning and the day-to-day activities of life and never actually take action. In the past, I’ve had a hard time posting regularly because I needed every post to be perfect. And that’s why I have so many…
I had planned on writing a longer, more thoughtful Christmas post, wrapping up all of my feelings about this season, this year. But here we are, on the 26th, and I’m scrambling to piece together a few words while Theo takes his afternoon nap.
I can’t wait for Christmas this year! I’m writing this over the Thanksgiving holiday from sunny Arizona, where we are here visiting friends. But as soon as we get home, we’re launching into full Christmas mode. Many of my favorite childhood memories come from Christmases past, and few of them involve presents, except for the…
If you’re a regular here, you know that food is a big part of our life. So, I was keeping my fingers crossed that Theo would be a good eater. And boy, is he ever! He wants to eat anything we’re eating, whether it’s avocado toast or pulled pork or ice cream. We have to…