At the beginning of March we got the wonderful (and after so much waiting) surprising news I am pregnant. For two weeks I thought I was actually going to have a typical morning sickness experience with nausea managed by eating a bit all day long. Nope! By the time I hit 8 weeks pregnant life…
Motherhood
A Little Fairy
Emily pulled a long yellow ribbon out of a drawer earlier this week. It was used as a leash for her balloon dog. Then for waving in the air as she danced. At some point along the way the end of the ribbon began to unravel. We were all amazed at how many strands of thread…
Learning in the Waiting
It was six months of waiting before we found out baby jackson one would be joining our family. At the beginning of the waiting we had an early miscarriage. I was devastated, depressed, despondent. I fell into a routine: Andrew left Provo at 5am for his 2.5 hour bus/bike commute to Sandy to teach. I got…
Project: Play Dresses for Emily
Emily started growing out of many of the dresses she’s been wearing for the last year. I took some old shirts of mine and turned them into play dresses that should last for another year. The first dress took about two days to figure out. The second one Emily I made together in thirty minutes….
The Widows Mite
A good portion of my marriage I have been physically unwell. Between surgery, difficult pregnancies, challenging postpartum recoveries, and my bought with c. diff, Andrew has pulled a lot of weight taking care of us. During many of these periods I spend a lot of time apologizing and feeling guilty for not matching Andrew’s work…
Our New Clean Up Song
I make up songs all day long. Emily often asks, “Mom did that just pop into your head?” Yes it did. Every once in awhile one sticks. This clean up song is as good as GOLD. Emily jumps right in to clean up as soon as I start singing. I can even have my backed…
Today Was the Day…
We went on a run outside. I facetimed my grandma and she helped me fix my sewing machine. Emily turned the bathroom into an ice skating rink with half a bottle of hand soap and slid around until she wiped out. I made honey candied ginger for the first time – mostly a sticky mess…
How Maria Montessori, Rudolf Steiner (Waldorf), Charlotte Mason, and Essentialism are Shaping My Role as a Mom
I struggle with the open-endedness of motherhood. Diaper changes, feeding, cleaning, and sleep take up a good portion of the day. But there are at least six unstructured hours of time to fill. I often default to just sitting on the floor with the kids. My mind is wandering or stressing about what I want/need/should…
It Makes the Difference
Emily has started adding, “it makes the difference” to various statements. For example, when referring to using two different fingernail polishes, “You need to paint the sparkly one first, and then the purple one. It makes the difference.” Her phrase has popped in my head numerous times this week. Here a few little things that…
Kids Knife Skills
Emily and I watched a free kids knife skills class yesterday. She was trying to cut cheese to make herself a grilled cheese sandwich, so it seemed like the right moment. Today we made some play dough fruits and vegetables: apple, avocado, potato, carrot, and zucchini. She got to work cutting with her fingers soldier…