When we brought our little, orange baby home from the hospital, we set him down next to the piano, asleep in his car seat, and looked at each other. What now? Did the professionals seriously just send us home with a baby…by ourselves? His entire life so far, I felt like we were being graded. […]
I hear a gagging noise. “Are you okay!?” I ask frantically, whipping my head around and peering into the back seat. My 4-year-old son has his neck craned forward and his tongue sticking out as he coughs. My husband jerks the steering wheel to the right and we abruptly pull to the side of the […]
On the way home from preschool, my middle daughter usually keeps up a steady stream of inane chatter. She talks about the art projects she did that morning and conversations we had yesterday. I give myself permission to listen with only one ear, rotating through several noncommittal exclamations. “Really? Hm. That sounds interesting.” But this […]
“But she likes it,” my middle daughter insists, a pleading expression on her face. I scoop the baby into my arms, rescuing her from her big sister, who is having a hard time grasping my firm no-banging-toys-on-Violet’s-head rule. I sigh. It is at least the third time we’ve had this exact conversation, and I know […]
She is jumping wildly up and down, clutching the edge of the kitchen table, screaming, “I. Need. A. HUG!” For the record, I am standing eighteen inches away from her with my arms outstretched, trying to find an opening to give her what she claims to want. It’s a trick, of course. She doesn’t want […]
The sweetest girl in the whole world just had her first birthday. I am honestly still a bit stunned that she is a year old. That whole third-child thing? It’s real. Time is legit zooming by way faster than it did with Jake or Caitlin. Back when I was 42 weeks pregnant with a baby […]
I get up and pad softly across the room to pour myself a mug of coffee, pulling the pot out from the machine while it is still running and leaning over the steaming mug to catch a little extra warmth. Maybe I should risk going upstairs and waking the kids so I can grab a […]
It has been a long while since I’ve written about a birthday party on Savored Grace. But my beautiful, vibrant daughter Caitlin turned 4 (!), and I can’t wait to share her art party with you! Dearest Caitlin, I know how you hate to have anyone say anything special about you. (Words of affection are not […]
This year, one of my major happiness goals is to make a big deal out of celebrating Easter. I got to thinking after a talk at my moms group last year: why is Christmas such a huge deal, but Easter is a second-rate holiday? I don’t know about you, but at least at our house, […]
A weird thing happens when you have a newborn. Suddenly, you find yourself revealing way more about parts of your body, your sleep habits, and bodily functions in general to your friends (and near strangers) than you ever would have otherwise. If you are breastfeeding, your entire life suddenly feels like it hinges on your […]