Author Archives: Kelly

Life with Four

By Kelly “So how’s it going with four?” It’s a question I get a lot these days, especially from people I know. (Strangers just stop and stare when I’m out with the whole family.) The question can be tinged with curiosity or fear or even incredulity that I survive daily life with four little people….

When Mom Gets Tired

By Kelly Do you remember the post I wrote a few months ago about being tired? It contained a priceless bit of wisdom from my Mom that says, in a nutshell, when our kids are acting out, consider first that their behavior may stem from the fact that they are tired. Turns out, the same…

Association

By Kelly Association is a powerful thing. This time last September, I was eight weeks pregnant. And I was sick. Oh so very sick. I lived in a film of nausea. I functioned – as a Mom to three, I didn’t have a choice. But I was miserable every minute of every day. Normally, I…

Breastfeeding 101

By Kelly I was in the zone this morning. Reading blogs and perusing my local newspaper online, I happened to look down at my four-month-old baby, happily nursing himself to sleep for his morning nap. And I got such a big burst of joy, I thought my heart would explode. I love breastfeeding. I love…

They Call Me Mommy — Most Of The Time

By Kelly I will never forget the first time it happened. It was around 7:00 PM on a sunny summer evening. I asked Natalie, then two years old, to call her Daddy inside for dinner. She went to the window, looked out toward the lake and yelled, “Coh-ee! Dinner ready!” It was as startling as…

Civilize the Savages

By Kelly My two-year-old was eating a bag of snack mix this morning, courtesy of her Daddy’s flight home from Chicago last night. At one point, I turned around and saw a small, wet pile of something on the floor. “What is that Teyla?” I said, pointing to the quarter-sized mess. “Gross!” she said, wrinkling…

You’re Tired

By Kelly My Mom is a genius. All my life, she’s had one phrase that covers every childhood problem. She would simply say, “You’re tired.” Fighting with a sibling? “You must be tired.” Cranky the day after a sleepover? “You sound tired.” Whining about having nothing to wear? “Someone’s tired.” Broken arm? “You must be…

Neighborhood Etiquette 101

By Kelly When we moved into our little town home complex in the fall of 2007, we didn’t have many neighbors. Such is the nature of a new development. In fact, when we took the kids trick-or-treating that Halloween, we discovered Natalie and Connor were the only children in residence at that point. (Pro: We…

Dinner Time

By Kelly I love summer evenings, when the light lingers like a welcome guest on the porch. The air is on the back side of warm, thick with the smell of lake water and hamburgers and sunscreen. The sounds of children laughing and yelling slowly give way to the buzzing of tree frogs and insects…

Quiet

By Kelly The purple clouds with pink highlights are still visible from my perch on the floor. The sun sets late in the north this time of year. I always forget. It doesn’t feel like 9:30. But it is. And the two-year-old who didn’t nap today is finally – FINALLY! – sleeping behind me. She’s…