• Reassuring The Mom

    I’ve never been a dreamer. I’ve never been one to look far into the future and imagine things like my own wedding, having babies, retirement. Once I had a wedding and had babies, looking to the future didn’t get any better. In fact, it got worse. I’ve written before that while I was pregnant with Charlie, I dreamed of caskets. I never dreamed of first birthdays or graduations. Only very unhappy endings. A side effect of losing a child is that you have a somewhat irrational fear of your living children being taken from you for any number of random reasons. Like dying from the same thing their brother died…

  • Holly Jolly New Traditions

    Life is different this Christmas. Henry and I decided it would be fun to start some holly jolly new traditions for the two of us as far as decorating for Christmas goes. It’s always been a big evening for us as a family and we want to keep it as an important part of our year, but do things in a new way! I mean, change is fun, huh? After school on Friday, we headed to the Walmart in Dunwoody to take part in Clark’s Christmas Kids. If you’re not familiar, every Christmas, Clark Howard and News/Talk WSB join with the Georgia Department of Family and Children’s Services to provide…

  • Wild Week in the City!

    Last summer, Jason, Henry and I were discussing what we wanted to do for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We’d all been hankering for a trip to New York, but also to St. Simons or anywhere else, really. We decided that New York it was. We would go for the Macy’s Parade and take a whole week to make it the most amazing trip ever! So of course, I started planning! We’ve been so many times, I knew what all we would do, but wanted to add some extra fun! I got help from so many friends and together, we made a super fun itinerary that pleased a mom, a dad, and a…

  • Goodbye 2014, Hello 2015

    Oh, 2014. You’ve been good and you’ve been bad. As far as I’m concerned, you can go ahead and get on out of here… Last year, I chose Intuition to be my word of the year. I’ve worked very hard to trust my intuition this year. It isn’t always easy, and sometimes it’s downright impossible, but when I’ve listened? It’s never led me astray. +++++++++++++++++++++ 2014 was a busy year, and unfortunately I didn’t share a lot of what we did in posts. But here are some of my favorite moments from the year. January: I cut off all my hair and the entire metro Atlanta area shut down from #snOMG14.…

  • Just like that… You’re 10.

    It seems like just yesterday, you were placed in my arms, held up by your dad because to be honest, I was so drugged up I couldn’t function. But I remember that moment. I remember asking if you were ok and crying when they said you were healthy and safe. It seems like just yesterday, you were taking your first steps at Thanksgiving lunch and getting your first teeth. Then you were riding your first bike, having your first little girlfriend, and having your first sleepovers. It seems like just yesterday, you were nine. That’s because you were. But today you’re ten. Ten. That’s double digits. Two hands. You’re JAZZ…

  • Tales of a Fourth Grade Tween

    I look at him, stomping around the house, being angry about whatever there is to be angry about today. Three minutes later, I watch him slip over to the sofa and sit as close to me as humanly possible without getting back in my womb. He nuzzles his head under my arm and I can feel him relax. Things are changing. Fourth grade is hard. Being almost ten is hard. He’s not a teen, but he’s certainly not a baby anymore. It’s a purgatory area, those tween years, of being immaturely mature and learning to move through life in a bigger way. In the mornings, we fuss. He’d rather lay…

  • This Week In Numbers: The Medical Mystery Tour

    5 – number of days this week Henry or I have seen a doctor 6 – number of waiting rooms I’ve waited in since Monday morning. Add the one on Friday and you get 7. 13 – number of days I’ve now been dealing with a rash of unknown origin or diagnosis. 5 – number of different diagnoses for the rash on my body. It’s been shingles, staph, a bug bite, a fungus, contact dermatitis… 7 – number of shots Henry had to drain what looked like aliens out of an infected boil 365,397 – times I wanted to die on Wednesday 28,967 – times I wet my pants while…

  • Mainside.

    This year, Henry’s week at camp is a big one. It’s his first year on the Mainside. At Camp Winnataska, that translates to “the big kid side of the camp.” The last two years, he’s been on the Chico side with all the 6-8 year old campers, so last year he was one of the big guys on the Chico campus. For the last few months, we’ve been talking about and getting excited for camp. He’s had his calendar filled out for the whole summer, counting down the number of weeks until he left. To say he loves it is an understatement! On the way over to Alabama on Sunday,…

  • LTYM 2014: A Mother’s Heart

    On April 26, 2014, at the very first Listen To Your Mother: Atlanta, I read these words. I should tell you to bring tissues. It had been a rough week around here between me and the 9 year old. My husband had been traveling a lot and work had been stressful. Henry and I had butted heads, talked back to each other, and raised our voices way too many times. It wasn’t pretty, y’all. I’m ashamed to say, I had yelled more than I should. I’m sad that Henry had said “I hate you” more than he ever should. I know he didn’t mean it, but he said it. He…

  • It was all fine and dandy…

    The morning was great. He got up, got dressed, and even brushed his teeth without my having to ask. The excitement and anxiety was getting the best of him so breakfast was a bust. He decided on some yogurt and water. That’s fine. That’s what I would choose, too. He moseyed into school, tall and confident, saying hi to everyone he passed. That’s my little social butterfly (read: class clown) who never meets a stranger, but if he does, he turns them into a friend. With a quick wave goodbye, he was off to start third grade. THIRD GRADE? Stop it! If only I could stop time. Or at least…