Five Buckys

I will start by saying, I have failed at many pinterest desserts. They usually call for ingredients that I don't have on hand which leads me to google substitutions or just improvise with what I think will work. I fail because I am no expert and don't know the first thing about the difference between baking powder and baking soda. But that does not keep me from trying. Poor Jared. That is, poor Jared, until I found this easy peasy, all the right ingredients on-hand, if I can do it you can do it, chocolate chip cookie recipe. Happy Jared. I know I'm totally late to the game of chocolate chip cookies from scratch. I'm sure your grandmother's mother's neighbor's aunt has a recipe that you and everyone else in your family knows by heart. But just in case, here's a recipe that I found via pinterest that will knock your spouse's socks off and make your toddler sing your praises. Assuming you have both a spouse and a toddler. If you don't and you wa...

  "A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014" August: He's never worn bibs. I introduced them way too late. Resolve Spray n' Wash is our saving grace. Baby: We are in the last few days of not knowing if you are a little brother or a little sister. We simply can't wait to know who you are. 

August and I were laying lazy on the couch when it started snowing. He noticed it first. He lifted his head, pointed out the window, and I watched his eyes widen and his little face slowly light up and his hands start clap clap clapping and signing more more more. I didn't even have to look to know it was snow. Thanks to Facebook that tells me days in advance what to expect when it comes to the weather. Snow happens to be a topic that people go wild for. August is in that number. August spent the afternoon watching out the windows, while I played a little game that my mom and sisters and I made up called "pitch it". It's a simple concept, really. You look in your pantry or fridge and the things that need pitching get pitched. I will say this, it is much more fun when there's someone there to yell and cheer " pitch it " with you. August wasn't a game-player this time around; he just sort of blinked at me and kept pointing outside, signing "mor...

 Last winter, August was just an adorable roly-poly six month old on a pretty tight schedule. Between nursing and diaper changes and naps, there wasn't much time for anything else. Except for maybe the prayers of a snow day so that I'd have the company of my husband to watch marathons of Parks and Rec. All in all, winter 2013 was a slow silly season that seemed to make everything a little more gray and a lot more quiet. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed that little butterball of a baby and I think back on those times fondly. But I also remember how I trudged around in pajamas until late in the day. And used an embarrassing amount of dry shampoo. I kind of expected this winter to be the same, possibly worse. Being pregnant with a toddler in the cold long day of a Virginia winter had me convinced. But winter with a toddler is a lot more fun than I had anticipated. August is full of life, energy and curiosity. And independence! He makes up games in his playroom while I clean....

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014" August: He carries that stick around with him wherever he goes; gently tapping it on things as he passes. Baby: I blinked and he/she is halfway through growing. This second time around really is so different.

"a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014" August: He woke up in the middle of the night this week with request for a bath and an hour of rocking from both his mother and his father.  Baby: This baby makes me crave vinegar like crazy. Cucumbers are usually our vinegar-vehicle preference. But there have been times that I've considered drinking it straight. 

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014" One thing I've learned at my old age of 26 is that time is fleeting. I've learned this from every woman to ever stop me in a grocery store to admire my baby and let me know not to blink. I've learned this from visiting my parents' house and feeling so nostalgic. I've learned this from walking down those stairs in my childhood home after putting my baby down for a nap in my old bedroom. It makes me feel so big and small, so old and young, so knowledgable and so naive, all at the same time. But mostly, I've learned this from just this past year of parenthood. At the beginning of last year I had a tiny little baby who didn't sleep through the night, didn't eat foods, didn't walk, barely crawled. A tiny little helpless babe who needed me for everything. At the end of the year, that same baby ran around me in circles and independently played in the other room while I prepa...