There are certain things we buy our children for Christmas only because we love them. With dread and self-loathing, we purchase those sets that we know will lose two pieces on the first day and never work again, those million-tiny-parts that we are quite confident will be scattered throughout our house in 23 minutes flat, […]
Blog Roll
What a Homeschool Mom’s Therapy Looks Like.
It was the first day back to school after the holidays. Not only after the holidays, which included two 3.5 day weekends with Daddy at home, but also after a “snow” weekend, full of frolic and laziness. There was no way this would go well. And indeed it did not. No one was prepared for […]
Red Legos & Hamm
Guest Post by Chief Husband and Editor Chris It’s Championship Eve. The last holiday cometh. Tomorrow, my team, the Alabama Crimson Tide, will rematch Clemson to defend their national title and try to go 15-0 for the first time. It just so happens that most of this weekend was spent iced in at home. Everything […]
A Life of Adventure.
Yesterday, Ali turned 10 years old. Double digits. Officially a Tween. (I’ve been calling her a tween since she turned 9 but she is very insistent that tween only refers to double digits that don’t end in a teen. So at least we can put that argument behind us.) When I started this blog, she […]
The Greatest Snowstorm of All Time.
I believed in my heart. I waited with anticipation. I followed the forecast, minute by minute, keeping three radar apps, a weather blog, and a constantly updating Twitter feed up on my phone. This one – this is the one that would happen. The Winter Wonderland my kids deserved. The Winter Wonderland I deserved. Finally, […]
Hands-On History: Tannehill
We go to Tannehill Ironworks Historic State Park fairly often. It’s not close to our end of Birmingham, but it’s a beautiful place to hike, get outdoors, explore pretty places, and to photograph. Plus, my family camped there often when I was a kid, so I have very fond memories. I do not, however, remember […]
The Tale of Buck Skywalker.
Noah’s most prized gift that came out of Christmas was his very own Noah-Sized Darth Vader. Darth wasn’t from us or from Santa, but from Tanya, who knew JUST what Noah was missing in his life. Noah, who has been wearing a Stormtrooper costume daily since his birthday. Noah, who told me pre-Christmas as I […]
What are You Wearing, New Year’s Eve?
New Year’s Eve is a fashion must, especially when you’re a mom who has no plans because her husband is attending a College Football Playoff Game. You better look good for those kids covered in Christmas Candy Dust, ya know? (For the record I could have absolutely flaunted my fashion fantasticness at said College Football […]
Hands-On Alabama: Archives and History Museum
One of the dozens of benefits of Carla Jean joining us on our project (aside from her fabulous research, entertainment of and by my children, having another adult along for long car trips, and her spectacular articulation of our journeys) is that people have read her articles and emailed her, inviting us to places we […]
Hate-Fueled, Lovingly Crafted Christmas Cards.
A couple of weeks ago I got served some sponsored posts that made me very angry. It was an illogical anger – holiday-induced-insanity even – but it happened. The first one occurred on Instagram. First let me say that I do not follow Melissa Joan Hart. I do not follow any celebrities (with the exception […]