For her past five birthdays, I’ve been writing her birthday posts for her. But she’s seven today. And after keeping a diary for over a year, Ali is now a prolific writer (and, as the year went on, became a creative illustrator) in her own right. (After all, she did tell the bat story better […]
Top Ten Moments of Christmas.
It was a good Christmas. Many of our past Christmases have contained moments (or longer) of frustration and unmet expectations, which became exponentially blown out of proportion because of the fact that it’s CHRISTMAS DAY FOR CRYING OUT LOUD and ALL IS SUPPOSED TO BE COMPLETELY IDYLLIC. You know, like a kid busting her head […]
DETERMINATION.
That’s what it takes to achieve the mailing out of Christmas Cards. I am convinced that the twenty-nine step process of Christmas Card Creation is the single most trying test of adulthood. (At least this week.) And, being that I have a severe aversion to being late to any function, the fact that I cannot […]
iPhone 5s Slo-Mo: Changing Kid Vid Forever.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS: Before reading this post, please ensure that you are in a place where you can and will watch short videos with your volume on. I understand that watching someone’s kid videos is a huge virtual commitment nearly to the level of seriousness of friending someone on Facebook, and I promise to make […]
Dinner Placemats of the Thankful Variety.
I have a confession to make: I am a cynical Thankgivingist. Not about the family or the food or internal giving of thanks, but mainly about public thanksgiving. I shy away from posting what I’m thankful for or doing Thanksgiving crafts with my kids because I fear it will be contrived rather than genuine. Not […]
Birmingham Bucket List: Autumn Walks.
Despite the fact that I would prefer for it to stay out of my house, I do love nature – especially in the fall. And although it seemed to start later than usual, Autumn has been lovely here. The weather has been mild and sunny, and the extraordinarily bright leaf colors seem to have come […]
On The Appreciation of Autumn.
I had a doctor’s appointment first thing Monday morning, so the kids spent the prior night with my parents. On the way to pick them up, I stopped by the outlet mall to buy some shoes. And the trees in the parking lot were marvelous. They inspired me. I decided that a Fall Foliage Field […]
Legoland: On Making a Theme Park for Introverts.
Legoland. The day we heard it was being built in Florida sent chills through our spine. My husband was born to be a Legogineer (if only we wouldn’t have to move to Denmark) and has trained both of our children in the appreciation and art of the Lego craft. Ali can build a Lego set […]
Birmingham from Within.
Yesterday, I headed back downtown to get my heart monitor. I wasn’t remarkably excited about the errand, but I was distracted from that when I found everyone’s favorite word to hate, in graffiti form. A few weeks ago, I had seen “Moist” on an interstate overpass, but I wasn’t quick enough to get a picture. […]
Passing the Torch.
This is a guest post by my Dad. Besides being an expert mechanic on all things and especially those antique, he is a writer, an artist (one of his pen and ink drawings can be seen below), a Tech Inspector for the Le Mans racing series, a beekeeper, a Chicken Coop Designer, an adventurer (I’ve […]