In December 2022, we made a promise to our children: a New Year’s Eve celebration at Grammie and Grampy’s house, a sleepover with the entire family. The girls sleep at their house fairly often, but the very thought of having the entire family sleepover was beyond exciting to them. And then, it happened. December 30th marked the start of the Infamous NYE Stomach Bug of 2022. Matthew went down first, and by the next day, Eloise, Mom, and Grammie were taken down with him. Sympathy was there in theory for Eloise, enduring her first stomach […]

Francesca “Chesie” Lape, a dog who truly became a connoisseur of the good life, passed away peacefully on October 10, 2023, following a short yet valiant battle for control of her hind legs. She was ten years old in human years.        Chesie was born on February 23, 2013 in Nashville, TN. Born into uncertainty but destined for opulence, she promptly traded her Southern roots for a Massachusetts adventure. Chesie was adopted into her forever family on May 25, 2013 and has been loved and adored ever since. For the first three and […]

I went back to work today. And I feel like I failed as a mom today. Of course that’s not true, but that’s the story I’m telling myself right now.  Harrison is a good baby.  He’s a great baby.  He didn’t cry when he was born, but rather observed the room curiously as if to say, hey, this looks kind of different… Even now at two months of age, he rarely cries, even in the night.  When he is awoken by the familiar grumbles of hunger, he just kind of grunts to wake me.  He […]

The weeks and months that follow the birth of her baby is the most trying time a woman will ever experience in her life.  While the first time is undoubtedly more challenging in the world of newborn care, I’ve learned that having multiple children doesn’t necessarily equate to a smoother recovery, be it physical or mental.  Not only have I been blessed with three wonderful children, but I’ve also been blessed with three easy recoveries.  My labors were increasingly shorter with each baby, and my physical healing was increasingly easier each time.  The combination of […]

I want to remember this moment forever.  A sweet, perfectly imperfect moment between a boy and his mama, surrounded by the darkness of our bedroom late on a Wednesday night.  The dim light emitted from a night light shining on your squishy little face (which actually isn’t really even that little when you think about it… At one and a half months old, you’re already filling out sleepers with a 6 on the tags!) Your head is propped up in my hands, your lips pressed against the burp cloth that never leaves my side due […]

Roughly five years and eleven months ago, I found out I was pregnant.  I ran downstairs, too excited and overwhelmed with emotion to bother thinking up a cute way to tell my husband the news. “We’re going to have a baby!” burst from my mouth as tears streamed down my cheeks. As we hugged and cried together, we found ourselves wondering for the first time what the hell was in store for us.  I spent the entire pregnancy vomiting and fearing all the things.  At the top of my list of fears was my own […]

Someday soon, we all will be together if the fates allow.  Until then, we’ll just have to muddle through, somehow.  A year ago, I was gearing up for an exciting and likely rather stressful few days.  Eloise’s first Christmas, our first as a family of four!  All the things were wrapped, all the parties were scheduled, all the treats were baked.  We had gotten together with our great Auntie Ann to make the traditional almond sticks, where let’s be honest, I sat and drank wine while everyone else made them around me.  I don’t bake.  The […]

November 10th is my least favorite day of the year.  Nineteen years ago, my beloved Grammie departed from this world on the tenth of November.  She was, for all intents and purposes, the greatest grandmother there has ever been.  My childhood is filled with memories of attempted bird catching, sleepovers on the most fabulous of floral couches, tea parties with American Girl dolls, and being naively blind to the pain from which she suffered.  My grandmother had a beautiful spirit, surely one of the greatest this world has ever known.  She taught me how to […]