HomeLife
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. - Annie Dillard
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Looth Tooth
Mosely’s been letting her front tooth dangle next to her bottom lip for about six weeks now. We’ve put numbing gel on it and tried to yank it out. (With her permission, of course.) But it stayed stuck. We’ve watched it float across her tongue and poke out in weird directions, but it never fell out. She’s eaten crispy apples and tried brushing her teeth really hard. (Another suggestion made for her by her.) That tooth just kept hanging around. Mosely has never lost a single tooth yet. She was so afraid she would reach the ripe old age of seven and still have all of her baby teeth. (I…
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What We Have Been Up To
Papaw and Grandma traveled all the way down from Ohio to hang out with our rowdy band for a few days. And we have made the most of the opportunity to explore and have adventures together. The kids introduced Grandma to Chick-fil-A and dining with the loudest table mates in history. (Can you imagine never tasting the classic Chick-fil-A sandwich? We could not allow that travesty to go on.) A trip to the zoo was enjoyed by all. Excellent local barbecue was consumed. Of course we could not have guests and not take them to our favorite apple orchard. Sadly, we discovered that our favorite apple variety – the beloved…
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Sometimes Being A Parent Makes You Say Bizarre Things
Kevin said the silliest thing the other day. He was sitting at his desk (read: an old kitchen table set up in our bedroom) and looking through the doorway at Piper Finn and London. He sighed. And that’s when Crazy exited his mouth. “Man, Lacey. We need to have some more kids.” I am sure I gasped. Dropped something. And suffered a neck injury as my head spun off my shoulders. “Whuh?” Yes. That is the sound most closely resembling the noise I made. “WHY?” I asked incredulously. (Obviously incredulously. I mean – come on. More kids? We have six of them already.) “Just look at them. They’re growing up…
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Dave Ramsey’s The Money Answer Book: A Book Review
(Above you will see the progression of my attitude toward the book I am holding and am currently reviewing now. It’s okay if you laugh. In fact, please do.) Let me tell you what I know about Dave Ramsey. His face is plastered on a huge billboard I drive by at least weekly. He’s grinning on the sign but I always feel as if he is shouting at me and judging me and that he somehow knows the amount of money I waste on Tostitos. My friend Nate Rector thinks Dave Ramsey’s pretty great and even loaned us a gargantuan set of Dave Ramsey cds for our listening pleasure. I…
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in lieu
You know what job I used to do (in a slightly more professional setting) that I rather enjoyed? Teaching high school English. You know what I really liked about it? (Not grading the bazillion essays, I tell you that!) My students. You know what else I like? When former-students-turned-now-friends drive down for a weekend visit. And when her brother, another former student, literally drives by and stops in for a visit so we can meet his wee little new daughter. (What I don’t like? How old that makes me feel to realize that my students can have children by now.) And guess what else is cool? When we all…
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Truth Better Than Fiction: An Example
File this under Random Weird Absolutely Unsolicited Confessions. Bergen: “Mom. One day this summer when we were at the pool we all took turns eating London’s skin.” Me: “Which part of her skin?” Bergen: “Her toes.” Me: “Why?” Bergen: “Because London said it was like gum.” Me: “Did it taste like gum?” Bergen: “No. It didn’t taste like anything.”
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about fragility, bravery, a girl and a horse.
I want to tell you a story about perhaps the most frightening parenting moment of my life and the bravest kid I know. We went to a horse farm for a field trip last week. The farm was tidy and organized and smelled of hay and dirt and horse manure and sky and life and my childhood. The kids admired the miniature horses, the black ram and the albino horse that is not allowed to soak up the sunshine for fear of his skin burning. We had been at the farm for maybe fifteen minutes. The instructor asked us to stand in the breezeway while she prepared our handsome steed,…
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Yes, You May.
The other day Mosely said, “Hey Mommy, can I pick out my own clothes?” Pretty sure we had no plans of leaving the confines of our home, I took a gamble. “Sure,” I agreed. Mosely appeared in a too-big shirt and a slightly-too-corduroy-to-be-seasonally-appropriate skirt. (Actually, Mosely picks out her clothes pretty often and mostly does a great job.) It’s just that she has a certain pattern. A specific look to which she seems constantly drawn. And it looks a lot like this . . .
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you won’t find it here. (a point, that is.)
I guess this picture is just about perfect for this post. Piper Finn looks a little creepy. Otto Fox looks mostly miserable. (But they are both still sort of cute despite the weirdness and the displeasure.) I’d say that’s a good summation of my day. I should just stop right there and step away from the keyboard. But I can’t. Because that’s not how I roll. Today was a school day. But it was also a day that required a few quick morning errands. A few quick morning errands. Oh, how I laugh at the idea even now. Before the bulk of our real shopping was to begin, Bergen reminded…
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don’t buy juice this month.
We have those weeks at our house. Like everyone else I assume. Weeks where the grocery budget has been spent and we end up eating tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches (at an estimated cost of less than 80 cents per family member) or tuna casserole (a throwback from the quick, easy, low cost dishes of my childhood). I cut coupons and am currently trying my hand at the whole CVS game. And I’m not doing it because I like spending several hours huddled over newspaper ads or searching websites for great deals. I’m cutting coupons and planning low cost meals for the same reason everyone else is doing it.…
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let the school year commence
Today. It’s the first day of the 2010-2011 school year here at our home. And this year the School of Keigley has a record number of students. Three. A second grader. A first grader. And a kindergarten student. (Not to mention that we also manage and maintain a very elite preschool and a rather crème de la crème nursery as well. So sorry – all vacancies are filled.) Ahh – the new school year. The books we cannot gather locally are ordered from our school’s personal suppliers- a.k.a. Barnes & Noble and Amazon. The classroom has been tidied. (Read: the kitchen counters are cleared and the sunroom table is free…
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I’m Just Like Bergen
Sometime in the less-than-distant past, this event occurred at our home. It was bed time. Some friends were over. Bergen wanted Nate to fly him to bed like a superhero. (Because Nate can do that, you know.) But Nate was busy. So Bergen began to wait. Impatiently. He cried out Nate’s name. Loudly. Repetitively. Nate told Bergen he would be right there in just a minute. But Bergen didn’t care. He just kept crying out in a sobbing voice, “Naaaay-Aaaate”. Over and over. Increasing in volume each time. Nate was not ignoring Bergen. He had every intention of entering the living room, scooping Bergen up Superman-style, and making a grand…
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Second Time ‘Round
Last year was our first ever Tybee visit. And we fell in love. So this summer we steered the Suburban (or “suh-burr-ven” as Piper calls it) southeast to see if, in fact, our family and Tybee were still a great fit. This year’s house was actually not that far from last year’s house. We stopped for ice cream at last summer’s favorite spot, Tradewinds, the first night – before our toes even touched the sea. Well. That was a little disappointing. Riley and Kevin’s favorite flavor – Savannah Mud – was sold out and the teenagers running the counter were bored, uninterested and seemed a bit burdened by our desire…
