Going for Gold!

This year, Connor asked Santa to bring 200 Webkinz, please! Santa told Connor he’d have to see if he could find a big enough box. Ryan requested Legos, cars, and Webkinz – he said he’d let Santa decide how many. And now two very wound-up, excited little boys are tucked in their beds, visions of…
This morning I made an off-handed comment to Patrick that the skirt and top I had chosen to wear to church looked better on me last year. Ryan was standing nearby and chimed in with his usual, “Why?” Not wanting to get into a discussion of body image with my 7-year-old son, I replied, “They…
Ryan has been waking up early, too early, and staying up late, too late,… and today it caught up with him. He was cranky and tired all morning and into the afternoon. When I had had enough, I suggested he actually nap during quiet time today. He didn’t argue – a clear sign that he…
After my little exchange with Connor this morning, he fell back to sleep for two hours. When he finally awoke, we ate breakfast, and then headed downstairs to start our schoolwork. Connor whined, complained, and cried his way through math, usually a favorite subject. “Are you feeling alright?,” I asked with concern. “No,” he…
For some time now, we have known that Connor, whose name means “lover of hounds,” is truly a boy in need of a dog, so we weren’t surprised when he announced that he wanted a dog for his fifth birthday. Since his announcement at Christmas, Connor has talked daily about his dog, Missy, who will…
“Gandma, we moobin,” announced Connor to my Mom at dinner tonight. “You are?” chuckled Grandma. “Wes, to a house wib a parm!” (Translation: to a house with a farm). We have often joked that we are raising two little farm boys in a town home in Northern Virginia, but plans to move to a farm…