Over The River And Through The Woods…

We could’ve saved a ton on beds.  Early Saturday morning, the four of us took off for my folks’ house in Massachusetts, a roughly seventeen hour drive. (Because a 2k pricetag to voluntarily drag my kids through holiday week airports didn’t quite compute.) My brain, spine, and eyeballs have yet to fully recover (from things like stopping three times in the first two hours)…so for now,

When Did Monday Become "Photo Essay" Day?

It’s now officially Fall, so this weekend was mandatory Drive Your Kids Across State Lines For Apple Pickin’ Day (Observed). We went to a super sweet orchard in Hobart, Indiana, and had a great time- even though there weren’t any actual “apples” on the “trees.” Due to the awful growing season, they had to think outside the box. Er, branch.  So they rigged- I kid you not- gutters between the trees and filled them with apples from all over the {Read More}

Fall Is For Dressing Like A Cowgirl.

I’m feeling awfully autumnal today (in the crunchy leaf/hot spiced cider kinda way, not the Phase Of Life way- please don’t feel the need to send seasonal affective disorder lamps), so I’m posting one of my favorite childhood pix.  Every Fall, my family would go to the Cummington Fair with some family friends- it was the countriest of fairs. I adored every second of it. That’s me, by the way, in the Texas Tuxedo. That was the rule (to which my older {Read More}

Cincinnati In REALLY Short Spurts.

Due to my jaw-dropping new levels of lazitude, I’m feelin’ more like posting a few of my favorite pix from this past weekend (as opposed to blathering on for a thousand words) AND haven’t had a chance to watermark any of these photos, either. So, if you’re like the one person who keeps trying to steal these images…do me a solid today and leave ’em alone, yeah?  Without further ado (oh, who am I kidding- there’s always “ado” for days around {Read More}

Travel Tips.

Our [sandy] nomadic days have come to an end. We’ve eaten and road-tripped our way up the Eastern seaboard and here is a smattering of the things I’ve learned: -Outdoor showers (while totally amazing-feeling) never quite get one fully clean. -For that matter, no matter how many loads of laundry one does while staying at the beach, one will find a veritable desert of sand in her washing machine

We Still Got It.

Abandoned. We had another whirlwind weekend in Cincy. (And really, aren’t they all whirlwinds? Every darned last one of them. Especially the ones where you’re hurtling down the Indiana Turnpike for six hours at a time. That rather zips the time along.) We had a great time with family. P.J.’s aunt had a lovely 60th birthday shindig (wherein my eldest child ate nothing but black beans and blue frosting and my youngest ate everything not tied down). There was a jaunt {Read More}

But What If I Forget The LIST?

Photo courtesy of Emi Clark.Doc’s color courtesy of Tide. Packing for the girls is always a big deal. I wish it weren’t. But the one time I pushed my borderline OCD tendencies aside and just, you know, threw stuff into a bag…No one had socks. Susannah didn’t have nearly enough diapers. And I actually packed one half of a baby monitor. (The part that lets you know what the kid is doing. Helpful, so long as you also have the part {Read More}

Nora Just Learned ALL The Words To ‘Jingle Bells.’

Cousins are for hugging. Well, it’s officially the Christmas Season. It was rung in by the Official 7.5 Hour Gridlock Post-Thanksgiving Trans-Indiana Commute Day (Observed). Thankfully, Peej and I have been blessed by some pretty rockin’ travel companions. I think you’ll recognize the archetypes: One likes to read the entire time, occasionally stopping to inquire about snacks. Seated next to her is that one person who always dozes off for entire states, waking momentarily to announce that they’ll drive the {Read More}