My mother has a song for everything. By trade, she’s an elementary school music teacher, but she has loved music her whole life. No matter the situation, she can break into the perfect song to match the occasion. When I was a teenager, her songs sent me diving under restaurant tables in total embarrassment. […]
The Wizard of Oz and Motherhood
In 1939, Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) rode her Kansas farmhouse through a tornado, landed it right on top of the Wicked Witch of the West, and tap-danced her sparkly ruby slippers down the Technicolor yellow brick road to find the Wizard of Oz so she could get home. On the way, she met the Scarecrow, […]
What I Learned from Helping a Mom in the Trenches
The other day, I helped a mom who was a stranger, a mom in the trenches. We were at a play place, and she was wrangling two little boys. Her older boy was about two years old, and she had a baby in her arms. While holding the baby, she tried to help her toddler […]
I Miss My Kindergartener
Over the past two years, I have made a nice little social media/online niche for myself documenting my awkward navigation of stay-at-home motherhood. For all the internet to see, I’ve laughed, cried, and written as a form of therapy while my boys destroyed our house, broke toys, swung from curtains still hanging on their rods […]
5 Reasons I’m Celebrating My Kids’ Independence
Today, in addition to celebrating the many beautiful freedoms I enjoy as a US citizen, I also want to celebrate the independence my three children (ages nine, five, and three) are gaining. They’re growing up fast, y’all. When America was born, our fledgling nation declared its independence from England. We started our own thing, made our […]
To My Son at His Preschool Graduation
Yesterday, we celebrated a milestone! You graduated…from preschool. Your teachers put you in a silky red polyester cap and gown, had you and your classmates perform cute songs, and had you walk across the stage as your Director called your names. They even played “Pomp and Circumstance,” although I’m not sure what’s so pompous about […]
Our Vows as Parents
This summer, my husband and I will celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. Although we weren’t young by any means when we married (27 and 28), we were fairly naïve on what would come down the road in the “then comes Carrie with a baby carriage” department. Our angelic daughter was born two weeks after our […]
The Stairs
I have no idea if the stairs in my home are architecturally holding up my house. But they are the center of our home, quite literally, sometimes figuratively. Situated right in the middle of our house are sixteen steps which I trudge up and down every single day. The stairs are a catch-all. When I’m […]
BonBon Break: Our Secret Code
Hey, y’all! Here is one of my favorite pieces I’ve ever written up on BonBon Break. Bonus: They asked me to read it aloud on their BonBon Break LIVE Podcast! Sooo….here’s the beginning, and I’ve included a link for you to get there. The audio file is also on the post (if you can stand […]
Carrie on Parenting: Mama Tried
Despite my Sunday learning, Towards the bad, I kept turning. ‘Til Mama couldn’t hold me anymore. And I turned twenty-one in prison doing life without parole. No one could steer me right but Mama tried, Mama tried. Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading, I denied. That leaves only me to blame […]