Meredith Carson... Across the Pond and Back Again...

I recently picked up this book ( The Family Dinner by Laurie David) at a friend's house while we were in Kentucky.  I casually began to flip through the pages, then found myself, moments later, curled around it as my brain purred and began to devour little morsels if inspiration that lay on each page.  When we got home, I immediately ordered a copy for myself.  This book merely confirmed things that I already believe about the importance of dining together as a family.  It is also full of recipes and suggestions for making family meal time more fun, healthful and meaningful for kids and their parents. Although this particular suggestion was not in the book, I have begun writing the evening's "menu" on a white board in our kitchen, and my children find this incredibly exciting (especially when a dessert is listed).  Anticipation creates excitement. Last night we also played a couple of dinner table conversation games, which kept my husband and his short atte...

Last year the kids were seriously displeased when we weren't able to go to our local Midland County Fair.  Having grown up in the UK, they had never been to a county fair, and they were feeling extremely deprived.  We knew this year, even though we were still recovering from a long weekend away in Kentucky, we would have to suck it up and take them out there.  I think we managed to tick all of the boxes. Ooh-ing an Ahh-ing at livestock? Check. Indulging in some healthy fair food? It's no deep-fried stick of butter, but still... Check. Sitting astride a giant pachyderm? Why yes, as a matter of fact, we did that too. How about spending twenty American dollars to ride a giant Ferris wheel? Check. Double check. And finally... giving coins to the creepy and rather sad Capuchin monkey. Check, please.

When I was pregnant with Lili, I developed a severe case of what my kids called "Baby Brain."  While we were out driving, I'd occasionally forget where I was and where I was going.  I can distinctly remember an occasion when we left my kids' primary school and were driving through the tiny Welsh village of Radyr.  I took a couple of mindless turns, then stopped the car, looked over at the five year old in the passenger seat and asked, "Where in the heck are we?!"  She stared back at me with her mouth gaping and replied with astonishment, "Don't you know?" Honestly I did not know.  I also wasn't sure what day of the week it was or what the intended destination was when I began driving.  I'd regularly haul my happy, pregnant self upstairs, walk into my bedroom and realize I had completely forgotten why I had come up in the first place.  I'd wrack my brain furiously for about ten seconds, and then I'd decide that I might as well ...

Here is a news flash:  I love babies.  Babies are little, innocent, cuddly people.  Everything in this world is a novel discovery for a baby, and having a baby around makes mundane tasks seem new and exciting again. Something crazy has happened, however, since our third little bundle of fun came along.  Sometime while I was changing diapers and playing peekaboo, my two other little kids decided to grow into big kids. And guess what? Big kids are hilarious and fun in a different way.  Big kids make jokes that actually make sense.  If you aren't careful a big seven year old might, while at the local lake, announce to everyone who is within earshot that she is going to go and dip her "ass in the water."  The ass to which she is referring is, of course, a donkey- (a.k.a "ass") shaped animal cracker because a nice seven year old would never use that word in its naughty context, right? Big kids have their own taste in music and fashion.  A big ...

I do not advertise over the Internet when I am planning a trip just in case my stalker is reading this blog or checking my facebook status.  But now that I am back, I can tell you that we had a lovely long weekend away in North Carolina visiting family and my BFF's new baby Claire.  It is indeed a very special thing when someone you love has a baby.  All of us thought little Claire was rather fabulous... Emma loved her. Sophie did too. I had a difficult time sharing her. Lili liked Claire, of course, but she was even more smitten with this Coconut Macaroon; And George had tons of fun playing Pac Man with Claire's Dad. Imagine four days in Greensboro with five Carsons in one hotel room.  It hardly gets much better.  Every night was like a slumber party with our toddler wide eyed and bushy tailed until eleven o'clock.  Everyone had their toenails painted an exotic color (including Dad), and we also experimented with temporary body tattoos.  The love...