Things that happened the month of April: We brought home our new puppy, Kinnick. He’s the cutest. And the sweetest. And the naughtiest. Like all puppies are. It snowed. It un-snowed, that afternoon. And one week later that it was 80 degrees and sunny. We installed our dock project. The pond renovation was (FINALLY) completed. We planted asparagus and worked on the garden. Aiden told me his favorite animal was a shark. Also that he has two talents, singing and dancing. The boys ate their first adult (non-Happy Meal) at McDonald’s. Per their own request. Connor celebrated his birthday with…

We are approaching the 1-year mark that our nation has been in the throes of the Coronavirus pandemic. And this one is for the teachers. My oldest son has a framed picture of his elementary class last year. The one that was normal, until it just – wasn’t. When he was dismissed for spring break and never returned that school year. He loved that class. In fact, sitting at the kitchen table for the start of the following school year – the first one in which his younger brother will be joining him as a kindergartner – he professed to…

We lucked out with the weather this year; almost 60 degrees and clear skies. Were it not for the complete pandemic disaster that is this year, 2020’s Halloween would have been amazing: Full moon, Saturday night, and beautiful crisp fall air. We played it low-key this year. I managed to convince both boys to wear costumes that my mom had hand-made for my brother and I when we were kids. Aiden opted for a “spider” and Conner was Tigger the tiger. Who knew that masks could actually come in so handy? We had a delightful time regardless. We visited a…

I turned four decades old today. I don’t feel 40. Mostly. I’m still the same person I was at twenty only I’m not interested in after-hours nightclubs and my knees pop every time I sit down. But you know, same. This is my forty, in all its brutal honesty: I wear wrist braces at night to keep my carpel tunnel at bay. I need compression socks and blood thinning medication. I wear contact lenses and slather on wrinkle creams. I consider Netflix and a glass of wine to be a fun Friday night. But here’s the thing. This is also…

My oldest boy has a white noise machine in his room, to help him sleep. It has a large selection of sounds that can be played as background noise: static, ocean waves, frogs, music, etc. The one and only sound that he will let me play is: crickets. So he goes to sleep listening to the soothing chirps of crickets every night. Well, it’s late summer in the Midwest, and the actual crickets are EVERYWHERE. Last night, the kid came into my room at 4am. “Mom,” he says, rubbing his eyes, “I can’t sleep.” “Why?” “There’s a cricket in my…