the Mother Runner

Guess what. Yesterday, I took a shower and the Little Miss did not sit outside the door and cry the whole time. Also there were times (more than one!) in which I put her down and she did not immediately fold in half and weep and wail. Plus, not to brag or anything, but she [...]

Despite my best efforts, I ran out of time this week to work on a new essay. So I’m reaching back into my archives and pulling out something I wrote a few years ago, when Manchild was just learning to talk. I wrote it for the now-defunct Oliofolio blog, and I use Manchild’s real name(!) [...]

The Little Miss cries and screams and weeps and wails if ever I leave the room or close a door between us or put her down or walk past her. But if I pick her up or wear her in the carrier, she pinches and scratches and pokes my neck and chest until it is [...]

Manchild turned 6 last week. Six seems so much older than 5. Almost a big kid. Almost ready to do big kid things. Or maybe he is ready. We’ve decided to find out. I asked him a while ago if he was interested in going running with me in the mornings and he was enthusiastic [...]

I started thinking about what I wanted to do after Boston months ago. Training was going so well and I was having such a good time that I decided I might as well take advantage of the fact that I’m not pregnant and train for as many races as possible. So I signed up for [...]

A child, a handful of hair, a pair of scissors. This may not be every mother’s nightmare, but it usually doesn’t end up being the highlight of the day. There was the time my sister “trimmed” my bangs and I ended up with a nice triangle shaped cutout right in front. There was the other [...]

I tend to be really lazy when I’m sleeping. If my baby is crying, I’ll do whatever’s easiest to get her to stop. Until recently, this has meant pulling her into bed and nursing her. However, as she’s gotten older and more mobile, it’s become apparent that pulling her into our bed is not the [...]

What I really wanted to do today was plan out my week, make a grocery list, do some research for some posts, do some writing, get ahead. Maybe even hit up the grocery store. You know, get back into the swing of life after some illness followed by a long weekend with lots of traveling [...]

My favorite piece of parenting advice for expectant mothers is this: Enjoy whatever stage they are in because they grow out of it so quickly. And if they are in an annoying stage just know that it won’t last forever because they grow out of it so quickly. Up until now, I’ve been in the [...]

I sometimes make bad decisions. Don’t we all? Of course, I don’t realize they are bad decisions at the time. If I did, I wouldn’t make them. How could I have known, for example, that it would take me 3 hours to fall asleep last night? If I had known that was going to happen, [...]