This summer, we heard a piece on the Today show about the looming extinction of the middle child in America. That sounds a bit dramatic, but here's the statistic. According to a study by the Pew Research Center in 1976, “the average mother at the end of her childbearing years had given birth to more than three children.” Back then, 40 percent of mothers between 40 and 44 had four or more children. Twenty-five percent had three kids; 24 percent had two; and 11 percent had one. Today, those . . .
Her Business: Rounton Farm
I've had a long love affair with Rounton Farm. When my family lived in Orange, Virginia, my kids LOVED spending time there. We've attended auctions and barn parties there. The kids took swimming lessons and went to summer camps there. We've fed horses and held baby chicks there. Rounton is even where we hosted the twins' second birthday bash—farm theme, of course. And that doesn't even begin to describe the farm's main attraction: weddings backdropped by rolling hills and towering trees . . .
Putting in the Hard Work: Raising Good Humans Whether By Breast or Bottle
Often the most negative voice in our lives is the one between our ears. But not always. A few days ago, I listened to a group of moms at a playground talking about the mothers who don’t put in the hard work of breastfeeding. Those who throw in the towel too early. How selfish, they said. How not best for the baby. Here’s my answer to that. If your baby/toddler/preschooler/big kid/adolescent is thriving, you did something right. If they are healthy and happy whether on formula or breast milk, . . .
Knowing When to Grow and When to Go
Earlier this summer, I bought a beautiful potted plant. It was everything my gardening mama told me to look for in a flower combo—the thriller, the filler, and the spiller—and I paid a bit more for it than I would typically. But it was so perfect. I put it on my back patio and watered it daily. And then I noticed that the leaves were browning and the flowers fading faster than a new plant mom is comfortable with. I assumed it was a fertilizer issue. So I fed it and kept watering. Until it really . . .
I Took My Pre-Teen Back-to-School Shopping and Lived to Tell the Tale
I took my pre-teen back-to-school shopping and lived to tell the tale. Okay, that's a bit dramatic. But, really. Maddox starts middle school next week, and unlike all the other kids moving up together from the public school system, she is coming from a private school which basically means she knows about three people including the school counselor who helped us with her schedule. So, you can imagine that sweet girl is a bundle of nerves. And she's projecting those feelings on anything that . . .
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