Category: friends

I met Marlo and Nancy back when our first children were barely rolling over. Now the kids are just a jump away from kindergarten, and they have seven younger siblings following in their footsteps.

After all these years, it was high time we get away for a weekend without kids. It was fabulous. (Although, next time, we’re doing it on a beach, umbrella drinks in hand.) These women have seen me fumble through my early moments of motherhood, the taming of Neko, and the progression from first one, then two, and three. I can’t imagine this journey without them.

Although, they may not be my friends anymore after I post this photo. But in my defense, it was the only one I took all weekend.

I have known Anne since the days way back in college when we were young, underage, and were mired deep in the world of chromateks and kerning.

She and her husband John are expecting their first at the beginning of December, so we decided it was high time for a shower. Everyone attending, however, clearly thought it was time for a bath. We only had eleven people in attendence, yet four of those arrived with the same baby bathtub. I love Target, but why stores in two major metropolitan cities cannot figure out how to check the “fulfilled” box is beyond me.

Bathtub duplication aside, it’s always a great when we all have an excuse to get together, especially when it’s a happy occasion. By the end of the party, husbands and kids were crowded in the room, and I managed to take a few moments to capture a few quick pix of babies who clearly used their mothers as surrogates, since they’re both carbon copies of their fathers.

(In case you were wondering, the wine is for after the baby is born.)

Last year Beth and her mom, Lynne, invited us up for an impromptu day at Lynne’s farm. They planned ahead and placed pumpkins all along a path where the kids had to run from one place to another. Everyone had a fabulous time, and when they offered to do it again this year, we couldn’t say “yes” fast enough.

This year they raised the bar even further. We started with a scavenger hunt around the farm where Shep could not have been more excited to discover apples to be gathered at every destination (he’s a little obsessed with that particular fruit these days). The kid probably ate the equivalent of four apples, taking three bites of an apple and then starting in on the next.

Then we all headed inside for lunch and playtime where Tom and Carter sat down for a mean game of Battleship and Jamie tried to teach Shep how to play Hangman. Soup, sandwiches, and desserts were followed by pumpkin decorating orchestrated by Beth’s sister Amy. This might be my new favorite thing to do with pumpkins.

We never even got around to hedgeapple bowling, but by mid-afternoon, we loaded up a car full of tired, happy kids. Thanks to Lynne, Beth, Dave, Amy, Jamie, and Carter. If you do it again next year, we promise to bring croissants!

Special thanks to Beth, who grabbed the camera and took actual pictures of Tom and I. Notice she sneakily avoided getting in any of the photos, however.

Ben turns five this week and Beth and David threw a great party.

Except for that part where the kids were so fascinated by the pay phone that they managed to somehow call 911. That police officer looked pretty grumpy when he showed up. I must confess that I think Shep was somehow involved, but I don’t think he’s tall enough to reach the “1”, so he had to have an accomplice.

Three and a half years ago, Marlo, Nancy and I were sitting in our baby playgroup with our three gurgling infants who could barely roll over. We commiserated about how hard it was and tried to figure out how to make them sleep through the night and ticked off milestones as we sipped our lattes.

Today Marlo, Vince and the crew came back into town, so we got the kids together. As ten wild children filled the house—running, tumbling, shrieking and playing—we looked at each other and laughed about how different things were than when we all met. (That’s ten kids under five, people. Utter insanity.)

In the first picture are all the kids, somehow divided into girls on the left and boys on the right. Totally unintentional. It may not be the best photo, but I’m just thrilled we got everyone in the frame.

Especially exciting today, however, was meeting the newest member of the family, Gianna. You can see more pictures of this insanely cute baby here.

Tom left town today to attend the Pitchfork festival in Chicago. It’s essentially nirvana for people who love the whole indie music scene, so he gets to spend a long weekend soaking up music while I watch the kids. But come August, it’s my turn to get away. I just have pump like the dickens until then.

But we’re keeping busy.

Today our friends Bena and Kaitlin came into town for a wedding. Kaitlin was one of Neko’s very first friends from way back in the days where we moms sat around a big blanket and watched our kids figure out what their hands were for and attempt to roll over. We sipped our coffee and talked about how hard this motherhood thing was. I suppose it was hard at the time, but we had no idea what challenges lay ahead of us.

We got the kids together at Nancy’s house, and they romped and played and squabbled over big plastic vehicles, and it was almost like Bena had never picked up and moved to New York. If only we could have transported Marlo and her crew across a state or two, things would have felt complete.

It’s hard to get a good picture of three four-year-olds. This is the best I could do. Yes, Neko is hamming it up, but at least she’s not picking her nose.