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The spring after my #3 child started scouts, he ranked up for
August 22, 2022
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Discover the journey, tips, and ideas from Claudia Yeoh’s writing desk.
The spring after my #3 child started scouts, he ranked up for
I spent the first 8 days of June preparing our family for
I’m writing this on a Thursday night (though it won’t post until
Those who know me, know I am an anachronism: I do not
Illustration 1: THE SHIRT. Meet “The Shirt.” AKA “The Apple Festival t-shirt,”
One of my mantras over the past sixteen years of motherhood has
Yesterday, a friend and I helped organize donations for our local Refugee
It is time to choose next year’s classes for my three middle-
The scene: the after-school carpool, yesterday. The characters: A second grade girl
When I stopped blogging frequently a few years ago, it was for
Generally, I would say I’m pretty good at rolling with the punches.
When I was in middle school, my parents started a new endeavor
Normally, I’d say I do pretty well at “adulting.” Let’s be honest,
It’s been a week since the kids came home from school for
Once, I was talking to a favorite uncle about life and all
I am sitting in the dark this morning. Despite my hopes, I
The hardest thing about parenthood, to me, is not knowing. I know
Well, it’s official: all my kids are in full-day school. For the
¾ of the way through Day 3 of iCanBike camp, the gym
I’ll blame it on watching “Logan” late at night. I had this
In the past week, a couple things have happened in my world.
I stumbled across a wondrous thing yesterday: how to get through the
Elementary school and junior high were no picnic. I had my first
It’s happening more and more often these days. I find myself frustrated
When I was newly married, I spent one year substitute teaching in
My kids are really good eaters. I’m kind of surprised at this,
We just came through parent-teacher conference season again, and what we learned
When the phone rang during my oh-so-precious work time the other day,
Ear infections always and only come up after the doctor’s office has
The day school let out for Christmas, I walked seven kids, ages
It’s got to be tough to be the kid who has two
At the sound of a crash on wood, Christian and I both
“What come next?” There was a period of several months recently when
I suppose it was inevitable that sooner or later, I was going
Let no one, me especially, claim that boys come without the drama
At present, the web is a hornet’s nest of outrage over the
The problems with Mothers Day are legion. 1. It’s not fair to
I can’t be the only parent who lives in dread of playing
Sometimes I think you guys must get tired of me saying the
We didn’t go on any field trips this year. This has been
The summer of 2015, in our family, breaks down like this: Phase
You know that thing about kids? That thing where they act like
The moment we arrived for our play date with Julianna’s bestie and
I have four kids, close together, and the reality is that if they’re not hurting anything or anyone, I’m inclined to let them do what they’re doing. Only I worry: what will people think of ME?
My kids are such jerks after they’ve had screen time. It’s so
Summer break? Break for whom? News flash: NOT ME.
One of the great things about the magazine writing I do is
When I was a freshman in college, I was required to take
And then, in the course of time, old rituals pass into new.
I’ve ceased to be surprised by major shifts that happen without apparent
(Text, more or less): It has been about ten years since I
There was an article in the Washington Post last week about
I suppose I need to start with this Facebook status last week:
I always knew the day would probably come when Michael would cease
I’ve been firmly entrenched in the “small child” phase of parenting for
There comes a day in the life of every toddler when the
There must be some Murphy’s Law of parenting that says the moment
I’m not sure what he had on his hands. All I know
We don’t parent on our own. Or at least, we shouldn’t. If
I think I was in the sixth grade when it happened. At
Last week I read a news story that really disturbed me. It
Sunday nights when I have novels critique group, I usually don’t sleep
It happens more often than I’d like to admit: Someone comes up
I’m supposed to be writing about being taken down from the cross
Because I can tell those Stations of the Cross posts just aren’t
We stretched out across the front pew when we arrived at church
Julianna likes to run away. Actually, she doesn’t really run, and to
Bedtime on a Tuesday evening is a zoo. Christian is in the
I was nine years old the year I discovered figure skating. That
There is no such thing as a truly quiet day (holiday or
A commenter once took issue with a post I wrote about parents’ responsibility
Julianna is in love with Mary Poppins at the moment. She asks
On any given choir day, we are likely to lose a child
When I was a kid, I thought it would be great to
You might remember that early this summer, Alex asked for a diary.
When I was a kid, we had one spoon in our silverware
It’s time to admit it out loud: This has been a rough
Friday was not a good day. I’ve had several months to accustom
For the last two weeks, my mind has been on family
It’s Friday afternoon and out in the country, the air smells sweet
Last week, Alex asked for a diary with a lock. “Not a
___1___ A couple of years ago, I read about a study that
Financial guru Dave Ramsey often talks about “powdered butt syndrome.” Once you’ve
___1___ I’ve been so busy lately, I just now realized I never
There’s a rabbit under the red maple in front of my house.
There’s a hum of anticipation in the air tonight. It’s been building
Most of the time, my brain clicks along like a 6-part Bach
It’s not the big stuff that gets you, it’s all the little
I’ve said before that I’m obsessed with sleep. This is because i
About a month ago, Julianna’s school finished her “re-evaluation.” This is required
There are many mysteries in the world. Like my computer, which for
Every January there’s a day or two like this: shorts weather in
At eleven p.m. on Sunday night, I was the only one in
I capitulate, and confess: my fourth-born has officially outstripped my third-born for
For weeks after Alex was born, I cried every day. I was
It’s no secret that I have a healthy skepticism of a lot
It must have been the convergence of James Bond with a bedtime
Scene 1: Friday night, and the ballgame is not going well. Christian
I remember a day, long ago, when we had a long list
It began with Christian shouting up the stairs on his way down
No one likes having to confess that they lost their cool in
Conventional wisdom takes one of two arguments. Some say the transition from
For most of my life, my birthday and I have had a
A family in our town is burying two of its children this
___1___ I’m combining posts tonight, so I begin with ~100 words of
“They say that during adolescence, the teenaged brain develops from back to
The words leaped off the page, preventing me from skimming through the
(Stepping onto my soapbox) You know, dads really get shafted, compared to
(WARNING: This is another one of THOSE POSTS. Read at your own
It began with my sister’s Facebook status: at the Steak & Shake
Nicholas rode in the tractor with his grandpa for a couple of
I sent my boys off on a trip this morning. For the
In case you missed the memo, yesterday was a big day. Mothers
People are always asking me, “Is Michael always this happy?” The answer
We made the decision on the spur of the moment. “Julianna, do
When a non-cuddler cuddles on a cool, wet spring night, it’s Heaven.
“Mommy, that boy called me stupid.” I shaded my eyes against the
I used to think I was an “attachment parent.” I have kept
For the past seven years, my days have been defined by the
I have this persecution complex. It dates back to the days when
I learned more about my son’s first grade class in ten minutes
It crept up on me, this wistfulness. A feeling that these days
This isn’t something I do often, but just for my own sake,
Call me dense, but I just realized the other night that the
It was one of those days.To wit: Michael would not consent to
When your voice rouses me from deep sleep, a hair shy of
About a month ago, a friend stopped me after church and asked
She was young and pretty and sweet, and from the first day
Click here for Part 1 Click here for Part 2 There’s a
I feel bad. All personal writing is cyclical: it reflects the overall
This weekend, I read the most beautiful description of a place, a
It woke me up sometime around four this morning, less than an
The thing I love most about motherhood is the physicality of it.
You would think by the time you hit kid #4, you’d have
She adores him. He’s like a magnet, a little baby black hole
I think I’ve been pretty clear that I am not a great
It hangs in the the closet, tucked in the back with all
Lately I’ve been enjoying the mental challenge of writing to a prompt
The kids are in bed, the TV is off, but we’re sitting
In natural family planning circles, there are certain words you’re not supposed
They say parenting is a long process of letting go. From the
It seems like there are stages in my life when everywhere I
This is a story about this child of mine: The one I’ve
Some days, I wonder what my kids will remember. I’ve been slowly
They were doing so well. So far, they’ve braved a two-hour trip
If I wasn’t a mom, I’d have so much time to for
Lately I’m suffering from extreme lack of creativity in blogging. Of course,
(Photo credit: Sudamshu, via Flickr) The post caught me off guard, late
Not long ago, someone very dear to me expressed reservations about parenthood:
Words can be a funny thing. They are my specialty, and I
Photo credit: LWPrencipe, via Flickr I’m beginning to think I take the
“Okay, everybody!” I call. “Time for books!Everybody onMommy and Daddy’s bed!” The
The idea that our children teach us at least as much as
___1___ When I was in college, my family drove to Cape Cod
A while back, when I was wrestling with guilt over not being
Julianna has a pair of pajamas covered with strawberries. It says, “Being
We have become a cliché: We can’t keep straight which child we’re
Because Christian’s on vacation, and because we have a long day planned,
(Warning: This is going to be an uncomfortable read.) One of my
So I’m a slow learner. I know that attitude changes everything. I
Some people say the hardest transition is the first. Others say the
Yesterday morning, after the big ones were off to school, Nicholas and
At the end of another busy day, it was just me and
If you’ve spent half an hour in my presence, you’ve probably heard
The problem with special, “all about me” days—birthdays, Mother’s Day—is that you
___ 1___ Saturday is housecleaning day, not because there’s some magical formula
It’s a truism of parenting that no two children can be treated
“Mommy,” Alex said as he reluctantly brought his plate and cup around
We (or more specifically, Nicholas) are enrolled in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library,
Ah, the lengths to which we go to preserve the illusions of
I had intended to piggyback on my Tuesday post, and wax sentimental
(Note: if you’re one of the many who skip my “writing” posts…don’t.
Do you go through stages where you keep talking about the same
On any given day, there’s not a whole lot I can be
Before I begin, I need to be clear: the following post is
There’s only one rule on a day when the weather hits 65
One of the most unsettling things for a stay-at-home parent is that
7:30 a.m., breakfast finished, and both my little ones transfixed by the
Call me crazy, but I actually like matching socks. I know, most
I guess I got spoiled. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard
I realized something yesterday. I really don’t “get” my daughter. As much
If you’ve ever expressed frustration, annoyance, or anger over something your kids
On Julianna’s birthday, Alex came home from school in great excitement. “My
Late on a Wednesday evening, past time for bed on a choir
From day one, one of the most intimidating things about parenthood for
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately…and not,
Image via Wikipedia Last night, we left the house for choir practice
Because I’ve finally tipped the scales into the brain-dead zone after more
Things are just funnier when life has driven you to the edge.
It seems like I’m always looking for one moment each week that
He goes off to school now, and last night, as I lay
Alex was in trouble on Sunday. I’ll spare you the details, but
I realized something this week: It’s never going to end. For the
The post I intended for today didn’t turn out quite as I
1. A friend shared this C.S. Lewis quote yesterday: “Aim at heaven
Christian likes to say that baby drool has explosive properties. After all,
You know how God keeps banging on a theme until you finally
After our trip to Florida last month, I’m a firm believer that
There’s a commercial on TV these days for Kleenex. The woman goes
…with some help from Christian, who took over at #6. Top ten
Here we go again. Did you see the piece in New York
This spring, I had the opportunity to interview Kimberly Hahn for an
It hangs in the the closet, tucked in the back with all
Ann Voskamp has us thinking about rest this week. But in my
New Boxing Gloves Originally uploaded by markhillary He’s at it again. After
Father & Daughter Originally uploaded by Enigma Photos
[picapp align=”none” wrap=”false” link=”term=wedding+gown&iid=226380″ src=”0222/02586eb3-14ad-4891-80f2-a9195ef3a446.jpg?adImageId=13072607&imageId=226380″ width=”337″ height=”506″ /] The day was not
Aren’t they pretty? Kudos to Spring Hill. Today I am guest posting
Today I am delighted to welcome Amy from the Never-True Tales to my
I’m going to do something I don’t usually do–namely, put up two
1. Sleeping through the night is a myth. 2. If you don’t
If there was ever a morning when a person was justified in
Last week, I had one of those moments—the creepy-crawly, embarrassing moments that
There’s a moment every day that I love. It comes in the
On Holy Saturday night, I dreamed that we were all on a
[picapp align=”none” wrap=”false” link=”term=wedding+rings&iid=183505″ src=”0179/44c285ca-a17a-4f7e-9e29-a24c45b752db.jpg?adImageId=11831217&imageId=183505″ width=”500″ height=”333″ /] Yesterday morning, I sat
After a day of noise and chaos, of grandparents and carnival rides,
The day after Julianna was born, an acquaintance of a relative, a
It’s been a while since I took the kids to the
A few weeks ago, we gave Alex the opportunity to earn an
“Become Who You Are.” — Friedrich Nietzsche The last few days,
A few weeks ago, we got an unexpected windfall: a $50
Frustration is an additive problem. What I mean to say is that
If your family is anything like mine, bath duty is one of
Saturday afternoon, we arrived home to a relatively clean house, a stack
I’ve been navigating some deep waters this week, so let me lighten
Ah, Nicholas. You wake up in the night for reasons I can’t
It happened again on the way to the grocery store. “Mommy,” Alex
1. My sister Andrea once asked where I come up with the
Advent. It’s a time of new beginning, a time of expectation of
There are occupational hazards to motherhood. “Mommy, I haven’t got to pway
There’s no doubt about it: in the “Love Languages,” my primary language
Someday I’m going to write a book called “The Conflicted Parent.” No
It’s happened three times in as many months. The first time, we
Of course, as soon as I wrote about how much I had
I suppose that no matter how hard you try to give each
It was one of those days, followed by one of those nights.
Precious moments. We’ve all had them—those moments that make your heart catch
Today I want to share a some links that I ran across
As I write this morning, Alex is sitting beside me playing the
I want a crock pot recipe for life. One that tells me
Recently, I read a blogger whose point was that moms are not
With number 1, I spent nursing time watching hours of movies, reading
This is shaping up to be one of those weeks. The busy
I would never have guessed it, but the path to talking lies
Words. We use them, stumble over them, repeat them, misuse them, throw
It hasn’t been a great week so far. I haven’t had much
What was THAT?????? We had a very nice weekend with a
Dear Nicholas, In some ways, it is much harder to write this
I have one more letter to my children to write, but I’m
Dear Julianna, As I sit here in the dewy twilight of predawn,
9/8/09 Dear Alex, You’re crossing a milestone, little man. Last night, I
Every afternoon, while I’m putting the kids in bed, my brain works
My whole life, I have been a poster child for Catholicism. I
At 12:30 a.m., I turned off my alarm and added the loss
I don’t know when it happened…after all, every nursing baby belongs to
We have chosen to have our kids close together—21 months between Alex
Thursday, Aug. 13th 10:45a.m. During the homily at the Mass for principals
The gold standard in special education is full inclusion: the child spending
Every so often, you get a day that reminds you of all
They say that the hardest transition in parenting is not from 0
“…every now and then I think of who I was and who
This week, I mowed the lawn with Nicholas in the Snugli. This
I am omnipresent in Nicholas’s world. Throughout the day his bright little
Since returning from NPM, my baby boy has become a demanding child.
Lately, I’ve developed a new appreciation for “Green Eggs and Ham.” Have
Amazing, how long it takes to write 97 words. Ten days of
I’m really mad at my kids today. But let me back up.
Nicholas and I had such a beautiful week together. He gurgled and
In six months, Julianna will exit First Steps and enter the public
I don’t understand why, if the whole floor is clean except for
Before Children, or when you have only one, and you get sick,
“Night Growler”–that would be me. For the last five nights, Julianna has
To Nicholas The connection between us stretches back to the moment you
I am standing at the changing table trying to plan a visit
After a day of noise and chaos, of grandparents and carnival rides,
Yesterday was a good day. The danger in being too busy, particularly
Alex eats everything in very small bites. The more he likes it,
Vignette #1: Seriously Scary Foliage Perhaps you might remember how Julianna deals
Life with Alex has not been easy in recent months. Not so
Alex doesn’t nap much anymore. He goes to bed willingly enough, because
We did a wedding yesterday, and brought Nicholas with us instead of
It was a perfect morning—70 degrees beneath a flawless blue sky, washed
Last week, I parked myself on the floor with a boppy and
I’ve said before that one of the goals of my writing is
When I came in this morning, the flow-pap was gone. After bath
Overnight, Julianna lost her IV and did not sleep. By this morning,
There are mothers out there who don’t want anyone’s opinion, ever. Mom,
Ah, the things you forget. Saturday evening, Christian and I went
I should re-label this blog the “attitude is everything” blog. As
(…or Flying Solo in Triplicate) She is two, and although she may
I have another post in process, but a friend sent me an
It was early afternoon on Thursday. My mother-in-law and I had just
These days, it’s all I can do to take care of the
If I have the date right, we are now eleven days into
Alex is big enough to understand. In a couple of days, the
I learned something about my daughter on Friday…and about myself as a
It’s been interesting this week to see how many people have read
A couple of nights ago, I dreamed that Julianna was talking to
After Alex’s recent backsliding on the toilet issue, we decided it was
“Mommy,” said Alex at lunchtime, “strawberries are red, just like blood.”
The upper part of the Spring Valley Trail at Rock Bridge State
This morning, Alex is watching “Bug’s Life,” and I’m so tired from
The best parts of the day are associated with bedtime. I’ve
Lately, Alex reminds me of a Garfield cartoon from my childhood. Odie
I’m up early this morning and don’t have my writing materials, so
Parents spend an inordinate amount of time comparing their kids to everyone
Do you ever wonder how different your life might have turned out
Alex was tucked into bed. We were finished with prayers—including those for
….to come up with a name for the third child? And why,
“I take” my baby “to the park…hold it in a blanket,” the
Last night, my critique group finished reviewing my new novel. In An
Parents, you all know what I’m talking about. The first time you
Miss Julianna has a couple of new nicknames: “Miss Sneaky” and “Superspy.”
To tell, or not? That’s the question. When Julianna was a
It was really too cold to be outside, but Christian appealed to
This weekend, we were late for church. Now, you must understand,
Yesterday the kids slept too long for us to do what we
Last week we were “interviewed” via email for an article on raising
It’s happening. For weeks, I’ve known it was coming…the days when Alex
That phrase is as familiar as any in the Christmas repertoire—so familiar
(incorporating the Advent Reclamation Project Report for Week 2) Julianna’s first, tottering
When I was a kid, I swore I’d never forget what it
It doesn’t happen very often that I like the forwards I get,
Julianna’s Turn I have to chuckle sometimes at the difference between
Most of the time, I can interpret Alex-ese with relative ease J.
After yesterday’s criticism of negative, gripey “Mommy blogs,” I read the last
So I read an article in my Family Foundations today, talking about
There’s a photograph, from 9/11. I’m sure you all saw it: a
I’m a little late sharing these two gems, but better late than
6:45 a.m. The kids are out of bed. Alex’s bed needs changing
Lately I’ve been focusing on Alex, who continues to add to the
He can’t be doing it on purpose. He’s just too young for
If you’ve been reading this blog lately you’ll know that swim lessons
A note to my baby at 12 weeks What I know
It seemed the easiest thing in the world—once the outdoor pool season
“For you, darkness itself is not dark, and night shines as the
So tonight, I’m putting Alex to bed and we’re praying for people.
For the last three weeks, everything I have wanted to blog about
In the days after Julianna’s birth, the volume of information we had
It’s hard to be big brother to a little sister with special
About a week ago, I noticed some chocolate on Alex’s face. Nothing
People often me how old Julianna is. That’s a pretty typical question
During our trip to Mackinac, Christian had Julianna duty at virtually every
It’s been a month now since Julianna started crawling, and although she
My nephew Isaac was eating lunch when there was a little disturbance
Because I’m lacking momentum on my writing projects right now, I’m looking
Momentum: the motion of a body or system, equal to the product
I promised myself that I’d write about Alex in my next blog.
I really don’t like being pregnant. No, I’m not pregnant. Not
Every day at naptime, we go up to Alex’s room to read
Last week I averaged over two hours a day on writing.
It happened so suddenly. I knew it was about time. She hardly ever
Three weeks ago, or thereabouts, Julianna got glasses. “Oh, she’ll take them
I just came down from putting Alex to bed (what a Mama’s
Oh, my sweet baby boy isn’t a baby anymore. Being a boy,
Julianna is getting tired, Alex’s ibuprofin is wearing off, and it’s about
Two days ago, Alex, fearless explorer, discovered tigers in his bedroom. And
In the last month, I have had to come to terms with
Last night, the kids went to bed by 8:30. Yes, that was
April 2, 2007 So far, my blogging has mostly been about Julianna.
I’m five weeks postpartum, and I’m wearing my own jeans. There, that’s