bring joy

more kids = less work

Frank Bruni has a piece in the Sunday about siblings. Joseph shared it with me last night & it got me thinking.

About how it’s not fair (& I don’t understand why) that some women, despite the intense desire & longing to bear children, cannot. And because of this, they either go through costly fertility treatments that may or may not work or go through the lengthy & emotionally (also costly) process of adoption.

About how my life has been shaped in an amazing & beautiful way by being the 6th of 7 children.

About how some days I pinch myself because I watch my children interact & play with each other, & I can’t believe I got so lucky. To have effortless conceptions & fairly painless pregnancies (notwithstanding the queasy 4 months of pregnancy nausea). To have 4, four children, who...

reader’s questions: gaining weight as a vegan

reader's questions, vegan/health

I have in the past, responded to inquiries & reader’s questions as posts on the blog, such as this latest one from Carrie, about emotional spending.

I think I’d like to make it a more regular feature of the blog.

After all, if one person is asking the question, chances are others are wondering or dealing with the same thing.

I admit there’s nothing more annoying to me than a know-it-all. Believe me. I don’t set myself up as an expert on anything, expect maybe as an expert of changing diapers & asking questions & administering hugs & kisses, but I’m not the kind of authoritative voice where you say, “I believe *everything* she says.” (That would be a little creepy, if you ask me.)

Because if I do know one thing, there’s very little of expert opinion that applies to everyone,...

morning walks + how to beat the lonely bug

personal, the good life

I live in a subdivision on the outskirts of San Antonio.

Up the road & down aways, is the elementary school where 3 of my kids attend.

It’s only about 1/2 mile away.

The walk there is all sidewalk & once we get out of our subdivision, the road is surrounded by trees & wildflowers. Not the pine trees of the Pacific Northwest, or oaks of the Wasatch Front, of which I’m accustomed, but shorter, more sprawling, bush-like trees & shrubs.

I do the walk twice a day–to take Amalia, my four year old, to preschool at 7:30 each morning, then again to pick her up at 10:30.

I push a double stroller. The girls look at books & I listen to podcasts. It’s a time for me to exercise, to get fresh air, to listen to something entertaining/informative/interesting.

Salem likes getting out of the stroller &...