Author: Allison Slater Tate
My good friend tells me that I have a zulily “problem” now that I have a baby girl to dress after three boys. I say, define “problem?” Today I have a blog post up on the zulily site blog about how much fun I am having buying dresses and tights and hair bows. Judge if…
“Mason, who won the school mock election?” “Mitt Romney.” Pause. “I didn’t vote.” “Why not?” “Because I don’t really like politics. I don’t plan on ever being a registered voter.” “Uh… why not? Politics are kind of what decide how your country is run, my friend.” “Yeah… but politics are also what tear you apart…
On this Election Day, I am very grateful to be an American, very grateful for early voting (because I don’t have to go wait in line in the rain today), and very grateful that Presidential elections only happen every four years. Today reminded me of a conversation I had with my firstborn back in the…
An inevitable part of being a parent — one never enumerated in What to Expect When You’re Expecting — is learning how to take a comment. For some reason, the possession of offspring in a public place makes parents an open, unfortunately slow-moving target to whom strangers may give advice, chastise, praise, and judge. While…
This morning, I toured a potential middle school for my oldest son, Mason. It felt surreal to walk such a big campus, labeled with a “Visitor” sticker on the outside of my baby carrier, watching what can no longer be called “children” going about their school day — some of whom were taller than I…
(This post is inspired by the murder of two children, Lucia and Leo Krim, on Manhattan’s Upper West Side last night by their nanny. You can read Lisa Belkin’s post about it here.) We walk through this world on a fragile tightrope of trust. We trust — because it’s the only way we can function…
I have been very lucky: I have had the choice to breastfeed all of my children. Not everyone has the choice; not everyone wants the choice. But, though I have had my own share of hurdles in the adventure that is motherhood, nursing is something that has been relatively easy and effortless for me. Not…
I have a confession to make: I have major league basement envy. That’s right: I envy your basements. I live in a place where basements are not practical and attics are too hot to be finished in most cases. Instead, I have a house that is exactly how many square feet it says it is:…
Dear Sweet Fruit of My Loins, Someday, you are going to be all grown up, and I will be very sad. I will be sad that you will no longer be my babies or fit in the crooks of my arms. I will be sad not to have your little arms flung around my…
In an effort to become more of a free-range mom, I recently started allowing my oldest son, Mason, to ride his scooter around the block to his classmate’s house in the evenings. They play in his classmate’s yard, and my son has to be home by six. One night, however, he wasn’t home at six….
