I'm feeling reflective this morning. It's Thanksgiving, and today we stuff ourselves with delicious food and kick off the holiday season. For the first time in several years, I'm actually genuinely excited about this holiday season. I'm sure there will be some tricky moments along the way, but after navigating three Thanksgivings, Christmases, and New [...]
*Photograph by Margaret Belanger Last week, Stitch and I rode the elevator with a very frazzled pregnant mama. She asked how old Stitch was. After I replied she said her babe needed to cook a little longer. Since I had that opening, I asked when she was due. "Three weeks," she replied. "I [...]
Going places with my 20-month-old has started being much more of a process. She is choosing her own clothes and shoes, and she knows what she wants--even if it's to wear white dress shoes to the park. Before we can leave, she needs to choose a book and stuffie to bring with her in the [...]
The first stop in our favorite things series is rainbows. In the world of pregnancy loss and pregnancy after loss, rainbows signify the baby born after a loss: the rainbow after the storm of loss and grief. I didn't really embrace the whole "rainbow baby" thing while we were pregnant with Stitch, but this spring [...]
Hold the presses! Our Halloween Favorite Things series will return tomorrow. Today we need to pause and celebrate. STITCH TOOK HER FIRST STEPS!!!! Ahem. Nope. Let me shout it again: STITCH TOOK HER FIRST STEPS!!!! Our 19.5-month-old little love has lagged in her gross motor development, and we broke down and had her evaluated by [...]
My husband, Lloyd, and I both love Halloween. I'm sure that's not terribly surprising, considering how we embrace imagination. I mean, we had Batman and Ladybug Girl elements in our wedding! As Halloween approaches this year, we've spent a fair amount of time considering a costume for Stitch, who will be 20-months-old. Should we do [...]
Long before I was married and had kiddos, I ran two different after school programs. I based much of my curriculum on children's literature and built quite the collection of children's books. I'd also coordinate with the weird and wonderful different "holidays" that I could find. One of my favorites has always been Talk [...]
Dear Fellow Mama in the Grocery Store, Please know I am coming from a place of love and concern. I don't share this photo lightly, and I definitely don't share it to shame. I tried to make sure to remove as many identifying factors as I could. And I totally wanted to steal your Oreos [...]
The clock on my phone reads 11:18 AM. My daughter just fell asleep for her nap, and I brewed my third cup of coffee so far today. As I sip it, I want to get real with you about toddler sleep, at least in our house. If you can relate, grab a cup of coffee [...]
Things look a little differently around here at Meek Manor. We've had a hot air balloon make-over! When my husband and I met at a coffee shop in 2011, we were drawn to each other through our love of comic books and children's literature. We each identified with a character, and we quickly became known [...]
