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        <title><![CDATA[]]></title>
        <link>http://www2.richmond.com</link>
        <description><![CDATA[Lifestyles :: Relationships_Special_Occasions :: Parenting]]></description>
        <language>en</language>
            
            <item>
                <title><![CDATA[Ouch (and parental guilt)]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/nov/21/ouch-and-parental-guilt-60781/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/nov/21/ouch-and-parental-guilt-60781/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[JR started his day by clipping the edge of one of our dining room chairs. A lovely purple line immediately took shape on his forehead. Then he went to the doctor where he got a finger stick (and a Band-Aid which bothered him more than the stick), and a few shots. Later, as he was cruising around the kitchen as I made his post-nap smoothie, the sound of the blender startled him, causing him to jump, fall forward, and smash his previously-injured forehead into a stainless steel shelf. After some silent, red-faced flailing, he engaged in the biggest sobfest he&#8217;s ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:09:12 EST]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Things I believe]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/nov/18/things-i-believe-16129/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/nov/18/things-i-believe-16129/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[Rain jackets, rain boots, and umbrellas should always be brightly colored. If you&#8217;re going to buy Oreos, you might as well go for Double Stuff&#8230; because who are we kidding? Children should only wear shoes when absolutely necessary. Tylenol is useless. There&#8217;s nothing wrong with not raking your leaves. &#8220;Tell us how you really feel&#8221; should be officially retired from use in any and all conversations. Lorelai Gilmore is completely responsible for all misfortunes in her life. Pee-Pee Teepees are unnecessary (although fun to say). Fear is a lousy motivator. The best episode of Dawson&#8217;s Creek is the one when ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:45:56 EST]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Obligatory]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/nov/18/obligatory-30086/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/nov/18/obligatory-30086/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[Cake! Cake! Cake! What happened to my shirt? No matter, seriously, let&#8217;s see the cake. CAAAAAAAAAAAAKE. Um. I&#8217;m not sure about this. Hmmm&#8230; Jk, guys, this is great. NOM NOM SMACK SMACK NOM. My dimple comes out when I&#8217;m working hard. Eyes.. glazing&#8230; over&#8230; must&#8230; keep&#8230; eating&#8230; Too much cake makes me sad. Thanks to everyone who shared their birthday wishes with our little man. We appreciate it so much.]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:59:12 EST]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[12 months]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/nov/17/12-months-48768/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/nov/17/12-months-48768/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[JR, What? How did this happen? How is it possible that an entire year ago today you joined our family? I can&#8217;t understand how you&#8217;ve already gone from this: To this: And on to this: But alas, here we are. This evening we&#8217;ll head over to your Mamaw and Papaw&#8217;s house to celebrate. You&#8217;ll open your present, look at us like we&#8217;re crazy as we sing to you, and (hopefully) smash your fist and face into the cake your Papaw will lovingly (and painstakingly) prepare. Life will be as it should be. You&#8217;re a bundle of energy these days. And ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:00:36 EST]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[A letter]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/nov/12/a-letter-06736/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/nov/12/a-letter-06736/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[Dear dogs (you a-holes), I know it&#8217;s raining. I&#8217;ve been lugging a 23+ pound child in and out of the rain all day. I am aware. I am also aware of the fact that perhaps squidgy grass does not feel exactly pleasant on your dainty feet, so maybe going outside isn&#8217;t so much fun. But you see, the thing is, if you would do your &#8220;business&#8221; right when you get outside, rather than tiptoeing around with a look of disdain on your face while whimpering and then quickly bounding inside without relieving yourselves, you wouldn&#8217;t then turn to me 3 ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:54:30 EST]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Sick day(s)]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/nov/10/sick-days-84971/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/nov/10/sick-days-84971/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[This past Thursday I got home from work at around 3:30 to find a delightfully healthy boy toddling around the front yard with his lovely babysitter/our lovely friend. JR was all smiles and laughs, bright eyed and on the move. About 90 minutes later his nose was a river of snot (green, the best kind) and his eyes were rimmed with that reddish-pinkish tone that calls out &#8220;FEVER.&#8221; Sure enough, a quick poke of the thermometer indicated that his temperature was slightly above 100. We pumped him full of Motrin and put him to bed early. (I make it seem ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:44:28 EST]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Halloween in review]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/nov/04/halloween-in-review-07710/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/nov/04/halloween-in-review-07710/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[JR was born right before Thanksgiving, and he technically celebrated his first Christmas last year. But come on, he was basically a blob then, so other then a few festive pictures, we deemed the holiday season kind of a wash and moved on. Now that he&#8217;s a smiling, babbling (LORD THE BABBLING IT DOES NOT STOP), almost walking little person, the time has come to celebrate holidays to the furthest extent.* First up: Halloween. We opted for a store bought costume because 1) I am unable to sew, 2) I am too busy/lazy to track down bits and pieces of ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:19:23 EST]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Yes, yes, and yes]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/nov/03/yes-yes-and-yes-18132/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/nov/03/yes-yes-and-yes-18132/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[I&#8217;ve mentioned Momversation here before, but let me just tell you that I feel the same anticipation for these that others feel for new episodes of Mad Men or So You Think You Can Dance? I love it so. Anyway, as you may remember, I&#8217;ve struggled with depression in the past. It&#8217;s very difficult to articulate what it&#8217;s like, and while my experiences were nowhere near as severe as what other people have gone through, I could very much relate to this video. So watch it. (See the original post here.)]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:02:44 EST]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Something we've noticed]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/oct/30/something-weve-noticed-54894/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/oct/30/something-weve-noticed-54894/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[The bigger JR gets, and as he becomes a bit of a &#8220;bruiser&#8221; as they say, he is reminding us more and more of, well, Tommy Boy. Pictures like this kind of seal the deal: &#8220;Lots of people go to college for seven years.&#8221; (Also: What up, drooly?)]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:02:19 EDT]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[What has happened here? (and a survey)]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/oct/29/what-has-happened-here-and-a-survey-64525/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/oct/29/what-has-happened-here-and-a-survey-64525/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[Remember when I used to post every day? Sometimes even twice a day? Well, now it seems that I&#8217;m struggling to write even once a week. I have no excuse other than my life, my kid, and way to much watching of Gilmore girls. I don&#8217;t know what my deal is. I have plenty to say. Ask anyone who sees me in real life - I just won&#8217;t stop yammering. But then I go over here and it&#8217;s all &#8220;Hmmm&#8230; well I could&#8230; no&#8230; uhhhh&#8221; and so on. I&#8217;m guessing it probably stems from my fears of being 1) boring ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:00:30 EDT]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[28]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/oct/23/28-82490/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/oct/23/28-82490/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[Two. Eight. Twenty-eight. I am twenty-eight today. Well, as of 2:41pm at least. I fully understand that this isn&#8217;t old, but JEEZ. I know a lot of people use their birthday as a time to wax poetic about what else they want to do with their lives and what not. I&#8217;m not going to do that. I&#8217;ve had one of the hardest and most wonderful years ever. Overall, things are good. Especially since this time last year I couldn&#8217;t even pain my own toenails. Yes. Things are quite, quite good.]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:57:14 EDT]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[11 months]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/oct/17/11-months-68280/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/oct/17/11-months-68280/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[JR, Remember how last month when I said that we&#8217;d keep up our nursing relationship until you showed me that you were 100% ready to stop? Well the very day after I wrote that, you let me know that you were for sure, totally, OMG-get-away-from-me-woman done. It&#8217;s been bottles ever since, and you haven&#8217;t looked back. I was a little sad, but the option of sleeping in now makes it sting a bit less. When we left for vacation last month you were barely pulling up. By the time we left, you were cruising all over the place&#8230; and you ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 17 Oct 2009 14:00:03 EDT]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[MOHAWK BABY OF FUN!]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/oct/13/mohawk-baby-of-fun-31881/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/oct/13/mohawk-baby-of-fun-31881/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[You&#8217;re welcome.]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:33:46 EDT]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[I was on television (kind of, not really, but sort of)]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/oct/08/i-was-on-television-kind-of-not-really-68378/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/oct/08/i-was-on-television-kind-of-not-really-68378/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[A couple weeks ago a reporter from one of our local TV stations contacted Ross and I to see if he could interview us about what we do over at RVANews. After thinking, &#8220;What? Why?&#8221; and having a mild anxiety attack, I agreed. And then Ross agreed because he does what I tell him to. So here it is. Although my hair looks terrible (I got it cut mere hours after the interview), my desk makes it looks like I have a slight hoarding problem when it comes to beverages and cell phones (it&#8217;s a long story), and I apparently ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:30:03 EDT]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Girl hate]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/oct/03/girl-hate-43405/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/oct/03/girl-hate-43405/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m not one to ever get all Soap Boxy McRanterson, but I need to talk about something. Perhaps even yell about it a bit. I have a SERIOUS problem with what&#8217;s happening on The Hills right now. (Yes, I realize the absurdity of that statement. Of all the things I could be pissed about, I&#8217;m all worked up over MTV. I never claimed to be not crazy.) Let me give you a little context&#8230; I woke up at 10:30 this morning (I KNOW!) to find a baby still off living it up at grandma&#8217;s house and a husband gone to ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 03 Oct 2009 17:10:17 EDT]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[What I did with my morning]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/sep/28/what-i-did-with-my-morning-38754/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/sep/28/what-i-did-with-my-morning-38754/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[I got a call from a friend of a friend last week. He works for a company that does commercials and the like in town. They were getting ready to shoot a commercial for some children&#8217;s hospital in West Virginia and needed some babies. You see where this is going. So! At 7:30 this morning (gah), JR and I trekked down to Shockoe Bottom so he could pal around with some other babies in front of a camera for a few hours. Conveniently, that palling around would also include a nice monetary reward* for not too many hours of work. ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:02:28 EDT]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Point!]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/sep/26/point-79513/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/sep/26/point-79513/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[I&#8217;ve been referring to this past Wednesday as &#8220;The Day Of Much Woe.&#8221; Work was frustrating on many different levels, JR was determined to do anything but nap, the house was (and still is) a disaster, and, ugh, just a million other things that I just can&#8217;t muster up the energy to talk about. More than anything, I felt like a totally shitty parent that day. During the rare moments that I wasn&#8217;t completely occupied with something else, in those precious, fleeting pockets of time where I could have been playing with JR on the floor or reading to him&#8230; ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Sat, 26 Sep 2009 03:45:48 EDT]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Lessons learned on vacation]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/sep/20/lessons-learned-on-vacation-78266/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/sep/20/lessons-learned-on-vacation-78266/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[It is impossible to nap too much. Grandparents are incredible. A dirty Arnold Palmer is a lovely way to end an evening. Or every evening. One can never eat too many peanut butter cookies. It is very possible to become even more addicted to your child. A tan after a week at the beach does not indicate a good time. Carrying around about five extra pounds do. True relaxation involves no makeup, no hair brushing, and minimal showering. Popsicles really are the best thing ever. So, we&#8217;re back. Somewhat begrudgingly so. Part of me is glad to be home, but ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 20 Sep 2009 02:51:12 EDT]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Fearing the worst]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/sep/18/fearing-the-worst-75395/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/sep/18/fearing-the-worst-75395/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[Now that it&#8217;s been 10 (holy heck how did that happen?) months since I had a baby, I&#8217;m finally in a place where I can really, really talk about what it was like afterward. I don&#8217;t mean the physical pain or the exhaustion, which, in retrospect, weren&#8217;t that awful for me because I was blessed with a very easy baby. And Percocet. Lots of that. Now I&#8217;m talking about my feelings. When we were in our childbirth class, our instructor mentioned that if you&#8217;ve struggled with anxiety or depression, you&#8217;re something like 85% more likely to experience postpartum depression. Being ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 18 Sep 2009 03:17:26 EDT]]></pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[10 months]]></title>
                <link><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/sep/17/10-months-86035/]]></link>
                <guid><![CDATA[http://www2.richmond.com/content/2009/sep/17/10-months-86035/]]></guid>
                <description><![CDATA[JR, It&#8217;s finally started to register with your dad and I that your first birthday is just around the corner, I&#8217;m assuming because you&#8217;ve hit the double-digits when it comes to how many months you&#8217;ve been with us (outside of my person, that is). And we&#8217;re celebrating this milestone while on your first &#8220;for real&#8221; vacation at the beach. It&#8217;s been great to spend so much interrupted time with you, free from distractions of work and regular life, allowing us to soak you up and enjoy the little boy you&#8217;re turning into. Just over the last couple days you&#8217;ve started ...]]></description>
                
                <pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:38:12 EDT]]></pubDate>
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