We are just back from an amazing trip to the beach, where we saw some beautiful sunsets. You might think I would have more time to write while on vacation, but every night we sort of forgot about putting our children to bed until it was so late that all I wanted to do was fall into bed myself.

Our older son decided to start calling us Mom and Dad. Part of me isn’t surprised. I knew this would probably come—at least for Mama to transition to Mom.

Some weeks are both long and short. This was one of those for me. Thank goodness it’s Friday. But I can’t believe it’s already time for quick takes!

It was such a simple act of kindness, just a small moment of thoughtfulness. But witnessing that spark of compassion in our child gave me such hope and joy.

It’s summertime, and Baltimore peach cake is a local tradition. There are many different versions, and I’m not sure how you can go wrong with any combination of peaches and cake.

Talking teleportation, steamed crabs, Pokemon cards, and other highlights from the week in this week’s 7 Quick Takes

Each birthday is like a moment where you’re standing at the top of a mountain. You marvel at how you’ve reached this point, and you look up and down and around and try to imagine what will follow.

It’s summertime and the cousin visits are starting! Four cousins were in town for the weekend, and four more arrive tomorrow. We live in Baltimore because we love Baltimore, but it’s nice that we have one set of grandparents, two aunts, an uncle, and two cousins who live here.

It was a long summer evening, and I had a few errands to run. Both our boys wanted to come along with me, and I always enjoy having company.As we were walking between stores, the boys saw a long open stretch of sidewalk ahead of us, and they took off running. “Wait for me!” I […]

I always remember the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel because my brother Ricky married his wife, Christina, 12 years ago that day. They had a gorgeous wedding. But John and I often laugh remembering that day.You see, their wedding was supposed to be a breeze for us. Neither one of us was in […]