Author Archives: heather

In the era of COVID-19, surviving is hard enough. Yesterday, it felt like we went from sweatshirts and fuzzy socks in the morning to, “Moooommm, my room is so hot, can’t we turn on the air condition?” by late afternoon. The heat made everyone crabby. One child was quick to tantrum over misunderstood homework, anotherContinue reading “Flipping Tables for Fro-Yo”

It is a mixed up time for sure. I tried to think “safety first” in how to get off the beaten path for Memorial Day weekend. The original beaten path is The Loop, as we call it, the circular walk through our neighborhood. Another beaten path is The Trail, which meanders through the woods andContinue reading “Topsy Turvy Parenting Decisions in COVID-19”

Here are thirteen things to know about Tatum’s birthday. 13. She made her own birthday cake, checkered with green and white squares across two rounds. I have no idea how she did that, but it was cool. She wanted to make yellow fondant icing but I couldn’t find gelatin on the empty shelves at Giant.Continue reading “Our Newest Quaranteen”

I am so glad the kids are not too old for Easter egg hunts, and I’m so glad the Easter Bunny was granted permission for essential travel. The kids had a blast looking high and low for the eggs, although actually only two of them were excited about it. I guess between 11 and 12,Continue reading “Easter requires essential travel”

Bali is the sweetest dog that ever did live. She can be a little spark plug, as Kevin says, but mostly she is sugar and spice and everything nice. Her birthday was January 20, and we brought her home at just shy of 8 weeks old, a little early due to the start of CrazyContinue reading “Puppy love”

Bali is the sweetest dog that ever did live. She can be a little spark plug, as Kevin says, but mostly she is sugar and spice and everything nice. Her birthday was January 20 and we brought her home at about 8 weeks, a little early because of Crazy Time. Her previous humans are friendsContinue reading “Bali puppy”

This dog is so sweet. She’s a little spark plug at times, but mostly she’s just sugar and spice and everything nice. She’s the classic pandemic puppy. Although I had ordered her from the catalog of perfect dogs through my friend Jacque the vet as a surprise Christmas gift to the family, who had beenContinue reading “Bali the Pandemic Puppy”

Her soft curls spring and bob with each wail as the 4-year-old Australian girl learns that all of her favorite restaurants are closed–the Chinese place, MacDonald’s, Nandos. All that’s left to eat now is Mummy’s cooking. Messy sobs everywhere. This is what I just watched on a shared video from a friend, and what canContinue reading “Standing on our wobbly two-legged stool”

Living in group quarantine is doable. Here’s what’s working for us. The neighborhood feels quieter than it did even a week ago. People are more cautious, more afraid. But no matter how seriously you take this, you have to laugh when you see certain things. “You laugh, but you will see,” said Hugh. We areContinue reading “Life in group isolation Chez Tomlinson”

Three months ago, I had one of my favorite outings ever. Dad, Mary Ellen, Josie and I attended My Fair Lady at the Kennedy Center. It was one of my favorite outings because it is one of my favorite performances and Dad’s, and we got to see it with him upright, wearing snappy shoes, onContinue reading “Living in Crazy Time”