girls will be girls :: Page 2 :: Elizabeth McGuire

Look again

Posted on June 28, 2012 by ewm | 2 Comments

What you should know about this photo: 1. This scene happens every single day around here. 2. I feel something new every time I look at it: joy, admiration, empathy, gratitude, love. And today: jealousy. * * * Like this? You might like these too. My kids have a knack for teaching me something new about mothering, focusing or injecting…

Inheritance

Posted on January 21, 2012 by ewm | 10 Comments

In the process of my New Year cleaning and organizing extravaganza, I came across a beloved photo that my grandmother gave me many years ago. It is truly one of my most treasured gifts from her. More than any piece of jewelry, china or clothing she left behind, this one photo speaks volumes about the spirited woman I adored. In…

Zen Parenting

Posted on December 20, 2011 by ewm | 5 Comments

Tomorrow night, my angel will adjust her wings and fly toward something she has been dreaming about for six years. The first time I took her to The Nutcracker, I shrugged off the “you’re taking a 3-year-old to do what?” comments, pulled out our holiday finery and loaded up my purse with peppermint bribes. She made it almost two hours…

Girl talk

Posted on October 18, 2011 by ewm | 12 Comments

Oh to be a fly on the playground wall…

On Being Nine

Posted on October 8, 2011 by ewm | 23 Comments

Last week my oldest child, my only daughter, my Doodlebug, turned nine. The event was met by the usual sugary celebrations, giggling girls and adorable handmade cards. We pulled out the red You Are Special Today plate and reminisced about all eight birthday parties that came before. Then we stretched the bedtime rules so I could tell her the long…

Evolution of a smile

Posted on July 29, 2011 by ewm | 3 Comments

Know what’s adorable in the 8-going-on-9-year-old set? Their smiles change almost weekly.

Wishes

Posted on June 24, 2011 by ewm | 5 Comments

A recent cleaning frenzy uncovered more than just old toys and dried-up markers. I found some musings from my budding writer, written when she was 5 or 6 years old. I don’t think I have to explain how these flip-flopped my heart. I will say this: I have a few wishes of my own for my sweet…

Infestation

Posted on May 12, 2011 by ewm | 8 Comments

For the last few months we’ve been dealing with a series of fun household issues that happened in exactly this order: 1.) a Mama possum decided to sublease the crawlspace underneath our house, without asking first. She moved in just in time to nest and give birth to 5 babies. 2.) We hired some nice gentlemen to relocate this family…

Excellent question

Posted on April 5, 2011 by ewm | 3 Comments

“Mom, where do the thoughts go after you think them?” ~Doodlebug, age 8

The understudy

Posted on March 31, 2011 by ewm | 6 Comments

I was cleaning out a pile of papers yesterday and found a note I had jotted down after a conversation with Doodlebug. It was dated 2009, when she was 6 years old. I remember we had been cuddled up reading It’s Not the Stork, which I bought after her repeated and increasingly detailed questions about the birds and the bees….