living the dream :: Page 2 :: Elizabeth McGuire

Things you can do while the kids are at Camp Grandma

Posted on July 21, 2015 by ewm | 0 Comments

1. Go swimming on a whim. At night. Without refereeing the rules of The Splash Game. 2. Empty the kids’ closets of annoying T-shirts, crappy toys the kids won at some arcade party, and half the artwork they brought home from school this spring. 3. Empty the office of annoying emails, crappy pencils the kids left when they stole…

What a week

Posted on June 30, 2015 by ewm | 4 Comments

Ten days ago I was in New York City with my 12-year-old daughter and my mother-in-law for a wonderfully busy girls weekend. On a bright morning we stood at the feet of Lady Liberty, learning the history of the statue and the famous poem by Emma Lazarus, “The New Colossus.” We’ve all heard her words: “Give me your tired, your…

All the hours

Posted on June 28, 2015 by ewm | 4 Comments

We are now fully entrenched in summer mode: the good, the bad, the sunburned. It’s everything you might expect and are probably experiencing now: really long days, late bedtimes and more wet towels than you realized you actually owned. The days are either luxuriously long or painfully long, and you never really know which until you’re past the point of…

A game called Summer

Posted on June 14, 2015 by ewm | 2 Comments

We are one week into summer and for the most part still enjoying the honeymoon phase. The kids have made ambitious Summer Fun lists for us and I’ve made equally ambitious Summer Chores lists for them. Parenting during the summer is all about finding that sweet spot between freedom and structure, and while it’s never a breeze it’s getting easier…

Love is a rock

Posted on May 11, 2015 by ewm | 0 Comments

It started with a slick, dark rock retrieved from a mountain stream by a boy totally in his element: filthy, soaking wet and up to his knees in adventure. He presented the heart-shaped rock to me in the completely casual way that 10-year-old boys often do. Check this out, Mom. You should have it. And I reacted in the…

A week of evenings

Posted on April 7, 2015 by ewm | 7 Comments

I had so much fun capturing bits and pieces of our mornings with my #aweekofmornings series that I’ve decided to tackle the flip side. The dark side, in my opinion. It’s only Tuesday, and I’m already daunted by the task. With three kids ages 6, 10 and 12, our evenings are often a complicated test of logistics and endurance. Long…

A week of mornings

Posted on March 13, 2015 by ewm | 11 Comments

Mornings: Everybody’s got them. I happen to be a fan of them, and this week I’m documenting mine on Instagram. I’ve always been a morning person. As a kid I was the one at sleepovers who woke up early and had to lay there quietly, listening to unfamiliar sounds until my host would finally, finally wake up and show me…

Throwback Thursday: Namesake

Posted on February 19, 2015 by ewm | 2 Comments

So many things I love about this photo, which I shot a little over 6 years ago…. My wee one was only a few weeks old, and we had gone on tour to show him off to loved ones who couldn’t travel to see him. Here he is meeting his great-Grandpa, who shares his middle name. When I hear the…

Throwback Thursday: 5 years

Posted on October 23, 2014 by ewm | 4 Comments

Phew…I’m back! Life got crazy for a variety of reasons, and my blog got the short end of the deal, but I’m happy to be here now! Today, in honor of Throwback Thursday AND my 5-year blogiversary, I’m looking through my old posts with fresh eyes. I’m discovering and rediscovering all kinds of treasures… I’m finding that of course some…

Boys Allowed

Posted on August 19, 2014 by ewm | 7 Comments

After last week’s piece about my daughter’s book club, I received numerous “What about the boys??” questions. Good questions with simple answers… My 5-year-old is too young for a book club. When he thinks of reading it is all about snuggling and hearing a great story. This summer he has been devouring the Magic Treehouse series. Which means Hubs and…