• Uncategorized

    11 Months: Happy Birthday, Henry!

    Dearest Henry Jones,

    You are growing so much! You are in the 90th percentile for height and the 60th percentile for weight. You gained two pounds of holiday weight. Your head is still small for a baby (around the 25th percentile).

    We go to the park nearly every day now. You love to crawl right up to other kids and watch them. You also know how to go down the slide all by yourself. You crawl to the edge of the slide, kick your legs over, and slide down feet first on your stomach. You open your mouth wide to take in all the joy. We just signed a lease

    Read More
  • Uncategorized

    Dear Houston:

    You are one of the most underrated cities in America. Yes, you are full of ozone warnings, concrete, traffic, oil people, inordinate wealth juxtaposed with abject poverty, and aggressive drivers, but you have been an amazing home to me for nine years of my life.

    And what a nine years those have been. I moved here to be part of the educational reform movement for economically disadvantaged children at KIPP, I met my husband at the Astrodome while we were tutoring evacuees from Hurricane Katrina, we bought our first home in the historic Heights just north of downtown, we harbored chickens illegally in our backyard, and we welcomed little Henry

    Read More
  • Uncategorized

    Updated Life Binder

    New year, new life binder! Well, not entirely new; I needed a new binder and tabs, so I updated everything a little bit. Would you like a little tour? Here we go:

    I use a 1-inch binder with a plastic cover, so I can insert old pages from my Nikki McClure calendar in there. I also need pockets on the inside to store random things (which I have to remind myself to clean out fairly frequently). My most organized friend ever recommends using a sturdy report cover instead of a binder.

    Every time I open my binder, the first thing I see is my collage for the year. It’s part

    Read More