I am happy to announce the birth of our seventh baby, Archer Edmund, to all of my Mile High Mama friends. He was born on January 5th, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. via c-section. We are calling him Archie.
His first week of life was a little rough. Archie was born almost four weeks early due [...]

Editor’s note: Shortly after Gretchen submitted this post, she went into emergency labor. Baby Archer is very sick and is now in the NICU. You may follow Gretchen’s updates on her blog LifeNut. Prayers go out to him and their family.
There is no escape.
Babies who are inside must come out eventually. Thousands of books [...]

1. Get pregnant and grow for 8.5 months until your tummy can sufficiently support a bowl of chili con carne with cheese and onions.
2. Eat it while semi-reclined.
3. Notice something in a corner of the ceiling. A spiderweb? Dust? Whatever it is, your appetite is suddenly gone.
4. Take the bowl into the [...]

Everyone complains about bragging, overly-detailed Christmas newsletters.
Invasive medical procedures undergone in May are recounted on paper rimmed with robust snowmen. Splashy vacations are described in so much detail, the room smells like Coppertone and the majestic horse the newsletter writer rode in the surf on the white sand beach. The list of their children’s [...]

I was dying to get their autographs. International celebrities don’t come to the Denver area every day.
I held back. Their antlers were slightly intimidating, the language barrier was daunting, and it must be hard to write with hooves. Our family had to settle for the thrill of being within feet of the shaggy and [...]

My husband and I never share what we are naming our babies until after they are born.
Our theory is that nobody will criticize a baby’s name while they are holding the baby or hypnotized by the charm of a photo. Plenty of people have no qualms trashing a particular name while the baby is [...]

It is enthralling, isn’t it?
I remember as a young woman shyly asking a cousin if I could touch her very pregnant belly. I was curious what it felt like. A waterbed? A balloon? A bowl full of jelly? A wildcat in a pillow case?
I was surprised her belly felt firm, never giving much [...]

The chocolate in most mass-produced candy bars is as waxy and luscious as any pillar or stick at a mall candle store.
Candy corn tastes nothing like corn and it’s debatable whether it is worth bothering with calling itcandy.
Jaw breakers, lollipops, and gumballs are choking hazards.
Sweet tarts, Sprees, and Smarties are little disks [...]

Editor’s Note: This post is a part of a giveaway for tickets to The Wildlife Experience. Contest details are at the end.

My six-year-old son studied the piles of rubber poop and photos of animals. Different shapes, colors, and sizes represented the astonishing diversity of found on forest floors and sometimes in our own backyards. His [...]

I have a confession.
When we drive by sports fields on Saturdays and Sundays, and I see dozens of uniformed kids and their parents? I am so glad we aren’t there.
American suburban families who do not participate in soccer, baseball, hockey, t-ball, or any other organized league sports are rare. It’s expected for our [...]