Please excuse the mess. The children are making memories. Is that how the saying goes? The truth is that the mess you see in my home means that I have a husband who works way more hours than full-time and three little boys who seem to actively try to undo any of the housework I…
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How to Bring Home a Real Christmas Tree When You’ve Never Had One Before
Did you know that people want articles on Christmas trees? I know, right? I had no idea – until I was the one Googling “How early can I get a real Christmas tree?” and “How tall should my Christmas tree be?” and “How to care for a Christmas tree” and “How to get your Christmas…
Home for the Holidays
There’s just something about this place. There’s something about the big tree in the backyard that is filling our lawn with red and orange leaves. There is something about little boys in their slightly-too-large coats running over those leaves with toy lawnmowers. There is something about the sun streaming in through the big living room…
Office Makeover
I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t celebrate the end of summer. I know I shouldn’t look forward to cooler temperatures. I know I shouldn’t be pulling out the scarves before putting away the shorts. But I can’t help it. And I’m not really sorry. I love fall. Ergo, I love September. I’m not going “Back…
A Foolproof Method of Birth Control
To maintain the utmost discretion, the list below is a compilation of experiences that friends have shared with me, along with some of my own experiences. I have a very hard time remembering past moves. I vaguely remember pulling up to the front of residence in first year university to unload enough stuff to fill…
In His Arms
(Written a few days before we closed on the new house.) There was once a place that I thought was perfect. I’d lay there and know that nothing could touch me. Not stress. Not anger. Not sadness. Not pain. The world disappeared and I was free to just breathe. I remember that place so vividly,…
The End of Great Things = One Celebratory Giveaway
We live eleven minutes from the beach. For the past four years we have lived 21 minutes from the beach (that should tell you roughly how far we moved). In all that time, (plus the previous three years I’ve lived in this city,) I have only been to the beach twice. Once last year, and…
I Moved From Florida To Indiana And Never Looked Back
How cliché is it for someone to grow up in a place and then measure the entirety of their success by whether or not they got out of town? In particular, at least in movies, it seems this is a big thing in small towns. Well I did it. I said for the longest time…
My Next BIG Thing
Hi, my name is Laura O’Rourke and I am addicted to running. Or maybe I’m addicted to not running. Yeah. That has to be it. It has been 47 days since I last ran. The very last time I ran. I had a great excuse. We were moving. The apartment needed to be packed up….
A Sort of Goodbye, but Not Really
The plan had been to meet at the pool at four, let the kids swim, order pizza, and then Alice would take my two girls and one son home with her for a sleepover. The original goodbye play date had been to meet at Six Flags two days prior. But my kids weren’t ready to…
An Empty Fridge
I’m sentimental. That’s the nice way of saying it. You could also call me cluttered; a pack-rat; hoarder. I have a hard time throwing things away. Even when I know that I am not using something and probably won’t for a while, the what-ifs mute any voice of reason. But it is worth something. It would…
