Beth Wise

Tag: adventure

Oregon, Someday

The first time we went to Oregon, spring clouds hung over the emerald forests blanketing the foothills of snow-capped Mount Hood. It rained most of the time that we were there but we’d come prepared. Our rain jackets and big dumb hats protected us from the rain that managed to make it through the thick…
On Showing Up

As a fundraiser for multiple sclerosis, Alex did a 150 mile bike ride at the beginning of May. The race is split over two days–80 miles the first day, 70 the second. After fighting through a broken gear box and finishing the first 70 miles using only two gears, he came home late on Saturday,…
Conversations Overheard from Our Backyard

SATURDAY EVENING Alex: I haven’t seen Pamela today at all. I haven’t seen her all day. Beth: Did you check the bushes? A: Yeah. The bushes, the nesting box. Unless she’s hiding behind the shed, I think a cat must have gotten her or something. B: Okay, just wait. Let me check. Sometimes they’re hiding….Hmmm.…
Snorkeling Is the Best Sport and Other Vacation Thoughts

We just returned from vacation. We being me, Alex, and The Kid. We left The Baby in the capable hands of grandparents because the thought of taking him and all of his machinery and his baby food and his diapers on a plane gives me hives. This was our first big vacation away from him…
Why So Serious?

Alex and I got the opportunity to go to a fancy restaurant on Saturday evening. We’ve been watching entirely too much Food Network and I felt a hankering to eat somewhere other than, say, B.J.’s Pizza. We went down to Fearings Restaurant, which happens to be inside the Ritz Carlton. Don’t worry, we weren’t pretentious…
Two Years A Mother

Two years ago, today, Alex and I drove down to San Antonio to meet our son for the very first time. We ate lunch at a Panera, brushed our teeth in the parking lot of a convenient store, and then sat nervously in a crowd of parents in the cafeteria of The Kid’s 2nd grade…
Homecoming

Pro-Tip: This picture of a happy family, royal or not, cannot be real. Somebody photoshopped that picture. I’ll bet you a million dollars. Our Baby is home. Alleluia. When you have a baby in the NICU who is coming home on oxygen and a monitor and an entire pharmacy of medications, before you leave, you do…
From the Bowels of the NICU

The baby (henceforth known as The Baby, differentiated from The Kid) had to have an eye exam this week. In case you don’t know how eye exams are done on infants, let me enlighten you. The Child Life Specialist came in to warn me that it might be…traumatic. They like the parents to try and…
How to: Awkward Family Photo

All you need to know about doing your own photos
Dear Sabrina

Hi there, Cheerbrina- I first met you and your mom when you were a fuzzy-headed, anime-loving, Bratz-doll-playing about-to-be-6th-grader (Note to readers: The dolls she is holding are not Bratz dolls. Those were dolls that she received at a White Elephant Christmas party that will haunt her nightmares forever.) I loved hanging out with you because,…
Don’t Mother-Teresa Me, Bro

I have a confession. I have a big head. I mean, physically, as in my head is ginormous for my relatively short, apple-shaped stature. In high school band, I always had to take the walk of shame to the boy’s line to get my already nerdy marching band hat (in case you’re counting, that would…
Mexico City: Masters of MacGyver

(TRUTH: I have never actually the show MacGuyver. In fact, I had to google his name to make sure I was spelling it right. There is something intriguing to me about someone who can whip things out of their behind and save the world. Somedays, I feel like MacGyver (although without the annoying accent). Circumstances in…