Valerie Catrow

Raising Richmond: The Sleep Comeuppance of 2012

My son slept through the night for the first time when he was six weeks old. At four months he was sleeping 12 hours straight. But before you hate me know this: I am getting mine now. And it suuuuuucks.

by Valerie Catrow

January 31, 2012

10

Raising Richmond: Battle scar

"Don't worry, it will be a beautiful scar." Those were some of the last words my doctor said to me before I underwent the emergency C-section that brought my son into the world. When I first saw where they opened me up, "beautiful" wasn't the first word to come to mind. But it does now.

by Valerie Catrow

January 17, 2012

9

Raising Richmond: The Dora drawers dilemma

"I don't wanna wear Doraaaaaaaa! I'm a BOY!" Find out how those two sentences made one mother spiral into a fretful tornado of self doubt...and spend WAY too much time thinking (and talking) about her child's underwear.

by Valerie Catrow

January 3, 2012

14

Raising Richmond: Readin’ around the Christmas tree

Ever since my son was born, we've made it a little family tradition to give him a specially chosen book for Christmas. In honor of that, I thought I’d share a few of my current favorites in the world of children’s books—some holiday-related, some not, but all absolutely delightful. Hopefully they'll give you that last bit of inspiration you need when finishing up your shopping for the little ones in your life.

by Valerie Catrow

December 20, 2011

6

Raising Richmond: Biscuits, hash browns, and a side of humble pie

On recent trip out for breakfast with my son, I learned that I can be a real jerk. A jerk that means well, but a jerk nonetheless. Read on to find out how -- and how my toddler totally showed me up in the process.

by Valerie Catrow

December 6, 2011

5

Raising Richmond: Toddler photographer

From the moment my son JR was surgically removed from my person three years ago, he's had an iPhone camera in his face. So I suppose it was inevitable that he'd want to get in on the action; I just didn't expect this to happen when he was two years old. I also didn't expect he would be so persistent that we would actually give in to his toddler-y demands. That's right. My son has his own iPhone.

by Valerie Catrow

November 22, 2011

11

Raising Richmond: Like mother, like son

The older my son gets, the more I realize that our similarities go much deeper than the massive heads, fair skin, and gingerish tendencies we have in common. I have truly met my match. In fact, I birthed him. And he’s spent his almost three years on this planet holding a metaphorical mirror up to my face.

by Valerie Catrow

November 8, 2011

12

Raising Richmond: The sun and the rain and the apple seeds (and also mud)

My son and I have a thing about picking fruits and vegetables; the act of plucking something from a vine and dropping it in a bucket is soothing to the quiet, focused nature we share. Now that Autumn is upon us, it only made sense to carry our favorite pastime over into the new season. That's right! It was apple picking time, y'all!

by Valerie Catrow

October 25, 2011

6

Raising Richmond: The six stages of temporary single parenthood

A couple weeks ago my husband was in Chicago for a conference, leaving me to parent our toddler on my own for five days -- a situation that is very much out of our comfort zone. Now that I'm on the other side of this…adventure…I'd like to share with you something that I like to call The 6 Stages of Temporary Single Parenthood (as experienced by me, at least).

by Valerie Catrow

October 11, 2011

9

Raising Richmond: A dog named Bunn

My son JR never really had a “lovey” when he was tiny. All of his blankets and stuffed animals were interchangeable in his mind. In the rare event that an extra snuggle was needed (he’s just not a cuddler by nature), anything soft would do. But that all ended the day he notice Bunn.

by Valerie Catrow

September 27, 2011

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