I BLANK NJ Blog

I may be jinxing myself by writing this, but — if all goes according to plan — last night Margo slept in her crib for the final time. The final pic of Margo in her crib (I’m 98% sure she is in this photo.) Today while she’s at school, I’m going to move the crib back to mine and Tara’s room to get it ready for its next tenant and then put together Margo’s first big girl bed (hopefully all the pieces are in the box!) 4/5/2025: Margo realizes she can jump on her bed Lately Margo

When weather, work, and parental responsibilities allow it, I like to start my morning commute with a 20-minute stroll to the train station slightly further from my house than the one that’s only a few blocks away. I get a sitcom-length amount of time (minus commercials) to myself screen-free where I can breathe in the fresh air, scope out the neighborhood chickens, and look for more wild birds. Of course, sometimes I try to have my walk and work it too and I’ll answer emails

Margo and I finally got around to processing most of our remaining orchard apples on Saturday night. Margo and I proudly show off our jar...

The first time Tara and I went apple picking at Hillcrest Orchards was almost exactly three years ago. Our first trip to the orchard in...

With apologies to Theodor Seuss Geisel… I am Dad. I am Dad. Dad I am. “That Dad-I-Am! That Dad-I-Am! I do not like that Dad-I am!” Do you...

As I uncomfortably crouched in a semi-completed sweltering shed pathetically trying to tighten eight tiny interior roof screws, I...

On Friday we — hopefully — entered a new and exciting phase of parenting: the pacifier-free life. I say “hopefully” because as I put my...

Owning a flag pole is a huge undertaking, not for the faint of heart. One wrong move on the pole can throw off the balance of the whole...

I spent the past five days almost completely alone, isolating with a – thankfully mild –  case of COVID that I didn’t want to pass on to...

A big change for me this summer is that I now live my life strictly by the 5-7-9 rule… but before I can explain what that means, I feel...

After an afternoon of sand castles & wave jumping at the beach the other day, I explained to my daughter Margo that I thought I had...