Dana Burland

You know, I mentioned to B, A’s best and quietest stretch of sleep is every day from 9am-11am. It’s then he’s peaceful, only making newborn-catching-my-breath noises and not bird-like squacks we’ve grown accustomed to hearing at 2am. We’ve learned this little bit and oh so much more about him in the nearly four weeks he’s been here. Heck, we don’t even jump out of bed for the 2am squacks anymore, which is a true litmus test of new (again) parents. Today is Baby A’s due date. Today. On a mid-January, bitterly cold, softly snowing day. Not almost four weeks ago on a snowless, seasonably warm, pre-holidays, December morning. I can’t imagine not having met him yet. Not having seen his sweet little face that looks so much like his brother’s, but with dark features that are so uniquely him. Not yet seeing C as a glowing big brother or having our family know and fall in love with him yet. And don’t get me started on if I was still pregnant today. A million thanks to the universe tha...

Last night we were on our own. After hosting family, who were in town half to help and half to visit their new grandson, we were home just as a family of four. It felt strange, like leaving the hospital with a baby for the first time. Quieter, less commotion, more responsibility, more uncertainty--but also filled with more confidence. I lit a candle, put on some music and together we wrangled our boys. Daddy and C played wild games in the basement while A and I worked on dinner and kicked around in his jungle gym. That night we sat around the table and ate the most delicious beef stew over herby mashed potatoes and later played in the playroom all together. And wow, even if it was just for that moment, I thought, we got this . We ate almost all our meals in while we were hosting. These few recipes in particular stuck out as slam dunk dinners that were so easy, healthy and crowd-pleasing I imagine they’ll stick around in our winter dinner rotation for awhile. Wild Rice Soup...

I listen to a lot of podcasts. It’s what I play every morning while I get ready for work, what I listen to when I work out and sometimes what plays while I cook dinner. I’ve tried some that I haven’t enjoyed and ended up removing, but here are the ones that are memorable or have stuck around on my podcast app. Short Stories/Short Series Limetown This is a fiction podcast/story about an investigation of an experiment went wrong, which resulted in the disappearance of an entire city of scientists and their families. Not only is the plot interesting, but the story and sound effects are so spot on. Dirty John A true crime podcast about a surgeon/conman who is found out through a relationship he has with a southern Californian woman. Dr. Death A story of a terrible doctor who is allowed to continue practicing despite his malpractice. S-Town An investigative reporting podcast that takes several strange twists and turns, starting with a man in a small Alabama town reporting a ...