My “Particular” Guy Almost every night, without fail, about 45 seconds after I walk out of Jonah’s room and finally sit down on my bed with the loudest internal “Ahhh,” he calls me. “Mommmmmmmy.” Trying to summon every ounce of patience I have left, I tiptoe down the hallway quickly so as to not waking his sleeping baby brother right next door. Except as you may recall from several other posts, our floors seemed to have been transported from the Little House on the Prairie and they creak as if Pa is a’comin. “Yes, bud. What is it?” Usually, it’s a “can I have water, it’s too hot, why is the sky blue, can you ...Read More
Oliver’s Brown Bear, Brown Bear Birthday Party What Oliver wants, Oliver gets. Since day UNO. When he was a newborn…You want my boob at 1am, 4am and 6 times between 5:45 and 8:45pm? Here you go, baby. (Insert cartoon of a woman – hi, that’s me- throwing hoisting her boob over a nursing bra like a large net in the Bering sea). When he started to crawl… You want to push mommy’s new sunglasses around on the floor? Have at it. (They’re knock-offs anyway. Because, you.) When he started eating… You want to eat your weight in puffs and cheerios? Fine. Just, fine. (At least they are loaded with spinach and kale anti-oxidant chia flax omega 3 DHA super green beet juice. Who needs ...Read More
Later in Life with Bay Alarm Medical When most people think of getting old, (like really old, like older than 80 old), they don’t think of life just starting out. Sadly, they think this is the time to “wrap it up,” so to speak… The time to sit on the front porch with a quilt and watch those “crazy kids nowadays doing whatever it is they do.” Yeah, that’s what most people think “older” people do and become. Crotchety, cynical, and immobile. But guess what? You haven’t met my Nana Jean and her boyfriend Burt. Yeah, I said boyfriend. And yeah, she’s 87 and he’s 89. And let me tell you, they’re anything ...Read More
OLLY Smoothies: Everyday and On-the-Go! Now that Jonah is back to school, Fall Ball baseball is starting back up, and Mr. Ollie Blue is a 1 year old on the move, (and did I mention I like a crazy person signed up to be a room parent), life is busier than ever. On top of it, I’m still incredibly intent on losing the last bit (if you can call 20 lbs “a bit”) of baby weight. Believe it or not, it seems that the busier I get, and the more stressed out I am, the more hyper-focused I am on what I’m eating. I suppose this is a good thing—like, I ...Read More
09.15.16
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For a Year Of course tonight I held him a little extra longer. Because a year ago, at this exact time, I couldn’t. I was on the 3rd floor and he was on the 4th. I was still drugged, shocked and unable to move from the waste down. He – attached to machines and in a glass basinet, unable to sleep against my chest, like I had planned. Like he was supposed to. The truth is though, I didn’t know that night how I would or should hold him anyway. Not just because of all the cords attached to him, and attached to me, and the knives that moved through my ...Read More
Go Forth and Forty I’ve typed and retyped an opening sentence 58 times. I was going to start by saying something simple and straight to the point like: “My 40th birthday is in 10 days” But that is so… it’s just… so… And not what I’m really trying to say. The problem is, I’m not sure what I’m trying to say about my birthday… That I’m sort of freaking out? That I’m sort of thrilled and excited? That I now understand the horror “magic” of my rear view mirror and all that it reveals? A lot of my older girlfriends tell me that 40 is fabulous. That at 40, you are finally confident– you know who you ...Read More
Back to School Style with JCPenney I don’t know about you, but my almost 9-year old is growing at a warp speed. Like, feet a half a size away from being the same as mine. I can’t keep up. It feels like every other month, he needs a new  — (insert clothing item here). Luckily, his birthday falls right around going back to school. Why is this lucky? Oh, because I can say “happy birthday, here’s your gift” when I buy him a new pair of sneakers… You know, the kind that comes with a huge NBA superstar guaranteeing to make your kid jump higher (as in the kind that cost ...Read More
Food Loves Milk: Awesome After School Snacks You know those kids who only eat basic foods… You know the ones that will happily eat a PB&J sandwich for lunch every day and macaroni and cheese for dinner every night? Yeah, that’s not my kid. MY kid is a foodie. There’s no such thing as basic! This is a kid who will try anything– there’s no such thing as too spicy, too saucy, or too sweet. He’s got an adventurous appetite and it’s awesome! But… it’s also hard. How does one please a child who’s palette is on par with Anthony Bourdain but is only 8! and needs wholesome, healthy, food to help him ...Read More
07.18.16
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If there was an Olympic Sport for Blaming, I would be a renowned Gold Medalist. Part naturally gifted, part trained, I am an elite athlete with a skill level so high, even Nike couldn’t afford to endorse me. I am that good. I could say that I discovered my talent in 2003, at the start of my first marriage, but that would be an look like an admission of guilt, and good blamers don’t do that. Especially because: Everything is everyone’s fault anyway!!! 1st husbands, 2nd husbands, mothers, sisters, friends, KIDS (oh, don’t even get me started on the kids, they are the worst culprits): They all, for lack of a better ...Read More
When Jonah was born, I had the privilege of being able to stay home with him for a year before returning to work.  Initially, I chose to have a full time nanny come for a short time (an old story about her here). Eventually, however, it made more sense (financially and scheduling wise) to have him go to a local daycare. It ended up being the best decision ever as Jonah thrived in a setting with other children. (I attribute his early talking and social skills- at least the ones he had until he turned 8 and learned how to do an armpit fart- to daycare). While this was the right move, ...Read More