being a good mommy

09.09.13
3
My 35th Birthday Two years ago from this exact weekend, I decided the best way to celebrate a milestone birthday (my 35th) was to do it with a group of my nearest and dearest girlfriends. Using every last bit of my savings — or checking– depending on how you look at it, (I admit, not one of my wisest moves), we spent the weekend at a nearby resort in an oceanside villa, drinking, laughing, eating, sunning, toasting, cheers-ing, walking, talking, drinking and taaaaawlking some more. It was my treat. My joy. My pleasure. My honor to spend a weekend with a group of women (including my mom and aunt) who were ...Read More
Last year, I tried to volunteer at school as much as I could. Spending time in Jonah’s class -cutting paper, cleaning up, passing out goodies on special occasions, etc.- opened my eyes not only to the world of Transitional Kindergarten and public school, but also to the differences between boys and girls… At an early age, it’s clear that there is an inherent difference in attention to detail… Generally, the boys scribble fast, while the girls keep the colors (coordinated) and in between the lines. This basically results in Jonah coming home with a lot of projects that, well… look like… someone just wanted to get outside and play zombies ...Read More
06.27.13
3
For those of you that have been following, you might recall that 2 summers ago, I made the worst parenting decision of my life. I signed up Jonah for a swim boot camp… A week -long intensive taught by a “I swear-by-him… he’s a miracle worker… it’s so worth the money” guy in Los Angeles. Known for his controversial, sort of,“get in the pool and swim, kid” methodology, I wasn’t 100% convinced that this was the right thing for Jonah. HOWEVER, everyone I knew flocked to him and I was guaranteed that by the end of the week, Jonah would be swimming. And he did. For the ...Read More
We are in the process of moving and I’m in clean up mode from top to bottom, inside and out… Including all things tech. So, I found this video while cleaning up my computer. It’s probably about 3 years old, as Jonah was really only about 2 (though his silliness and sense of humor was quite evident even then). I’m a total dork in the video and I’m not quite sure where exactly I was looking or why I even shot it… but boy, I can’t believe how time is flying. Next week is the last week of school… and then it’s on to Kindergarten (the real Kindergarten). Videos like ...Read More
Ah, it’s March and that means Spring is in the air… Actually, here in Los Angeles, Spring was in the air in December and pretty much all through January…  and I’m pretty sure I spotted Summer one weekend in February…. So forget the air part. It’s just March. And that means a lot of things… For starters, for the past couple of years, every March I seem to make it my mission to cleanse. I want to clean house. To clean body. To clean mind. Without fail though, having just spent the two months prior to March making excuses, mentally, as to why postponing all my “cleansing” resolutions is probably better ...Read More
12.31.12
4
It’s going fast…. this train. But I am definitely on board. It’s hard to believe that during this “don’t blink for a second” year, so much has happened. Not stuff, but moments. Memories. Changes. My LIFE. Let’s see… In 2012, in no particular order… 1) I learned to surf. 2) I moved myself, my son, (and everything but the couch) in with my boyfriend to a new home. (His couch was much, much better than ours).  3) I traveled to the most impoverished country in the Western Hemisphere and held the hands of extremely sick children. (Will be able to fully discuss this life altering adventure in a few more months). 4) I saw Bruce ...Read More
If you’ve read my “About Me” section, then you know I was quite the ham when I was a little girl. From imaginary friends to belting Dionne Warwick love songs, I loved to perform and play pretend any chance I got. I was always pretty great with impressions and (as the winner for Best Sense of Humor in 8th grade) loved making people laugh. Still do. SO, I suppose it should come as no surprise that Jonah has developed his own shtick and loves nothing more than to make people laugh. Lately, if he’s not quieting down the room to tell a knock-knock joke, then he’s doing (unsolicited) imitations. And ...Read More
01.05.12
0
Is it safe to assume, that only in Los Angeles, a 4 year old comes home from (private) preschool and says that we need to build a meditation garden? Or does this kind of thing happen everywhere??? Yesterday afternoon, I asked my son what his favorite part of his school day was: “Meditating.” “Huh?” “Meditation. We med-dit-tationed.“ “You meditated???” “Yes, in the med-dit-tation garden. All of the kids in the class. We all med-dit-tated.” “That’s nice. Why?” “Because it calms you down. If you get angry. You can go to med-dit-tation.” “Ah, I see.” First of all, how lovely that his school has a meditation garden. Second of all, his school has a meditation garden. Hilarious! (If he told me ...Read More
12.29.11
0
The other day, I told J that in a few weeks soccer would be starting again. “Who’s going to be on my team?” “Well,” I said, “Blake and Sammy… They’ll be on your team again…” “Who’s NOT going to be on my team?” Pause. Seriously? Who’s NOT going to be on your team? Um, kid. About 6 billion people won’t be on your team. “There’s a lot of people that won’t be on your team, Jonah.” “Tell me who.” I literally started naming random people, “President Obama, Lady Gaga, The Backyardigans, Grandpa…” “Who else?” Conversations like this obviously amuse me. But mostly? They concern me: They. Can. Go. On. FOREVER. There is no answer that will ...Read More
12.13.11
1
When J first started preschool, I always seemed to get stuck with the stuff on the sign up sheets outside the classroom that NO ONE would wish on their worst enemy…. Taco salad for 35 people, muffins (without dairy, wheat, nuts, or flavor), kosher egg salad, etc… I cursed the gods (and moms) of preschool and complained that no one understood the plight of the working mom. Sorry I’m not at all the pick up and drop offs wearing a stupid cardigan, skinny jeans and flats, and getting all excited and nervous about what to sign up for on THE list. OH, that GODDAMN LIST. Well this year, somehow (and I ...Read More