31 Tuesday Jul 2012
I have certain goals as a parent: instill a sense of feminism in my daughter, attempt to raise her in a gender-neutral way, try to keep her away from the hyper-consumerism that runs rampant in our culture.
But I also want to respect what she wants and make her happy.
Today, those interests came to a head. And Adeline won. We went to Toys’R'Us and bought a baby doll, complete with baby care accessories, and a play stroller. Continue reading »
31 Tuesday Jul 2012
Today is the last day to get amazing deals on some beautiful jewelry created by a fellow blogger. So get on that already!
Rebecca of Life, Love & Baby. She’s a blogger, a mom, a beautiful writer, and an amazing jewelry designer. :: Jealous ::
Rebecca’s jewelry is delicate and ladylike, featuring beautiful stones and simple designs. I have the Pave Diamond Pendant and I wear it quite often.
All jewelry is 20% off today. Last day!
Rebecca sells her jewelry in her Etsy shop, JayAndRenae. Check it out!
Sale ends today, but you can shop any time!
Just click on this link. You won’t be sorry!
Let’s show her some love. Is this jewelry awesome or what?!
29 Sunday Jul 2012
Posted in Children, Milestones, Toddlers
First, some background. This is embarrassing, but I have to admit that we do almost all of our shopping at Whole Foods. I know it’s over-priced and kind of pretentious and a lot of the stuff isn’t necessarily that much better than what you might find at the normal grocery store. But I think the meat and produce is better, and I’m too lazy to make two trips. So oh well.
Adeline loves going grocery shopping. When we’re having a bad day I bribe her with a trip to Whole Foods and everything is better. I mean, I don’t even have to buy her any special food there. No cookies, no ice cream, nothing. She just loves going. She loves being in Whole Foods. She might have inherited a bit of the snob gene from David. Or from me. But I digress.
A couple months ago Addie started shouting out “Whole Foods!” every time we pulled into the parking lot. Place recognition. No big deal. Then she started recognizing other Whole Foods that we had never been to. OK, it’s a pretty recognizable logo. Still not really a big deal.
Then a few weeks ago she pulled out all the stops. Continue reading »
28 Saturday Jul 2012
Posted in Personal Growth
When I was two years old my parents took me in for my regular check-up. I was a good little girl, and all of my previous appointments had gone well. This one started out the same. I was sweet, behaved for the doctor, and was brave when it came time to get my shots. They put the needle in and I didn’t cry a bit. Then, a few seconds later and with no drama to speak of, I passed out.
From that moment for the next fifteen years or so I passed out every. single. time I did anything involving a needle. Every time I had to get shots, when I had to get blood work done, when I had to get IVs, even when I got my ears pierced.
It became such a problem that I started avoiding needles if at all possible. I got cavities drilled and filled with no pain medicine because I would rather endure the pain than get the shot. When I was pregnant with Adeline, I decided on a natural birth. There were many, many reasons for that, but I’d be lying if I said that avoiding needles wasn’t one of those reasons.
When I was in high school, my school hosted a blood drive. I decided that it was time for me to get my act together. I decided I would donate. When they pricked my finger to test my iron levels, I passed out. No donation for me.
But then things started to get a little better. In college, I got bitten by a stray dog and I had to go in for rabies shots. Five shots in one day, five different times. The first day I passed out. After that, I was good. In the ten years since then I’ve managed to get flu shots and travel vaccinations without passing out. When I was pregnant I had to have several vials of blood drawn for blood work and I got through it. Maybe my days of passing out are over, I realized.
Despite all that, though, needles still terrify me. When I made my 30 Before 30 list I included the entry, “Do something that terrifies me”. At the time, I didn’t know what that would be. A few months ago I realized: I needed to donate blood.
Today was the day. Continue reading »
27 Friday Jul 2012
Tags
** A week’s worth of the photos I took when my phone was handy and my camera was not. In other words, all the times when we were having spontaneous, real-life fun! **
Grilling out on our new rooftop deck. Love!
Adeline ate all the watermelon, then proceeded to drink the water from the watermelon container. Obviously, she LOVES watermelon.
25 Wednesday Jul 2012
Tags
Caillou, Children, Childrens TV Shows, Development, Elmo, Language Development, Sesame Street, Television
Last Wednesday, Adeline and I were standing in the kitchen as the movers did a first look at the apartment to see where things would go. I mentioned to one of the guys that there’s an elevator, but it’s in the back and it’s small and you need a key. He looked a little crestfallen as he agreed that the stairs would probably be best.
Then Adeline piped in with “Edavator!”
“Did she just say ‘elevator’?” He was laughing and wide-eyed.
“Oh yeah, she loves elevators.”
“How old is she?”
“Twenty months.”
His eyes got even bigger. “Wow, that’s a big word. She must watch a lot of Sesame Street!”
He laughed and I laughed with him. They got on with their work and Addie and I spent the day frantically trying to keep organized as our house full of stuff was unloaded into a three-bedroom apartment. But the conversation stuck with me. Because here’s the thing: Addie has never watched Sesame Street. Not even one episode.
I’d guess that she’s watched about twenty minutes of t.v. total her entire life (well, in addition to some football last fall). We have occasionally tried to get her to watch children’s shows – mostly on a flight when we would do just about anything to make her sit still – but she’s just not interested. And I’m certainly not going to push the issue.
One argument for children’s t.v. shows is that they help kids learn, especially when it comes to language. Despite the fact that the science shows this doesn’t really work (at least not for infants and young toddlers) I’ve had multiple people say this to me. For awhile I felt guilty, as though maybe I should be making her watch t.v. Then Adeline went ahead and proved me right. Continue reading »
24 Tuesday Jul 2012
Posted in Blogging
Tags
OK people, as you might guess, I’ve been a little bit distracted lately. You know, the whole cross-country move and all. What with packing beforehand, the move itself, and unpacking, I feel like I’ve been out of sorts for a month. In that time I’ve tried to keep up with my blogging but I didn’t really spend any time at all thinking about BlogHer. BlogHer’12 that is.
It hit me over the weekend that BlogHer’12 is next week. NEXT WEEK! I’m going to New York, by myself, for an awesome three-day extraveganza of panels, parties and paparazzi. OK, maybe not the paparazzi. But there will be some pretty famous ladies there, both bloggers and non-bloggers. And I am freaking excited.
And also totally unprepared. Crap. I haven’t given any thought to what I’m going to bring. What I’m going to wear. What panels I want to attend. What bloggers I want to meet. What parties I want to go to. Gah!
I’ve also been a bit in denial about the fact that I’ll be leaving Adeline for the first time ever. I know most moms have done that by the time their children are 20 months old. But I never have, and I’m a bit nervous. She’s been very mommy-centric with all the changes lately and I don’t want to leave her during such an emotional time. She’ll have her daddy and her grandma, but still. I’m feeling a bit guilty. Also, though, I’m feeling so incredibly excited for some alone time.
I mean, seriously? This is going to be awesome! So catch me up ladies. Who’s going? What are you wearing? What parties are you going to? Can we meet??
23 Monday Jul 2012
Posted in Baby, Children, Gentle Parenting, Parenting, Politics/Current Events, Toddlers
Adeline and I sit on the floor in her room, looking through her favorite books. We come to a page with a picture of a little bunny and a short poem about hopping around and eating grass. The bunny is grey and totally adorable.
“Look Addie, isn’t he so cute?”
Despite the fact that the bunny is completely gender neutral and there are no gender clues in the poem, I’ve automatically and without thinking made the bunny a boy. I do it all the time, even though I don’t want to, and I hate it. Continue reading »
22 Sunday Jul 2012
Posted in Family, Pensive Moments, Writing
David and I flew from Denver to Milwaukee a week ago Friday and stayed in Wisconsin with my parents until the movers got to Chicago with our stuff. The plane landed, we dis-boarded (along with Adeline and our two cats), got our luggage, found my parents’ car in the parking garage (they were driving our car back from Denver), and drove out into a Midwestern night.
As we drove along the freeway surrounded by greenery with the humid air seeping in through the air conditioning system, we both experienced something unexpected: it felt as though we had simply been on a particularly long vacation and we were finally returning home. The feeling only intensified while we stayed at my parents’ house (where I lived in high school and where David and I have spent many holidays and long weekends) and especially once we got back to Chicago.
The density, the people walking everywhere, the brick buildings, the three-flats, the downtown skyline, the lake, the buses, the taxis, the trains, the clouds, the little dogs: it’s all so Chicago, and it’s all so Home.
We lived in Denver for a year and a half. Continue reading »
20 Friday Jul 2012
We have internet! And we can actually walk through (most of) our apartment! And I found my computer!! How did I go without internet for almost three days? Honestly, I have no idea. But I’m back. And it feels great!
Also, I wanted to mention that a fellow blogger, the always wonderful Life, Love & Baby, is having a sale in her Etsy shop right now. Her jewelry is beautiful, and I can say this with authority because I own a necklace and wear it quite a bit. Check out her stuff at JayAndRenae and buy yourself something! And let me know if you like it, because we might be doing a giveaway in the near future. Lucky you!
And now, without further ado, this week’s phone photos! Continue reading »
18 Wednesday Jul 2012
Posted in Uncategorized
17 Tuesday Jul 2012
Posted in Creative Writing, Pensive Moments, Travel, Writing
Tags
Barcelona, Florence, Friendship, Monaco, Relationships, Travel, traveling around europe, vacation
I took the train from Monaco back to Barcelona by myself. I hadn’t planned on that, but when my friends decided to go on to Italy I didn’t feel welcome. I saved face by claiming that I was tired and wanted to rest before my trip to London in a couple weeks. They promptly agreed, not even making the polite invitation that they knew I would reject. I left for the train station at 8:00 while they sat in our shared room, packing their bags for a train to Florence the next morning. As I walked out of the apartment I could just hear their hushed giggles over the rattling of the wheels of my suitcase against the marble floor of the old hallway. Continue reading »
15 Sunday Jul 2012
I cried for days before we moved away from Chicago 18 months ago. When we walked out of our condo for the last time and drove away from the city, I balled my eyes out. For months all I could think about was moving back. And now we are. And I was so incredibly sad to leave Denver.
I feel torn apart – bits of me drawn back to Denver, other parts reaching out for Chicago with everything I have. I am literally at an in-between, as we stop over for a few days at my parents’ house in Wisconsin to wait for the movers to bring our stuff to Chicago. As I sit in this transitional space, I can see what I love (and don’t love) about each place, but I still don’t know for sure that we’ve made the right decision. Continue reading »
14 Saturday Jul 2012
Well, yesterday was move out day. (Hence, no post.) We’re now in Wisconsin waiting for our stuff to get dropped off in Chicago some time this week. I’m definitely still in the processing phase, so for now I’ll just post my regular photos. Enjoy!
Party bus on the way to see String Cheese Incident at Red Rocks!
And then the bus broke down… Luckily we were almost to Red Rocks.
The crowd at Red Rocks – amazing!
The band!
With my amazing friend Margaret
#photoadayjuly my favorite color: blue (blue pre-dawn, starting my hike up Mount Bierstadt)
At the summit of Mount Bierstadt
Another climber took my picture with the official summit sign
Addie and Izzy getting into trouble at the Clyfford Still museum
Adeline and the art
Serious girls, reading their new art books
#photoadayjuly the #letter E in a Clyfford Still painting
#photoadayjuly #texture sometimes I just want to curl up in Addie’s bed
#photoadayjuly the moving truck is #open and getting loaded up
11 Wednesday Jul 2012
Posted in Mindfulness, Photos, Travel
Tags
Colorado, colorado 14er, Hiking, Mount Bierstadt, Mountain, Mountain climbing, nature, outdoors, Photography, Photos, Summit, Travel
“Is the view worth it?”
I stopped and looked at the man who had questioned me: an old Duke sweatshirt, khaki shorts, a regular backpack. His wife was similarly attired. I looked back at the mountain I had just summited and then at the man again.
I shrugged my shoulders and smiled. “It’s pretty beautiful.”
The man laughed and his wife sighed. “I sure do envy you coming back down.”
I smiled again and wished them luck; they went up, slowly, and I went down. I don’t think it was the response he was looking for, but I didn’t know what else to say. “The view” is not why I climb mountains.
Yesterday I did my first Colorado 14er, Mount Bierstadt, and I did it alone. Continue reading »
