Sparkles & Superheroes

Kids Say the Darndest Things (Not my kids this time)

2013-09-23T20:26:00.001-04:00

I rarely rarely post about work, but sometimes something happens that I need to write about.

I'm hoping the humor comes through as funny as it actually was (or at least as funny as I thought it was).

I'm teaching fifth grade - so they're typical 10 year olds and I have some great 'personalities' in my class and this was part of my math lesson today...

The kids were doing a word problem that involved several different sized "bouncy balls" - Now why a textbook company would write a word problem for 10 year olds about bouncy balls is beyond me. But needless to say, several of my boys started giggling.
I ignored.
At first.
Then it got a little much and one kid loudly says, "He's talking about the OTHER BALLS!"
So I say, "What balls are you talking about?" (how I kept a straight face is beyond me)
The kid was speechless (and I was trying so hard not to laugh).
I asked again, "What balls?"
And another (smart) kid chimes in, "No no no Ms. K, he was talking about the 75 millimeter balls - the problem was talking about the 40 millimeter ones."

Ahh I see...so he was talking about the bigger balls.

You just can't make this up.

Changing hats

2013-09-19T12:32:00.001-04:00

I've been back at work for a little over a week and as with the beginning of every school year, I'm still just getting a handle on things. New curriculum, new kids, new expectations, and for me...new hats.

Doing the daily change from teacher hat to mom hat is hard work.

I'm that teacher who leaves school when the day is over...gone are the days of staying late to finish grading something or reading ahead. I have two little people that by 3:17, I need to see.

In my ten minute drive (I know I'm very lucky) from work to daycare I have to decompress...forget anything crappy that may have happened at work, let anything that didn't get done wait til tomorrow, and muster up the energy that I know my two kids are going to have.

It takes a whole lot of mustering on my part not to just put on the TV and shut it down when we get home cause man I am TIRED. But I know winter is coming and the days of playing outside are dwindling. And I'm trying...and this mommy hat still fits better than my teacher one.

Happy Tuesday

2013-09-10T19:55:00.001-04:00

Of course on my SECOND day working with kids, Alex's teacher texts me to call her ASAP.

Of course, he has 102 fever and needs to be picked up.

Thank god for my parents who are retired and can help me.

Of course, I pick Jenna up and find out that she kicked another girl because "she was annoying."

Of course, she also got in trouble for singing the "beans beans good for your heart the more you eat them the more you fart" song.

{her teachers might need a sense of humor, but I get it}

It's a Mac and Cheese and wine kind of night for this working momma!

Happy Tuesday!

Holding onto summer

2013-09-09T21:42:00.001-04:00

School started today , which means all four of us are getting back into the work/school routine.

But my family is still holding on to summer...

Morning talks on our stoop

Before bed pajama walks around our new 'hood

Squirt gun 'fights'

After school scooter rides

I wish I could freeze these moments...

I forgot

2013-09-05T06:54:00.001-04:00

II forgot how hard it is to drop your kid off at daycare that first time. That first week.

I forgot that it takes them a while to get adjusted and that the days would be hard.

I forgot how my heart would hurt knowing that someone else is cuddling his tears away.

I dropped Jenna off for the first time two and a half years ago. She was a few months younger than Alex is now. I thought it would be easier the second time around...i know the teachers. I get pictures texted to me during the day. I am confident and comfortable with the daycare that they're in. He has his big sister there.

I thought it would be easier...

it's not.

My little guy is 'adjusting' as we all are this week and the coming weeks to our 'new normal.' Getting up and dressed and out of the house early enough for everyone to get to work. All of us being in new classrooms with new friends and people around us. The circus of picking both kids up after working all day, coming home, playing, cooking dinner, baths, and bedtime.

I'm tired. Mike is tired. The kids are tired.

We are all adjusting.

I'm finally a member of sleep club

2013-08-22T18:25:00.001-04:00

I'm always hesitant to write about sleep when sleep is good - it's kind of like Fight Club - first rule of Sleep Club is you don't talk about Sleep Club...

But I can't let this one go unspoken about...

Jenna has been sleeping in our room - on the floor - for (embarrassingly) close to a year (maybe longer). Obviously this has sucked. For many (ahem) reasons.

But I've already written about that - today is a bragging post.

We moved exactly a week ago and have slept here for 6 nights. And Jenna has slept in her (new) bed every.single.night.

Even when she's woken up in the middle of the night (for bathroom or bandaid fixing) she's always gone back without a single fuss. One morning when Alex kindly woke her at 5 am she even went back in by herself and went back to sleep.

When I tell you this has never happened in her 4+ years, I'm not exaggerating.

As my friend Tara said,whatever you paid for the house is already worth it since Jenna's finally sleeping well.

Whether it's the purple walls (Benjamin Moore's Lavendar Ice) or her new furniture (from Bob's), something clicked for her and we are so proud of her and excited to have our room back!

Moving day

2013-08-16T11:40:00.001-04:00

I'm sitting on my couch watching five guys pack the last four and a half years of my life into moving boxes.

Feeling excited for my family's next adventure in a new house.

Feeling anxious about all the unpacking that needs to get done and getting the house to feel like home.

Feeling sad to be leaving our first home as a family (and one that Alex will never remember)

It's very surreal watching your whole life squeezed into various sized cardboard boxes.

Thanks to all my friends who listened to all my questions, concerns, and excitements during this whole (very long) process! I can't thank you enough!

Onto our next adventure (one with lots of before and after pictures!)

Learn with Homer {Review & Giveaway}

2013-08-13T18:10:00.001-04:00

I am a mother to a pre-reading little girl and an elementary school teacher (I've taught almost every grade from pre-K to 5th grade) and I am constantly on the look out for some great literacy apps for my home and school iPads.

Recently, I had the opportunity to spend some time using the Learn with Homer app with Jenna. She loves it and so do I. It is a FREE app (available on 2nd generation and above iPads only), developed by literacy experts, and targets kids ages 3-6. It incorporates drawing, voice recording, stories, songs, and more, along with more traditional phonics exercises to teach kids how to read.
Jenna has been using it for a couple of weeks and specifically asks to play on "Mommy's work iPad" just to use this app. The graphics are great and the content is perfect for pre-readers and ELLs.

Amazing graphics

Here are some of the basic Learn with Homer features:

Learn to Read teaches your child to read with phonics lessons and games.

Story Time unlocks the joy of reading with original and classic stories, poems, and rhymes.

Discover the World builds knowledge and vocabulary with science, history, and related fiction. For example, children might study peacocks and then read a Peacock fable.

Homer’s Clubhouse allows children to draw and record their reactions, ideas, and dreams.

Parents can even track children’s learning and share their creations on the companion website www.learnwithhomer.com/parents.

The app is free to download, and includes one level of Learn to Read and one Discover the World pack, plus access to the Clubhouse and parent tools. Additional content is available through in-app purchase.

Jenna has been enjoying it (especially the voice recording part) and I can definitely see how teachers can use this in their classrooms. The part I think is great for teachers is that children can navigate the app on their own, but you can still keep track of their progress!

This is my first real review on my blog and I would only put something on here that I believe has real merit. Definitely check out Learn with Homer if you have a young reader at home or a class full of kids who want to learn to read in a fun way!

GIVEAWAY: I am giving away a $25 credit to the Learn with Homer Society6 shop to one lucky reader. The winner can choose from the gallery of original illustrations featured on the app! To enter, just leave a comment below.

A winner will be randomly selected on Tuesday, August 20.

{All opinions stated are my own. I was provided with a gift card to make in-app purchases to facilitate my review.}

Definitely NOT Experts

2013-08-07T06:52:00.000-04:00

A lot of times, our 'new-er' mom/dad friends will ask us our advice on all things parenting....especially sleep stuff.

Now I'll be the first to say it - we messed up the sleep thing with Jenna - I mean she's four and sleeps on our floor! When she was younger and we tried all the different methods out there of sleep training - she inevitably ended up crying and puking...crying and puking...it was awful. At 18 months she catapulted herself from the crib and I don't think she's spent a single night since then on her own in her own bed.

Then came Alex...we were determined to do a better job with him and (fingers crossed) it's been pretty good. He has been 'self soothing' himself to sleep for as long as I can remember and typically fusses for about 10 minutes and goes to sleep. But as with anything, we have our ups and downs. Toward the beginning of the summer, we had to let him cry it out and it lasted over an hour but then the next night, was back to normal. Last night he wasn't really crying, but definitely fussing a lot in his crib and we were just letting him do his thing. After almost two hours(!) the monitor looked like this:

Asleep standing up!

Just hoping his neck doesn't hurt in the morning!

Cheating

2013-08-05T07:24:00.001-04:00

Zoos...museums...bounce places...parks...these are all places that we frequent often. For the most part, we plan these trips thinking about what Jenna would like to do and where her friends are going to be.

But now that Alex is getting older, we have to consider him into our plans as well. He's no longer the little brother who gets pushed around a stroller while his big sister gets to play.

Last week, I spent the day with my little guy and his friends at the zoo. He got to feed all the animals. He got to decide which direction we took. He got to share his picnic lunch with a friend. All the big brothers and sisters were at camp and these little ones (all under 2) got to have it their way at the zoo.

I felt like I was cheating on Jenna, being that she loves the zoo. And I was surprised that she didn't figure it out herself since she's such a sleuth! But it was so nice to just follow in Alex's lead.

Shh! Don't tell Jenna he was holding hands with another girl!

How many more years til sleep away camp?

2013-07-28T20:20:00.001-04:00

I feel like all any parent wants is for their kids to have more opportunities than they had.

2011

I had an amazing childhood, filled with lots of opportunities but the one thing I kind of always wanted but didn't get was sleepaway camp.

Jenna's 1st letter

Now, since I know my mom reads this, I want to let everyone know that I did go to day camp and then travel teen camp, and then in college, spent a semester abroad...But there was always sleepaway camp. I still have letters from my friends that they wrote to me while they were away (stored in a closet at my parent's house).

2012 - Carnival

Needless to say, I have talked to Mike about this, probably since before Jenna was born. He had barely heard of these kinds of camps (obviously not from the NYC area). And he's had mixed emotions about the thought of sending our kids away for the summer. Now obviously, we have several years to make real decisions about this, but I think I need to lay the groundwork early on this one.

But as luck would have it, our very close family friends work at sleepaway camp and bring their two kids with them every summer (same age as Jenna and Alex). And we have made the trip to their camp for the past three summers.

I don't have all the pictures yet from the "good" camera since our friends are still at camp and sending me pictures is not top on their priority list...but I can't wait to see the lake pictures -The girls got to swim, go tubing, canoeing and both my kids played on the 'aqua playground.'

2013 - Rock Band

I'm pretty sure I have Mike convinced to send the kids...or maybe I've convinced him to spend 6 weeks at camp without the kids...Either way we always have a blast when we go and they'll probably have two new campers in a few years!!

How we keep in touch!

Summer Mornings

2013-07-19T14:55:00.000-04:00

Our schedule changed significantly this summer. For the past year and a half, Jenna had been going to all day daycare and Alex has been home with me. Starting July 1st, Jenna is going to a camp that starts at 11:30....This leaves me with both kids for several hours in the morning.
We decided on this camp/schedule several months ago for a couple of reasons:
1. The camp is at our pool club, which is where I spend most of my summer days anyway.
2. It was a more economical option.

Hide 'n Seek

3. This will be the last time probably EVER that my kids will have that chunk of unscheduled time together to just play and hang out.

With this schedule comes some drawbacks:
1. Alex's naps are all over the place - we're in and out of the car dropping Jenna off, so that just messes with everything.
2. The mornings can sometimes feel very very loooong.

But, as I'm writing this from a morning that felt particularly long, I'm happy we made this decision.

My kids are really truly playing together: This morning it was hide and go seek...other days it's painting a mural....or racing the Matchbox cars...or lining up the princesses for a book...and sometimes (when Mommy's feeling really tired) it's a movie morning.

Matching band aids

The mornings are hard, I'm not going to pretend they're not. And I do think back to the days when I only had one kid and think about how I didn't realize how easy I had it. But my kids are cute.

And there's nothing I love more these days than watching them play together.

Date Night!

2013-07-11T15:16:00.000-04:00

Date Night Selfie

Alex has had my pretty much unshared attention for most of his days. Since he was born, Jenna has spent the day at daycare and now she has camp til 4:30. But his nights have almost always been shared, and by shared I mean he gets the sh** end of the stick. By the time I pick up Jenna, I want to hear about her day and spend time with her and being that Alex has me all day, Jenna tends to win the attention in the afternoon/evening hours.

But the other night, I had a night alone with my little man. Mike was away on business and Jenna had a 'big girl sleepover' at Grandma and Papa's. This left me with Alex...He woke up from his nap and for the first time we weren't running to go pick his sister up. We got to just hang out and play without any distractions. We had dinner together and he got to take a long bath without the company of his big sister. He got to pick out his books before bed (Jenna usually has an opinion about what we read to him) and he got some extra snuggles before bed, instead of some rushed kisses as we prep Jenna for her long, drawn out bedtime routine.

It was nice...it was quiet...and best of all? My night responsibilities ended at 7:00...a good two hours earlier than normal. Best.date.ever.

I Should Know Better...

2013-07-03T08:39:00.000-04:00

You would think I would know better...
Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I found myself at the pediatrician's office with both kids.
We were there for Jenna (ear ache) and Alex had to come for the ride.
Within seconds of entering the office, Alex was pointing to the lollipop jar (why the eff is that out for the kids to see??!?) - "I want...I want...I WANT!!"
So I say to him, "ok...but only one lollipop"
Jenna of course wants one too, but she's a little more rational and understood when I told her she can wait until after her exam.
Alex proceeds to lick the crap out of his lollipop and it's done in like 5 seconds.
We're still in the waiting room.
"I want...I want...I WANT!"
What do I do? Well, luckily there were no other parents in the waiting room and I don't think the receptionists care, so I gave him another. Awesome parenting by me!

We get into the room and managing both kids to wait for the doctor and simultaneously not break all the doctor supplies is no small feat.

Jenna came away with a raging double ear infection...and I came out of there needing lots and lots of wine.

Bittersweet

2013-06-28T09:17:00.001-04:00

Jenna celebrating Hannukah

Today we got the email that our buyers were approved by our coop board. Which means that we will be moving out of our apartment in about 2-3 weeks. And I'm feeling very nostalgic over this move. This is the first place that Mike and I bought together...I was nine months pregnant at our closing and gave birth to Jenna just FOUR days after we moved in. My water even broke in our elevator on our way to get groceries.

Learning how to do her business!

We renovated this place pretty much from top to bottom and it's been our home as a family, for over 4 years. We learned how to be parents in this apartment. We brought both our babies home from the hospital here. We had Jenna's baby naming, Alex's bris, their first birthday parties, and countless holidays here.

There were lots of great memories made in these walls.

I'll miss our great friends that live right behind us (our 'backdoor neighbors') and the park that's not even a block away. Jenna knows how to get to the subway from here and where all the driveways are on our walks (where she has to "plause")
I hope she always remembers this place as her first home and the apartment where she (sort of) shared a room with her baby brother.
Alex will only remember it from pictures.

Bris

We're on to a (much needed) bigger space...which will also need lots of renovations (I guess we love our projects)...and I know we'll make lots of great memories there as well.

But today, as I'm going through our stuff and getting rid of crap we've accrued along the years, I'm feeling a little sad about leaving
our home behind. I hope the new owners love it as much as we did/do.

Summertime Guilt

2013-06-24T18:27:00.000-04:00

Jenna has been in daycare since she was 18 months old. That means that for the last 3 summers we have paid for daycare to hold her spot even though I don't work in the summer (and for the last two I've been home on maternity leave with Alex).

I have never wasted more money in my life than on those months that we paid for daycare.

See...I have this thing called summertime guilt.

I cannot sit outside on a beautiful day and play in the pool and not think about how much fun Jenna (or Alex for that matter) would have if she was there with me.

This started in the summer of 2011 - I was pregnant with Alex and despite how tired I was or how much I needed the break, I ended up picking Jenna up at 11 am from daycare just about everyday and taking her to the pool club that we belong to. The following summer, with Alex being only 6 months old, I still picked her up almost daily to enjoy the pool club. I just couldn't stand the fact that even though they go outside a lot at her daycare, it just wasn't enough for me. I wanted her to have that outdoor summer experience. Running around all day outside and in the pool so much so that by the end of the day, she can't keep her eyes open. That's summer to me. And I have to say, she's turned into a pretty proficient swimmer for a 4 year old because of all the pool time she gets.

This summer, we got smart. She's going to day camp. It's actually located at our pool and she knows a bunch of the kids already and I know she's going to be outside all day everyday and doing all sorts of camp activities and just being a kid.

Loving our chipwiches! (sp?)

Guess we have to buy three!!

So no relaxing days at the pool or beach sans kids for me this summer...but I wouldn't have it any other way {that is until I ship them both off to sleepaway camp!}

What summer rides home should look like!

Busted...

2013-06-17T19:12:00.002-04:00

We have been a little off schedule here the past couple of weeks. And Monday was the beginning of normalcy again. Everyone was going where they were supposed to - Mike and Jenna to work and school and me and Alex off to do whatever Monday had in store for us.

Monday turned out to be a beautiful day and we decided to go to the pool and meet up with my friend and her new baby (that I hadn't met yet). Usually, I pick Jenna up at school early and go to the pool with both kids, but today, I decided that Alex needed some mommy time and I needed some time to cuddle with a new little girl (both of which wouldn't happen if I had both kids with me).

I didn't tell Jenna because I knew it would upset her that we went without her and I did my best for Alex and I to be in normal clothes before we picked her up.

Well...god help me that girl is a sleuth!!

Clue #1: As we were getting out of the car, she went up to Alex and goes, "He smells like the pool. Did you guys go to the pool?"Upon which I lied and said, "No honey - I just put sunscreen on him since it was sunny out today."

About 2 minutes later....

Clue #2: "Why are Alex's lips red?? You DID go to the pool! He had ices there!!" Keeping up with the lie and adding on a distraction, I said, "Alex had an ice today at home - you know the pops we have - you want one when we get upstairs?"

5 minutes later...

Clue #3: As she was taking a picture of me with my phone, she came across this picture:

"Mommy! Alex was at the pool!!" I lied AGAIN and said "This picture is from the weekend silly goose!"

By the look she gave me, I'm pretty sure she knew better...I was definitely busted...

I hope I'm as good of a sleuth as she is when she's a teenager and trying to hide crap from me!

Sharing is Caring

2013-06-12T13:05:00.002-04:00

"Sharing is caring" - I don't know if it was Sesame Street, Dora, or her teacher, but this is Jenna's mantra whenever she wants someone to share with her. (When someone wants her stuff, she usually responds with "I had it first!" but whatever)

This past week Jenna shared her conjunctivitis with me. Awesome. Sharing is caring.
But my lovely daughter had bacterial pink eye - a couple of drops and she was done and done.
Not me...I have viral so that means I have to wait it out. And the past few mornings my eye looks something like this:

Hot! I know...but in any case, I've been in a lot of pain and it's kind of hard being a good mom when you feel like shit.

Now it seems that Jenna and I shared it with Alex...poor guy - sucks being the second kid. Luckily (kind of funny saying that) he has the bacterial kind as well and I'm spending my day chasing him and pinning him down to get drops in his eyes. It's beautiful out today and I'm stuck inside with a highly contagious kid. Sent Mike to the pool with Jenna to keep the kids away from each other.

The sun sure does look nice from my apartment window. If he's anything like his sister, he should be all good by tomorrow and I'm actually starting to feel better myself. I really hope Mike doesn't get caught in this germ warfare we have going on.

Brought to you by Pity Party: Table for One

Juice fail.

2013-06-06T19:00:00.000-04:00

Shipment from Fresh Direct came this morning - I was so excited

For over two years I have 'researched' juice cleanses. I've talked about doing one often, but never actually did it. Today's post was supposed to be my 'end of cleanse' post telling everyone how great I feel and how much lighter and clearer I am....well this is not that post. Instead it's the post when I tell you that I got through three juices and decided I was out....I was supposed to drink six juices per day for three days...I drank three and stopped. I have 15 juices left in my fridge. What a waste of my day and my money.

I was keeping a log on my phone of my thoughts and feelings and it started with:
8 am...feeling ok not hungry...green juice is alright
And quickly declined to:
10:40 splitting headache....
2:00 (post nap) feel like shit...headache...nauseous...can't put anymore juice in my body.

All the leftover juices - Who wants some?

At 3:30 I went to my dr for pink eye - I drove there and really felt like I should not be behind the wheel. Once I was there, I found my blood pressure to be seriously low and my Dr. questioned me about my reasons for "doing something this stupid" (he's been my Dr. since I was a teenager, he can talk to me like this) and also questioned the lack of fiber in this cleanse (something I didn't really think about).

I will say eventually my headache did subside but that coincided with my decision to put real food in my body, so it may have been my body's way of thanking me.

So here I am a Juice Cleanse failure.
Things I've learned...
* I need to eat. I don't know what possessed me to think I could do this. Yom Kippur is hard enough for me - three days was obviously impossible.
* Maybe doing a cleanse the same week my daughter has strep throat, an ear infection and pink eye (that's where I got it from) was not the best idea. Also, I'm in the midst of taking care of an ear infection for myself and now pink eye and some other things with my own body...so yea, maybe not the best timing.
* Every blog/review/article I read said nothing about what it was like to do this with kids around. My life revolves around feeding two little people. I am constantly thinking about what their (our) next meal is going to be.
* Maybe I should have listened when Blueprint said to pre-cleanse for three days.
* Caffeine and I are good friends - maybe I indulge too much but it's not the worst thing. Also wine and I - yea we're BFFs - it's alright.
* I need to be okay with my body where it is right now - this body produced two people....I need to cut it some slack.
* I need to drink more water - probably the best thing to come out of this failed attempt was that I realized how little water I've been drinking...so congratulations Blueprint Cleanse - for 150+ dollars you taught me I need to drink water...never heard that one before.

Dessert...

{Sidebar - anyone interested in two days worth of juices, let me know!}

I'll tell you who's NOT a rockstar.

2013-06-05T07:30:00.000-04:00

"No matter how minor the procedure is, it's always major when it's your kid" True words said by my pediatrician at Jenna's pre-op appointment.

Jenna had a minor procedure done about a couple of weeks ago. She's totally fine and Mike and I survived but I am just now able to write about it. In my 4+ years of being a parent, it was one of the hardest days for us. Watching our baby put on a hospital gown and receive general anesthesia f-ing sucked (to put it mildly).

Now my little girl? She's a rock star. Handled the whole day amazingly well. From understanding that she wasn't allowed to eat until after it was over (which was hard for her since she's a 'wake up and eat' kid) to 'blowing up the green balloon' with a mask on (the gas to put her to sleep) to coming to after the procedure by simply saying "Mommy, I'm soooo hungry."

Me? Not a rock star. Only one of us was allowed into the operating room with her. And even though I knew I would be the more emotional one, I needed to feel somewhat in control so I went in. I ~~wanted~~ needed to be with her. Upon walking into the cold, sterile OR, everyone, from the nurses to the anesthesiologists to the surgeon were wonderful. I laid Jenna down on the table and held her hands while they all talked to her...cheered her on...comforted her:
"Blow up the balloon honey!"
"You're doing a great job!"
"That's it! Watch the balloon get bigger!"
"Keep it up - you're awesome"
"I know it's smelly, but you can do it!"

Me? I just held her hands as the tears streamed down my face. I could.not.speak. At some point someone put a hand on my shoulder and said, "She's sleeping, give her a kiss" and walked me out.

It felt like I was watching her for hours, but it was really only a minute or two. I found Mike in the waiting room and lost it. I felt (and still feel) awful that she couldn't hear my voice comforting her, but the words just wouldn't come.

Luckily, those professionals were amazing (and comforting) and all she remembers is the stinky gas (apparently it smells really bad). She's one tough cookie.

Linked up with

The Big Sister Effect

2013-06-03T07:00:00.000-04:00

Alex is a lucky little guy - Jenna is an amazing big sister and they absolutely adore each other.
But of course, some umm less than 'manly' things come with having a sister...

Tea Parties Galore

A prince always wears his crown

Loving Dora

Boys can wear heels too

Soon enough Alex will be playing superheroes and wrestling...but for now, Jenna loves her being in charge of her little ~~doll~~ brother...

On a side note...a beautiful piece in the NYTimes about siblings...http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/26/opinion/sunday/bruni-the-gift-of-siblings.html?pagewanted=1&smid=tw-share

A Book Club in Crisis

2013-05-30T07:00:00.000-04:00

I have been a member of my book club for almost 3 years - our first meeting was back in September, 2010 and we chose Chris Cleave's Little Bee for our first book. The term Book Club is a bit of a misnomer since discussions of the book typically last 5 minutes or so (except for the time we Skyped with the author, which was kind of cool and definitely had everyone reading the book). We have read a range of books over the years, from Jennifer Weiner beach reads to more intense memoirs. We read "Fifty Shades" before it was what "everyone's mother was doing"and spent one month's book club sewing dresses for an organization called "Little Dresses for Africa."

More important than the books we've read, have been the memories we've shared. We've been meeting monthly since our big kids were one and have celebrated numerous birthdays, pregnancies, moves and life decisions together. We've laughed, cried, and mostly drank a lot of wine over the past 2+ years. I love these ladies. I love getting out on a Friday night and being able to wear sweats. I love our monthly "book club". I love their kids. And I love our wine - even when it's boxed.

Now here's our crisis: It seems that the last one of us is going to have her last kid this summer...meaning that we will no longer have a designated driver. Over the past two years or so, someone has always been pregnant and therefore, the 'mandatory' designated driver.

Nerd Alert! Our book list so far

So unless someone changes their family plans or there's a 'happy accident,' there's no more driver for this club. This is a crisis. We all live in walking distance but in the winter or a rainy night, walking can be annoying (doable, but annoying). I suppose this fall, we will all have our local cab service on speed dial and be strapping on our walking shoes.

{Sidebar about Fifty Shades : True story: I went to Barnes and Noble in February, 2012, in tow. I asked the woman at Customer Service if they had the Fifty Shades book. She looked it up...looked at her screen...looked at me and back again. She then said in a hushed whisper "Do you know that this book is....EROTICA???" I was new baby tired and figured I would just order it on my kindle. I texted Katy, we looked it up and saw what kind of book it was, sent a disclaimer to our book club just notifying everyone of the "sensitive" material....which everyone read and (ahem) enjoyed. I often wonder if that lovely customer service lady ever talks about the horny mom who came in looking for erotica before it became so popular.}

The Evolution of Naptime

2013-05-28T07:00:00.000-04:00

I am fortunate in that both of my kids were/are good nappers. For as long as I can remember I could rely on Jenna's morning nap which was exactly 2 hours after she woke up. This lasted until she started daycare at 18 months and they moved her to one nap per day. Alex is similar in that he consistently gives me a good morning nap and a pretty decent afternoon one as well.

I was probably ordering from amazon

With Jenna, nap time was 'take care of business' time. I did the dishes, cooked, ate my own meals, made phone calls, placed my amazon orders...the list goes on and on. This was my time to take care of all the things that needed to be taken care of.

With Alex, nap time is time for me to read, catch up on DVR, watch the news, blog...things that I want to do.

The other morning he gave me a two hour morning nap, from 8:30-10:30. And I did nothing, well not nothing but nothing that needed to be done. I watched the Today show while sipping my coffee and playing Candy Crush and when I ran out of lives, read Anna Karenina on my Ipad.

Probably on the phone

With Alex, I have become quite efficient in taking care of business. The business still gets done - I still do the dishes, cook meals, eat, make phone calls, and place numerous Amazon orders. But I don't do any of that while he's napping. I eat with him and put the dishes in the dishwasher while he finishes up. I cook while he either plays around me in the kitchen or plays in the living room. Phone calls are made while he's playing quietly, same with online ordering.

Here's the key...Alex is able to play independently. Meaning without me being on top of him. He is able to keep himself busy if I have something to take care of. This isn't to say I leave him playing alone for hours, but for a few minutes here and there it works. I feel like it's helped me keep my sanity and helped him become a pretty damn independent 16 month old. Jenna still doesn't like being alone and typically says things like "I don't want to be all by myself!" Ahhh...the differences between two children...

Not sure if this is a nature vs. nurture thing or not, but, selfishly, these naps are real nice.

My Theory on People

2013-05-24T07:00:00.000-04:00

One of my theories about the world is that there are two types of people: those that like children and those that don't. In my experiences, people fall into one of these two categories. You can usually tell which category a person falls in by walking past them on the street with your kid(s) - those that like children smile at them, those that don't, walk right past.

On our walk home from school, Jenna was carrying a paper fan that she made at school. {This is her new favorite thing to do with any paper that's big enough to fold.} Well the wind gusted and took her fan flying into the middle of Queens Blvd. For people not from Queens, this street is lovingly called the 'Boulevard of Death,' so it's a pretty major and somewhat dangerous thoroughfare.

Cue the tears...not just tears...but SOBS. {Over a f***ing paper fan, but that's beside the point}

Mike and I watch the fan take off and make a pseudo-effort to retrieve it but end up deciding it's not worth it. Jenna is still sobbing. I pick her up and try to talk her down from this ledge, explaining that it's a (fucking) paper fan and we can make another one at home. But she's still so upset.

We continue to walk and about a block later a man on a bike rides up next to us and gives Jenna back her fan. We thanked him profusely and he rode off.

Reunited and it feels so good

There are still some good people in this world. And I am positive about what category this man falls into.

Curating our Kids

2013-05-22T09:13:00.000-04:00

I came across this term the other day about how we are 'curators' of our children. And it gave me a good laugh. Because I often walk through stores looking at kids clothes and say, "This is so Jenna" or "That's not really Alex's style." But my kids are 4 years old and 16 months...they don't have a style just yet. {I mean, Jenna certainly has opinions, but she still has to choose from the clothes that I buy for her}

It's funny to me how little I care about what I wear on a day to day basis compared to the thought I put into what my kids wear. Me? I'm a jeans and t-shirt girl, always have been. These days, it's more like yoga pants and a tee. And my hair? 99.9% of the time, it's in some sort of ponytail contraption.

Now Jenna...she's a girly-girl with a tomboy twist. Loves her dresses but always wears comfortable shoes so she can run "super fast." If she's not in a dress, then it's leggings and a shirt, RARELY will she wear jeans. Her hair is always 'done' - My pet peeve is messy hair on little girls. And I have been know to have ~~fights~~ discussions with Mike over her outfits, when he picks something out that I don't like.

'Typical' outfits for my kids

Alex? I dress him like Mike. Usually sweats and a t-shirt. He's in jeans occasionally, but he's not so comfortable in them (or at least I don't think he is). When he needs to be 'fancy' it's usually a polo or a button down. He wears sneakers everyday and I wouldn't put him in anything else. I guess he could "rock" any style I choose, but this is the one I choose for him.

For now, I like that my kids are letting me "curate" them. I feel like how they look is more of a reflection on me than how I myself am dressed. If you want to know my style, look at them, definitely don't look at me.