by Heather
I guess this is just advanced peek-a-boo, but we’re filling afternoons with it in my house! It goes like this:
Either I crawl on the other side of the couch from Milo calling out, “where’s Mommy?” and wait for him to find me, or he toddles away and I call out “where’s Milo?” and whoever’s hiding gets found.
He LOVES this. And I have delusions of this activity being helpful when we’re out and about because he’ll stop in his tracks whenever I’m calling out, “Where’s [insert your name here]?”… but maybe instead, he’ll hide beneath the clothing racks or bookcases where I’ll never find him. Stay tuned.
by Whitney
When I saw this on girl with fabric’s website, I immediately asked to borrow the idea. Turns out she saw a variation of it on Ohdeedoh, but either way, I think there are countless creative ways to riff on this idea.
You might set it up as a nursery decoration - the alphabet in it’s entirety - as fabric girl has done.
Or, make it an ongoing project to work on with your preschooler - whenever you’re out and about or on a special vacation, finding a letter to add to your letter collection would be a little thrill. Any reason to take Julian to thrift stores is exciting for me, and we have a bunch of awesome salvage stores around here that sell old signs. Surely a good place for us to start.
If you want to just do the whole thing upfront, you’ll probably have to buy and decorate some letters yourself. Fabric girl used mod-podge and papers. I might try fabric. Other ideas?
by Whitney
This weekend, I’ll be gone two full days during most of Scarlett’s waking hours. I was really hoping not to pump during this time, thinking “Pumping is for people with newborns,” but Heather has made it clear that she doesn’t want me turning to her at 4 pm, in the middle of a great bloggity BlogHer discussion, saying, “If I don’t leave now, I’m going to leak, contract mastitis, and turn into a raging hormone monster.” So, I guess I’ll bring a pump.
I’m feeling a little embarassed about it though - like who has to hurry home to nurse their one-year old? Am I a sucker? Or maybe a hero?
Anyhow, let’s take a moment to give three cheers for me and my success at nursing both kids till their first birthdays and beyond. How Scarlett and I wind down this relationship is a mystery to me, (even though I’m not a rookie!). It doesn’t seem to be dwindling and the girl has no interest in drinking milk from a bottle or cup. She likes to use those things - for water - but doesn’t like the taste of milk. Stay tuned. This will surely resolve itself before kindergarten starts.
I want to encourage anyone who is reading, who’s in those first difficult weeks of nursing, or who is pregnant and assuming they’ll breastfeed, to read more. Read everything. Assume it will be difficult. Find friends who have done it. Go to a support group or a class. Other ideas from the veteran moms reading are welcome!
Note: I recently interviewed Andi Silverman, author of Mama Knows Breast for Glam.com. Read the interview here and subscribe to her website’s feed so that you can find the resources you need!
And I’ll tag this post “green”, cause really, isn’t breastfeeding about as green as it gets? No appliances required! Doesn’t waste water! Doesn’t create trash!
Best of luck to you new mamas. I’m rooting for you.
by Whitney
Andrea, who is a rookie mom to baby Ben and makes jewelry in delicious colors, blogs at Superhero Journal.com. She wrote this delightful post this week.
After my post about friendship, my friend Kalah shared something that I loved. She said,
“When you’re feeling most isolated, remember that you can always bring the party to YOU. Friends without children might not have an idea of your daily goings-on and may put off calling because they don’t want to be intrusive. Inviting them into your fold reassures them that you still appreciate their friendships and they feel like they’re saving you some time and energy when they make the effort to meet you where you are. It’s ok to let go of perfectionism when it comes to the state of your home when it comes to visitors–most people understand that you’re living the real, visceral life.”
In the spirit of bringing the party to me and my favorite SARKism “Invite Someone Dangerous to Tea,” I decided to invite the owner of Speesees, Rachel Pearson for tea. (We had only “met” via email after I ordered some goodies) She is pure color, creativity, fun and talent. I was SO inspired by our conversations about business and dreams and love. She made my day and reminded me that one of my greatest pleasures is connecting with other creative women/kindred spirits/people I admire.
Can you invite someone dangerous to tea this week?
