1. Does grabbing organic milk from Starbucks for my baby boy after a really long day, make me a really smart mommy or a really bad one? (A little background . . . we were in SF for the weekend and my little guy's great grandmother wanted to go out to lunch and shopping at the Macy's downtown, we ran out of milk before grandma ran out of her will to shop.)
2. How many times have you watched your precious little joy hit the ground unexpectedly? At the Exploratorium this weekend, Micah chased a ball and was just about to wrap his precious little arms around it, when it slipped away from him. I REALLY believed he would catch it. The bruise on his forehead made me wish I had caught him!
3. Boo Boo Busters came today to help me make some decisions about baby proofing. I already knew about most of the things that need to be done . . . but I was not prepared for the horrifying thought that my little guy might fall from the 3rd floor window of our condo if I don't make some changes. He illustrated how he could climb up on a chair, reach for something exciting, and, to my horror, plummet to the concrete below! Thankfully, the way to fix it is relatively simple and inexpensive.
~S
PS - I vow to add more visually stimulating content in future posts.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
THE GATE
Many parents put gates around their children when they start walking. We took a different approach. We put the gates around the things we didn’t want him to touch. We have one big gate around daddy’s 50 inch tv. Well, I don’t know how much longer the gate will work . . . Our son pushes and pulls the gate, throws things over the gate, and reaches around the gate. Soon the gate will no longer serve its purpose and he will have to learn not to touch the tv.
~S
~S
Thursday, July 23, 2009
His First Hair Cut
My little guy finally got his first hair cut today! I have really wanted it for a long time, but his dad prefers it long. We figured out that we had been miscommunicating about the whole issue late last week. I didn't want him to have a super short cut, I just wanted him to get even end up . . . to look neat and clean. His dad finally agreed to having his hair cut and we arranged to meet at the barber's today. She cut it a little shorter than I imagined she would, but I still love it. His poor dad lamented the loss of the "fro" multiple times this evenin. I tried to take a picture of his new hair cut, but he kept running away. Somehow he has managed to associate my camera with hide and seek.
~S
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
BEDTIME
Ok. Call me crazy, but I don't like to put my baby to sleep. This is not because it is difficult. On the contrary, when he is tired, he goes to sleep easily. Tonight may have been a transition evening for him. Tonight I told him it was time to go to bed and to say goodnight to daddy. He walked over to his father and gave him a kiss. He walked back over to me and gave me a kiss and then started walking to his room! He's 14 months old! Is this normal? I went with him of course. We said a prayer and he went quietly into his crib. I am amazed, but maybe this is normal. The reason I don't like to put him to bed is because I like to play with him, because I enjoy him so much.
For those of you with difficulty putting your little one to sleep, don't be upset. He doesn't do everything this well. I imagine that, because I have written this note, tomorrow night won't go as smoothly.
~S
For those of you with difficulty putting your little one to sleep, don't be upset. He doesn't do everything this well. I imagine that, because I have written this note, tomorrow night won't go as smoothly.
~S
Monday, July 20, 2009
An Update: The Observatory
Ball! Ball! Ball!
When you take a 14 month old to view replicas of planets, plan to hear this over and over again. He delighted and tickled me. I wasn't sure what to expect in the way of a reaction to our outing, but I was so pleased that he actually seemed to enjoy himself. He said, "Oh, wow!" He squealed,"Ooo!" He shouted, "Hi!" at every person we passed, and this event was well attended.
This joy was not at all diminished by the fact that at least 4 different mishaps could have stopped us from enjoying ourselves:
1. Dad couldn't come; he had work to do on his car. This work had to take place after two separate church events, one in Malibu, the other in Woodland Hills. Our little guy visited with family in Reseda during these events and had to be picked up afterward. Finally, dad had to be dropped off in Gardena to do said work. Which means I had a very ungreen Saturday. I drove to Reseda, Woodland Hills, Malibu, back to Reseda, and Gardena before heading to the observatory. MADNESS
2. Upon arriving at the observatory, I discovered that all of the diapers had been used at some point earlier in the day and that know one had deemed it necessary to tell me. We found "emergency diapers" in the gift shop thanks to my mother who boldly asked the cashier as we were buying a book and a ball if they had any. We had almost given up and determined to return home.
3. My mother met us at there and thank goodness for that. After all the running around we'd done, we landed ourselves in Griffifth Park at dinner time, hungry, and with little food to appease us. We went to the cafe where we purchased an assortment of things including a fruit bowl with strawberry yogurt. Micah wanted to feed himself. The result was yogurt flung everywhere; it's good thing we chose to sit outside. Here's the part that could have sent us home . . . Anywhere the yogurt had touched his skin, Micah had what appeared to be scratches or burns. Hmm . . . I believe we discovered an allergy to strawberries. Why strawberries? He drinks milk wihout reaction, so I don't believe him to be allergic to milk products. We cleaned him up, gave him some Benadryl and returned to the gift shop to buy him a shirt to replace the yogurt covered one he had on.
4. When we finally had an opportunity to explore the exhibits, we were all ready. Everyone was clean, well-fed and excited. I stood Micah next to the statue of Einstein, took out my camera, pushed the button and nothing happened. My camera battery was dead. We had come so far, overcome so much, only to find that we would not be able to document the event. I took out my camera phone. What else could I do? Determined to find out if there wasn't a way to get a higher quality photo, I sent my mother to the gift shop for batteries. They had batteries, but I needed a Nikon battery.
We had a wonderful time . . . Micah cheered and clapped all the way back to the car.
~S
When you take a 14 month old to view replicas of planets, plan to hear this over and over again. He delighted and tickled me. I wasn't sure what to expect in the way of a reaction to our outing, but I was so pleased that he actually seemed to enjoy himself. He said, "Oh, wow!" He squealed,"Ooo!" He shouted, "Hi!" at every person we passed, and this event was well attended.
This joy was not at all diminished by the fact that at least 4 different mishaps could have stopped us from enjoying ourselves:
1. Dad couldn't come; he had work to do on his car. This work had to take place after two separate church events, one in Malibu, the other in Woodland Hills. Our little guy visited with family in Reseda during these events and had to be picked up afterward. Finally, dad had to be dropped off in Gardena to do said work. Which means I had a very ungreen Saturday. I drove to Reseda, Woodland Hills, Malibu, back to Reseda, and Gardena before heading to the observatory. MADNESS
2. Upon arriving at the observatory, I discovered that all of the diapers had been used at some point earlier in the day and that know one had deemed it necessary to tell me. We found "emergency diapers" in the gift shop thanks to my mother who boldly asked the cashier as we were buying a book and a ball if they had any. We had almost given up and determined to return home.
3. My mother met us at there and thank goodness for that. After all the running around we'd done, we landed ourselves in Griffifth Park at dinner time, hungry, and with little food to appease us. We went to the cafe where we purchased an assortment of things including a fruit bowl with strawberry yogurt. Micah wanted to feed himself. The result was yogurt flung everywhere; it's good thing we chose to sit outside. Here's the part that could have sent us home . . . Anywhere the yogurt had touched his skin, Micah had what appeared to be scratches or burns. Hmm . . . I believe we discovered an allergy to strawberries. Why strawberries? He drinks milk wihout reaction, so I don't believe him to be allergic to milk products. We cleaned him up, gave him some Benadryl and returned to the gift shop to buy him a shirt to replace the yogurt covered one he had on.
4. When we finally had an opportunity to explore the exhibits, we were all ready. Everyone was clean, well-fed and excited. I stood Micah next to the statue of Einstein, took out my camera, pushed the button and nothing happened. My camera battery was dead. We had come so far, overcome so much, only to find that we would not be able to document the event. I took out my camera phone. What else could I do? Determined to find out if there wasn't a way to get a higher quality photo, I sent my mother to the gift shop for batteries. They had batteries, but I needed a Nikon battery.
We had a wonderful time . . . Micah cheered and clapped all the way back to the car.
~S
Thursday, July 16, 2009
That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." ~Neil Armstrong
This weekend my little boy and I will be going to the Griffith Park Observatory. There’s an exhibit, free admission, about the the first walk on the moon. Now, I know my little guy is only 14 months old, but I think you stimulate curiosity by having a lifestyle of inquiry and there is no magical age when that begins. His grandparents are going to join us and I know that being surrounded by love and large replicas of the planets will do something for his growing brain.
~S
~S
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Laundry Art
When I lived with my parents, there was no clear system for rotating who would take the garbage out. My parents believed that when the trash needed taking out, "someone" would take it out. Well, inevitably, no one would take the trash out and it would pile up in strange and twisted ways. It was kind of like that Shel Silverstein poem an older jewish woman used to come read to us in elementary school, "Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out!" Before the tower toppled, my father would begin yelling, "Who made the garbage art!?"
In my house, we don't have garbage art, but we do have laundry art. I do laundry, I feel like I am constantly doing laundry. What I don't do is fold laundry with any speed. The pile I am looking at now has not been there long, but if I don't stop piling it on and start putting it away, it could be there all week.
I know none of you create laundry or garbage art for that matter, but now that I've framed it this way, I am almost inclined to let it stay. I may even walk around the house yelling, "Who made the laundry art!?" in the hope that someone else will eventually fold it.
~S
In my house, we don't have garbage art, but we do have laundry art. I do laundry, I feel like I am constantly doing laundry. What I don't do is fold laundry with any speed. The pile I am looking at now has not been there long, but if I don't stop piling it on and start putting it away, it could be there all week.
I know none of you create laundry or garbage art for that matter, but now that I've framed it this way, I am almost inclined to let it stay. I may even walk around the house yelling, "Who made the laundry art!?" in the hope that someone else will eventually fold it.
~S
Monday, July 13, 2009
Top 5 Online Shops
I have 2 sisters. It wasn't until I had my little boy that I realized how limited the selection of boy clothing and decorative accessories is. I began searching the web for great things I could put in his surroundings and on his cute little body. The shops below are just a few of my favorites:
1. Romp
Romp sells unique, green products for children. I purchased magnets with the alphabet on them. I hung a metal bulletin board low on my son's wall so he could play with them. He loves them and so do I.
2. Tea Collection
Tea collection stuff is super soft and great for playing in. It is also just the right weight for LA, he doesn't get nearly as sweaty as he does in some of the other soft clothing he has.
3. TARGET
TARGET's online store stocks way more than they do in the store. I found modern, soft, unique bedding for my little boy's room here. Some of the other stores I searched, when I was looking, sold out of pieces of their sets quickly. Others did not have the sets I liked in stock.
4. The Land of Nod
My son got a black eye playing with a child-sized chair from another chain store. The Land of Nod's frameless chair has made a life saving addition to my son's play space.
5. Red Envelope
I love the personalized items you can find on this website. I took an impression of my son's hand and footprints for a keepsake I found here when he was 4 months old. I will treasure it forever.
~S
1. Romp
Romp sells unique, green products for children. I purchased magnets with the alphabet on them. I hung a metal bulletin board low on my son's wall so he could play with them. He loves them and so do I.
2. Tea Collection
Tea collection stuff is super soft and great for playing in. It is also just the right weight for LA, he doesn't get nearly as sweaty as he does in some of the other soft clothing he has.
3. TARGET
TARGET's online store stocks way more than they do in the store. I found modern, soft, unique bedding for my little boy's room here. Some of the other stores I searched, when I was looking, sold out of pieces of their sets quickly. Others did not have the sets I liked in stock.
4. The Land of Nod
My son got a black eye playing with a child-sized chair from another chain store. The Land of Nod's frameless chair has made a life saving addition to my son's play space.
5. Red Envelope
I love the personalized items you can find on this website. I took an impression of my son's hand and footprints for a keepsake I found here when he was 4 months old. I will treasure it forever.
~S
One New Blog
This blog is about being a mom in an urban setting. How can you do it well? What kinds of mistakes do you make? What resources are available to you?
I am a working mom. I hope that this will be a space that will inspire and encourage. I also hope that it will make you laugh and that you will enjoy the community it unites. So, from one urban mom to another, welcome!
I am a working mom. I hope that this will be a space that will inspire and encourage. I also hope that it will make you laugh and that you will enjoy the community it unites. So, from one urban mom to another, welcome!
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