Go-Go Mommy

Parents will do anything for their kids.

My hubby and I were talking the other night about some of our fondest childhood memories. I guess living 3000 miles away from where we grew up makes one nostolgic at this time of year. Anyway, he mentioned that one of his favorite stories of my childhood is the story about my parents and their jeans. So here goes:

The background: I am the youngest of 10 (yes, I said 10) children. I grew up in a very loud household with 6 brothers, 3 sisters, 1 dog (and miscellaneous gerbils, fish, rabbits, etc. depending upon the year and how long each of these lasted), and 2 extremely loving and patient parents. My father and I are 40 years apart and my mother and I are 39 years apart in age.

My story begins when I went off to elementary school and acquired a new best friend. She and I played together a little bit in first grade but I believe it was really second grade when we officially became inseparable. My friend was the oldest of two kids (just her and a brother 2 years younger.) It was great hanging out with her for a couple of reasons. First, she was close in age to myself (my closest sister is 10 years older so we were friends but in much different phases of life). And second, her mom was very young and hip.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved my mother but I started to realize that there were some basic differences between our parents. For one thing her parents called each other by their first names. My parents had long gotten into the habit of calling each other "mom" and "dad" - some old-world thing?! And for some reason, one day, the most important difference I attributed to the "younger" parent set was the fact that they wore jeans! It sounds so lame but I saw the jeans as some kind of symbol of the fact that hip/cool parents wore jeans - and what kid doesn't desparately want hip and cool parents when they are in second grade?!

After one of my playdates with my friend, I came home and went to my room in tears. When my mom came and asked me what was wrong, all I could get out between my sobs and tears was: "K's parents wear jeans but you and dad never wear them!" My mother, bless her heart, had spent 18 years doing the pregnancy shuffle with clothes and somewhere along the line settled on stretch polyester (hey, this was the early 70s) as her pant of choice (which she had in about every shade imaginable). My father, who I'm sure had a pair of jeans somewhere along the line, seemed to never run out of clean brown slacks (again I believe some kind of polyester).

I could hear my mother trying to hide her chuckles while she worked to soothe my hurt feelings. After all those kids, she knew better than to try to show me how unreasonable I was being over a piece of clothing.

Well you won't believe what happened. When I got home from school the next day, there was mom in the kitchen with a brand new pair of jeans on! As soon as I saw her my heart melted (pretty much like the Grinch's grew bigger) and it hit me that this just wasn't my mom. I ran up, threw my arms around her, and gave her the biggest bear-hug I could muster. I couldn't believe she would do that for me. And when my dad got home from work, she announced that his new pair of jeans was on their bed. He just smiled and I don't think I ever saw my father put them on - but they both had a pair of jeans, and I learned just how much I loved them, no matter what they wore!

Happy New Year & happy memories everyone!

A new way to "green-up" your home.

What's more hip than "going green?!" Having recently gone through a 1/2 house remodel, it's hard to ignore all the "green" talk when updating your home. Whether you are choosing new flooring or paint color, you suddenly learn all about sustainable materials like bamboo and low VOC paints. And in the process, you have fun discovering the newest alternatives and resources are for making your home safer and "greener."

There is, however, another way to go green which will make your house infinitely safer for your little ones, help our water supply, and is much cheaper than remodeling. In fact, it's free! Simply check your expired medicines and dispose of them properly by taking them to a "Green Pharmacy."

Our water filtration systems, while designed to remove primarily biological human waste, are now susceptible to new pharmaceuticals which are introduced into the marketplace and then "flushed" when no longer used or needed. Unfortunately, this may lead to products in the water which are "overlooked in monitoring studies" according to Dr. Joel Kreisberg in "Pharmaceutical Pollution: Ecology & Toxicology." Consequently, pharmaceuticals are showing up in samples of drinking water - among the most common mentioned in Dr. Kreisberg's article were aspirin, hypertensive medication, and statins.

While making your New Year's resolutions, consider including a quick review and clean-up of your medicine cabinet. "Going green" can really pay off this year!

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, here is a list of pharmacies that will take back unwanted and/or expired medications. They even include a checklist of accepted versus not accepted items. In addition, they have a link to a guide which tells you how to dispose of substances that are "unacceptable."

It's Cookie Time - Happy Holidays!

Hope your Hoildays are just as sweet!

A Season for Memories

My dearest Poppy. Just a note to say "thank you":

Here's a memory that will live forever for me and hopefully, for you too Poppy. Where do I begin? Oh what a fun time we had together last night at your first visit to the ballet to see The Nutcracker at the San Francisco Opera House!

It began as all good "nights out" do - with the preparation of finding the right dress (yours was a beautiful hunter green velvet with a white silk shantung collar and bow that tied at your waist in the back with delicate smocking in the front - thank you Grandma B for providing the perfect outfit!) and buying new black patent dress shoes (these actually had heals on them - another first!).

You were so good while we were getting ready to leave that we even had time to paint our nails a sensible shade of pale shell pink. What we didn't have time for, however, was dinner since it rained earlier in the day. In the Bay Area, even a "little rain" can wreck havoc on the evening commute. So we simply had a quick cookie and milk. And yes, it actually was one cookie each - a shortbread cookie with a chocolote drop on the top that we made the day before.

Thankfully, daddy made it home from work early so he could help you with the final touches (he put on your shoes, brushed your hair, and told you how beautiful you looked), while I finished getting ready. Then, we quickly said "goodbye" to daddy and 'lil sis Sweet Pea and headed off on our adventure. You certainly do love going on adventures!. By the way, daddy was very disappointed that he couldn't join us. Unfortunately, Sweet Pea's babysitter was ill and Sweet Pea had a little fever herself. Daddy wanted to give us our "girl time" and take care of Sweet Pea himself since she is still too little to go to such a grown-up event, but he is definitely looking forward to joining us next year for our (now) traditional Nutcracker outing.

A Procrastinator's Holiday Shopping Tip

I know I'm not the only one out there that promises each year to begin shopping for the holidays earlier. Here in California you'd think it would be a piece of cake. After all, with each city holding multiple art/wine/something-or-other festivals throughout the year, I should be finished with my shopping long before the holiday season even begins in October (and don't get me started on that subject). Needless to say, it is now December 16 and I still have about 1/3 of my shopping to finish.

I have just, however, come up with the perfect solution which will start me on the right track for "Happy Holidays in 2008." I found my gift idea while I was on PhotoWorks website as I finally designed and ordered our family's 2007 holiday photo cards: I'm going to create a 2008 family recipe book!

Okay, so a recipe book may not sound very exciting but just take a look and you'll see it's not your everyday cookbook. I've put photobooks together on other websites but I never thougth of doing this until I saw how beautifully it could be done on PhotoWorks. They already have a template for the cookbook so all I have to do is collect a few favorite recipies from everyone in the family, try them out throughout the year, take photos of my yummy creations to upload to the photo cookbook, and enjoy my homemade creations. Then, at the end of my year in the "Go-Go Mommy Test Kitchen" I can simply print and ship the books to my family/contributors. I heart PhotoWorks!

I'm already so psyched to get started that I'm sending out the "call for recipies" after I finish this post. Wish me luck with my 2008 gift resolution! I'll definitely keep you all posted on the progress and I'd love to hear about your own gift ideas!

Photo Friday! 12.14.07

Poppy & Mommy's ever-so-hip homemade holiday decorations. Hey, you gotta start somewhere!

Project: Life Change - The Kite Runner!

Well I we did it! After, ah let me see, I don't even know how long. KB and I finally secured our favorite sitter and went out to a movie by ourselves. Yeah! And not just any movie. We actually got to participate in a movie premier night for "The Kite Runner" with over 100 other bloggers, neighbors, and friends. Thank you soo much Citymama for arranging all this (and T-shirts, too)!

Okay, I'll admit it. I must be only one of two people who hasn't read the book (KB being the other person) so while I can't compare the two, the movie was extremely moving to me. While it may have run a bit long, it was amazing seeing the contrast of Kabul over the years. Also, the movie evoked many strong feelings about friendship, love, and healing on a variety of levels. Surprisingly, this is a great movie for the hoilday season.

And so even though you are probably so busy with your own lives as you get ready to celebrate or are already celebrating your holidays, I hope you take the time to change your own life in some little way. Whether it's taking time to reconnect with your favorite person over a cup of coffee, a bite to eat or a movie out, or 10 minutes to yourself to read while you soak in the tub, don't forget to honor your inner hipness for a change of pace!

Seeing Red? It's National Poinsettia Day!

Rather than have a picture of myself to introduce you to my blog, my personal perference is to focus outside myself and share a glimpse through my eyes with a photo that speaks to me (pictured at right). I like to change my personal photo with each season and when I saw the vibrant red of the poinsettia photo, I knew that this was "the one" that I wanted to use to welcome visitors to my blog and to welcome the festive season. I had no idea that in doing so, the historian in me would be compelled to find out more about it's origin.

In doing so, I found out today is significant for two reasons: (1) Sweet Pea turns 14 months old today; and (2) it's National Poinsettia Day. Well, at least it's two significant reasons for me - I'm selfish that way.

Apparently, Joel Roberts Poinsett (1779-1851) was our country's first Ambassador to Mexico. (Later, he would found the institution we now know as The Smithsonian Institution.) Joel had a love of botany and during a trip to Southern Mexico, he took a keen interest in the native plants which bloomed a brilliant red known in Mexico as cuetlaxochitl. In 1828, Joel sent some clippings to his hothouses in South Carolina. From there, he grew more plants and sent them to his friends (sound familiar?) one of which owned a nursery in Pennsylvania, and viola - the sales began! Needless to say, it was around 1836 that the flowering plant became known by its common name in honor of Joel.

So as you bring these vibrant flowers into your home or the homes of friends or family this season, picture the warm, more tropical climate where these plants originated. It will definitely help make your season warm and bright!

Book Review: The Middle Place

I received a copy of The Middle Place written by Kelly Corrigan from Hyperion. As you all know, I love a good read and stick mostly to works of fiction. This book, however, chronicals the author's journey as she battles breast cancer while being a wife and mother to two girls (three years old and a 1 and 1/2 year old) and at the same time is "George Corrigan's daughter." Hence, this is "The Middle Place" where one is both an adult and still someone's child all at the same time.

What I really liked about this book is that while we learn of Kelly's trials as she battles cancer - first her own breast cancer and then at the same time her father's bladder cancer - we also learn about her childhood, adolescence and the classic mother-daughter conflicts that so many of us can relate to and are hoping to avoid in the future with our own little girls. We also get to see the "full circle" as Kelly, now a mother herself, reflects on those conflicts. In doing so, she sees them more clearly for the what they were: expressions of love from a mother who is trying her best to raise a strong and competant daughter.

Kelly's story resonates with me, not because of the obvious connection so many of us have with family, loved ones, or God forbid ourselves who have suffered from cancer. Rather, Kelly's conversational writing style was comfortably similar to my own so it seemed like I was reading letters and the memoirs from a long-lost friend who I wanted desparately to be a winner in life. The Middle Place definitely made me laugh as she told stories about her family and cry with her through some of her cancer "low points" such as shaving her head before her daughters witnessed it all coming out on its own.

Thank you, Kelly Corrigan, for such a brave and honest account of the battle you and your father faced against this awful disease.

You can read more reviews about The Middle Place at Everyday I Write The Blog.

Hip Family Outing: The Holiday Train

For those of you who reside in the bay area of Northern California, an exciting holiday event is about to take place: the 2007 Caltrain Holiday Train is coming to town with Santa, Mrs. Claus and friends! This weekend, December 8 and 9, the Holiday Train will leave San Francisco and stop at four stations along the Penninsula each night. You can view the poster here.

What a great kick-off to the holiday season! Each station will have live entertainment 30 minutes before the train arrives. The entertainment varies from station to station and may be an orchestra, choir, or even a barbershop chorus. I can't wait to see the girls' faces as we sing carols, watch a train decorated with more than 40,000 lights pull into the station, and then see Santa and Mrs. Claus come out to greet everyone. I believe the word is priceless.

Best of all, you can bring unwrapped toys and books to donate to Toys for Tots and the Salvation Army. What a fun and worthy event. Hope to see you there!

Breast is Best - But can I have mine back now?

Before I had kids, I never thought I would breastfeed. On second thought, I never really thought about what I would do when it came to feeding my child until I was close to 8 months pregnant with our first daughter.

Like it so often happens in life, I found myself pregnant at the same time as 5 co-worker friends of mine who were also expecting a child. For four of us, it was our first. Naturally, since we were all professionals who were all due around the same time, we kept each other abreast of all of our lastest findings: the safest car seats, the best rated cribs, the "must-read" pregnancy books, etc. And in our search for "the best" we all were in agreement that the best nourishment for our new bundles of joy would be breastmilk. And so each of us was committed to giving it a shot.

And so what seemed like such a simple decision, took us all by surprise when we found out that is a most complicated undertaking. We all hear how it is "the most natural thing" and how "our bodies are made for it", but there's no way to truly know what it's like until you're "knee-deep" in it.

As with many of you reading this post, I can just hear your stories; both good and bad. Probably like many of you, I just thought: "Okay, so you take the baby, hold it to your chest, and viola, the feeding begins!" Then I find out there is a whole new vocabulary like "latching on" and "colostrum." All of a sudden, I wondered why I didn't do more homework and really research this topic during my pregnancy - but no matter, I'm from the midwest so once I decide to do a job, I do it!

After breastfeeding both my daughters, I've learned these basic truths:

-No matter how determined you are, it takes two to tango: Your little one has to be ready, willing, and ABLE (yes in caps) to breastfeed, no matter how much you want it to happen.

-The sooner you start pumping the better. Ask the hospital for a pump and get on schedule: This really helps get your production on track. While I did breastfeed my first daughter, she was a rather large baby (9lbs. 5 oz.) and I really didn't start pumping until after I got home from the hospital (day 4) and her "latch" wasn't the best. After losing more weight than we wanted her to lose in that first couple of weeks, I saw a lactation consultant who said my baby had "calibrated" my breasts for a 7lb baby so I was always behind in production. Consequently, I had to supplement with formula.

-There's no substitute for experience: Talk to other breastfeeding moms if this is your first time trying it. You'll be suprised at how much you learn from a group of women who really love to talk!

-Don't give up! If this is what you want for your little one, it is possible even with a preemie. (Just ask me!) When my little one wasn't yet able to latch on, it was my adherence to pumping, saving, and supplementing her diet that kept me on track and got her off to a healthier start. In fact, once she was strong enough to breastfeed, her weight growth chart for the first 9 months was literally almost a vertical line.

-Make goals that are attainable and know when to stop trying: With my first, my initial goal was 1 month. After I celebrated making it that far, I tried to reach the 3 month mark. Once I made it to that goal, I was headed back to work but I was in a groove and ready to pump during the day so I decided to push for another 3 months. After only 1 more month, however, I caught a sinus infection and was given an over-the-counter product which not only dried my sinuses but dried up my milk supply as well, despite the fact that I was pumping. I felt devastated that it really wan't my decision to stop breastfeeding but I was happy to have made it that far.

-Convenience, convenience, convenience: This one is self explanatory.

-Don't forget to buy some lanolin cream: Hospitals usually provide this as a parting gift too, thank goodness!

-Invest in a comfortable robe (or robes) since this will most likely be your dress of choice for the first 4-6 weeks.

As for weaning your baby, that is where I'M asking for advice. I never thought I would make it to 13 months with my Sweet Pea (daughter #2) but here we are: she's weaned from daytime feedings but still likes to nurse before naptime when we are at home, right before bed, and at a very early 4:30am every morning. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that we still have this time together and I know this is great for her development. But sleeping in until 6am when Poppy wakes up is rather tempting....

So if you decide to try breastfeeding, whether you do it for 2 days, 2 months, or 2 years, just remember that you are blessed for the time you had together. Good luck!

Cross-posted on Silicon Valley Moms Blog.

It's Official - Here's my intro on Mommy Bloggers!

Hey everyone! I'm very excited to be a part of this awesome mommy blogging team. Here's my intro to "Mommy Bloggers". Just click here to link to the site.