My darling Nora Jane, Happy birthday. Happy fifth birthday. I remember the night before you were born, how excited and scared I was for the whatever the heck was about to happen to just HAPPEN. I remember sitting on the operating room, awaiting a spinal, and feeling so positively terrified at my imminent c-section and parenthood and whose ridiculous idea was this, anyhow, and NO, I DID NOT THINK I WAS FEELING THIS SO MUCH ANYMORE, I was going to {Read More}
RoundUp: A 5th Birthday, Way Too Much Theatre & A Roasted Pig.
October 29, 2014 By 4 Comments
The biggest news of the day: my firstborn kid, Miss Nora Jane, IS NOW FIVE YEARS OF AGE. Making me…a little over 29. (And don’t worry, she’ll get her own dedicated post tomorrow. I know the rules of how things work ’round here.) Everything else kinda pales into comparison to that time my kid was suddenly in the world, but if I must… Stuff That I Did That Wasn’t As Great As Giving Birth For The First Time Ever: P.J. {Read More}
Nora Is About To Have The Coolest Party Ever.
October 22, 2014 By 6 Comments
I can barely contain my excitement about working with The Wishcraft Workshop for Nora’s upcoming birthday party. While they’re providing me with a complimentary party for the NJ Bug, all thoughts, opinions, and glittery hands are my own. *** You know what’s fun? Tailoring birthday parties to your kids’ interests without a) breaking the bank, or b) spending an entire day in a cacophonous and sticky padded room while Mary Had A Little Lamb plays on repeat for hours. (Kid-free friends: Have {Read More}
Swimming Like Champs. Or At Least Better Than Me.
October 14, 2014 By 2 Comments
This wraps up the two-fer posts I’ve written on behalf of Goldfish Swim School and their terrific programs for the smallest pollywogs among you. Nora and Susannah swam for free- but all thoughts and opinions and pruney fingers are our own. *** Well, we did it. The gals completed their first-ever In An Actual Swim Facility lessons…and I’m proud to announce that they’re both champion divers, not to mention serious contenders for the Under-5 freestyle record. Or. They’re competent and {Read More}
Swimming For Realsies At Goldfish Swim School.
September 9, 2014 By 2 Comments
Disclaimer: As an ambassador for Goldfish Swim School, I’m oh-so happy to regale you with the gals’ experiences for all things aquatic…and give you the down low on this snazzy joint. While our lessons have been comped, I receive no other compensation and my opinions are super strictly my own. But you probably already knew that. *** I am good at many things. I am really, really bad at so, so, so many more things. Like, abysmally bad. Embarrassingly bad. {Read More}
Why Parenting Is The Least Rational Job Ever.
August 25, 2014 By 6 Comments
Today Nora rode a bike. It wasn’t without training wheels and it wasn’t even the first time she had done so…but this time I really looked and saw and got it. In two short months she’ll be five years old. And in that short/long time, she’s figured out how to hold a spoon. Stand upright and move forward. Use a potty. Comb her hair. Clear a table. Talk like a semi-normal person on the phone. And- apparently- work the mechanics of {Read More}
How To Scar Your Child: Cemetery Edition.
April 10, 2014 By 10 Comments
It’s probably a tad too early in my parenting career to feel like a complete failure…but regardless, here we are. The other morning, as we drove to gymnastics, Nora and Susannah spotted a cemetery which we’d passed nearly a billion times. However, on this particular introspective a.m., Zu pointed out her window and piped up- “What’s that, Mom?” “That’s a cemetery, sweets.” “What’s a cemetery?” (Hmm. How to explain, how to explain.) Disclaimer- my kids have (sadly) had way too much {Read More}
Nora’s First Field Trip, a.k.a. Here’s Why I Cried Yesterday.
March 27, 2014 By 23 Comments
Yesterday morning, Nora went on her very first field trip. And I kinda had a thing about it. It wasn’t so much the “field” part of the equation (because she’d been seeing shows at that particular theater for years), but the “trip” part? Yeah, that’s the bit that kicked me in the Feels. Nora and I have quite a lengthy history- nearly 4.5 years, in fact- of being borderline inseparable. As my papoose while I nannied other kiddos for the {Read More}
