January 2011
24 posts
A few weeks ago Mini started waking up several...
after waking up only once for weeks.
That is for the birds, I tell you. For the birds.
So I added two sleep books to my collection (grand total, four) and have been poring over them for tips.
Basically I’ve got a little science experiment going, involving charts and variables and data analyzation (it’s not THAT serious, but still).
I’ll do anything for more sleep.
Fashion
My wardrobe is 95% black, brown, gray, and white or whiteish. I’ve worn a lot of color in my life, but the pieces I return to again and again are always in the neutral family. I’ve come to a point of acceptance with this preference, and instead of wasting money trying to be colorful I invest (invest is a loose term; lately I’ve been frequenting H&M) in pieces I love and toss...
The shape of my goals (and how postpartum anxiety...
Ever since delving into research during graduate school, one of my far-off goals has been to pursue a doctorate degree and do research of my own. It’s been a far-off goal because I wanted to do other things first (work as a therapist, focus on being a mama). That last endeavor has begun to shape my ideas about what I’d like to research one day.
While I’ve written about how my...
mamaguru is on tumblr! →
As requested: last night's recipe →
A note to Mini on our quiet day rounds
Busy days involve farmers markets or errands, walks on the beach or field trips to visit friends in other parts of the city. On quiet days, like today, we stay home. Still, we always make our rounds. We walk from our neighborhood, where everything is still, to Pico Boulevard. On Pico we are suddenly in the city, walking on the wide sidewalk amid the noise of traffic and buses. We pass shops and...
Mini is on his way to dreamland
and I’m about to throw together some shrimp, mango and butternut squash with curry sauce (recipe is Nigella’s), enjoy a glass of wine, and watch some brainrot TV courtesy of The Bachelor.
Oh, Monday.
I love the end of you.
As a parent I want to be responsible
by helping Mini learn to fall asleep and stay asleep in his crib, for example, so that one day I can just pop him in there when it’s time to sleep and let him do the rest. I feel especially motivated by my friend who brought her 1.5 year-old son to visit last week. Whenever she wanted him to sleep she’d say, “Do you want your paci?” He’d nod, she’d lift him into...
Carefree
One of the friends visiting last week was M, a woman who knows me so inside-out that I am unaware of myself when I am with her. Amongst the topics of conversation we delved into was the near decade we spent together in Miami.
We revisited our move to South Beach in 1999, the nights out, the days sailing, the evenings cooking dinners at home—sometimes for two, or four, or twelve. For...
We're singing the Mister-gets-home-from-Madrid...
Two more hours…
“This is America, where a white Catholic male Republican judge was murdered on...”
– Mark Shields, PBS News Hour (via bethanyinbeijing)
Mini and I woke up in San Diego
in the home of my seventh-grade science class lab partner who, 19 years later, stood next to me on the altar while I said my wedding vows.
Next stop: Hermosa Beach
A note to Mini on the places we go
Everything has changed. It felt both gradual and sudden. You are now an easygoing baby. And so we go. Car seat. Stroller. Sling. Mama’s hip. You look around with wonder on your face. We drive and shop and stroll. We sit in parks and I name things. Arbol. Cielo. Hoja. Today, at a stoplight, I looked at you in the rearview mirror and you were opening and closing your lips in wide-mouth smiles....
Mini has no idea that this is the week he will...
because six of my girlfriends from Miami arrive tonight.
Untranslatable words
In Spanish there is a word, confianza, for which I’ve never found a translation that feels accurate. Mister and I speak English to each other but insert this word into conversation often, understanding that an English substitute would fall short.
Confianza is a noun. It’s something you have, if you’re lucky, in a relationship. The type of relationship isn’t important....
Did I say I was going to write about something...
I will.
But can I just say that I’m one week into dream feeding Mini and we’re all sleeping so much better? Our old routine involved Mini going down 3 to 4 hours before us, and by the time I fell asleep he was about to wake up hungry. Now, right before I go to bed I sneak into his room, pick him up, take him to the rocking chair, feed him, and put him back in his bed. It takes about...
Today's Mantra:
lovepuppy:
Clear eyes, full heart, can’t lose.
Any FNL reference = instant reblog!
First date
An old friend is in town for a conference, staying with us for the weekend. She insisted that we go. And so we went. We drove to the theater. The car seat base in the backseat was empty. We ate popcorn and candy. I got lost in the movie. We held hands. I kept my phone under my leg in case it vibrated. It never did. We stepped from the chilly, rainy night into our warm, cozy home. Sleeping baby....
Until recently I swore I'd never be an electronic...
I grew up in a house so full of books that my father built bookshelves inside clothes closets. Now, there are books in every room of my and Mister’s house.
When Kindles first made an appearance, I shook my head with my nose in the air. I’ll never give up REAL books, I’d say, going on about the weight of a book in your lap, the feel of the pages, the sense that you’re...