Kindergarden, Career and My Friday Savior

As a young wife (24 when I married my ex-husband) and then a young mom (25 when my first was born), thinking about family planning and the ripple effect on how I would eventually balance life / career was not top-of-mind. Possibly it was immaturity, possibly it was naiveté, probably it was a combination of the two. I was already in the workforce, but still sussing out what I wanted and where I wanted to go. My daughter was born in the midst of the dot-com boom, and by way of good choices and good fortune, I found myself in a great position to leave corporate America and consult from a home office giving me the opportunity to be with my new baby and still be part of the working world.

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Giving Each Other A Break

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Copyright: Igor Zakowski / Shuttershock.com

I jinxed myself. Friday night we were entertaining another family at our house. My daughter and I were affectionately snuggling and hugging. One of our guests (the mom, also a mother to a daughter) made a comment about how she hopes to one day be as close as we are; and in response my daughter or I said that although we may fight, I make it a point not to yell or raise my voice at her. JINX!

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Gifts When Meeting A New Baby

20130119-133050.jpgOne of my closest friends from childhood had a baby last week and I’m meeting him for the first time today. Suffice it to say, I’m beyond excited–first, I love babies and second, I remember getting the text last June that she was preggers and have been following this pregnancy with much joy and anticipation.

When thinking about a gift for a new, first baby I always go back to my first year arsenal of must-have items that saved my new-mommy tush from meltdowns, helped me cram in a much-needed shower or just added some joy to our daily reprieve. Here are some of those items.
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Two Finished Lists

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Yesterday was a landmark day, I did two things:
1. I finished my getting all my holiday decorations up when I purchased an extension cord, this allowing us to turn on the lights (see lead image) and yes, we did correct the slanted star (see second image below)
2. I finished my gift shopping

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Bad Hair Day Gifts: 10 Amazing Headbands For Any Budget

20120827-204549.jpgI’m in desperate need of a haircut. Truly. It’s out of control. Now if you looked at me you’d think I was delusional because my hair isn’t more than 2.5 – 3 inches long root to top, but that’s LONG for me and it gets sooooo thick. See I haven’t had hair over my ears since I was 16, having favored the pixie for the last 20+ years, and my hairstylist is on vacation for the next week so I am desperate for the bad hair day fix: headbands (that’s me in one in the picture above). Of course, when I wear headbands my daughter starts wanting to pillage my stash too– she has long, gorgeous red hair. That inspired this list of Splurges and Urges, high and low options to fit any budget and style.

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Gifts For Moms & Grandmas

July 4th Lobster Bake: Three Generations
From left to right back row: my grandmother, mom, aunt
Front row: my son (2) and daughter (4.5)
I am behind the camera

My mother’s birthday is at the end of August–sometimes falling right in the middle of Labour Day weekend (if you want further proof of this, see my earlier post on her Summertime Tea Party). What’s really interesting, or at least it was for me, is when you see your mother in action as not just “mom” but as “grandma”… particularly if this is to your children, and in my case since I was my mothers’ only child this was the only way that was going to happen. Putting on my gift-giving hat, this is a very cool challenge because I get to think about different kinds of gifts for her from my children and work with them on the selecting and assembling.

Baby Gifts for Office Mates

20120718-002947.jpg This last April I ran into a colleague I hadn’t seen in a very long time. When last we spoke, he had been trying (with his partner) to have a child and because physically together they are unable to conceive, “trying” is really not the fun “trying” that some of us get to do. When I saw him in April, he told me they were finally expecting and then through the modern miracle that is Facebook, this last week I saw a beautiful picture surface of him as a proud Daddy cradling a precious newborn baby. I was so overjoyed for him I started to tear-up, all I could comment was “So beautiful!” And now…what to give?
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