Happy Birthday Gracie!

Grace with my mom at her 2nd Birthday Party

Yes,
I could be better rested,
my house could be so much cleaner,
be less late for work in the morning,
read interesting books more often,
catch up on my favorite TV shows,
take naps on the weekends,
ride my bike around the neighborhood more often,
try on clothes when I go shopping,
eat at fancier restaurants,
watch movies with your daddy,
take my time enjoying meals,
flip through magazines,
referee fewer fights,
put away fewer toys,
wipe up fewer messes,
wash chocolate milk from the sofa slipcovers less often,
spend more time and money on myself....

....but you are sooooooooooooo worth it, Gracie!

Happy 2nd Birthday, my little baby!  When you read this one day, I hope you know how much I love you.

Resolutions

1. Savor the time I have with my kids, and not rush through the day.
2. Drink more green juice. Ideally once a day.
3. Walk. Ideally at least 30 minutes a day.
4. Do more reading. I'd like to read 30 books in 2012. I think I can do it!

image via Beauty Sweet Spot

A prayer for moms

I ran across this prayer on one of my favorite blogs this morning...no truer words have ever been written for me. My singular daily mission is to fulfill this...

image via Oak Ridge Revival

Tiger Wounds

By now, everyone's probably heard about Amy Chua's controversial memoir, "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother".  In it, Chua describes her stringent method of parenting her two daughters, who by most accounts have become successful young women.  To get them there however, Chua told them they were "garbage", denied them extracurricular activities (like sports), chose the instruments they had to excel in playing, and deprived them of food and water when they didn't want to practice.  Sounds monstrous, right?

Two articles today have responded to this book very well, I thought.  The first, called "'Tiger Mothers' Leave Lifelong Scars" by Lac Su.  This article hit close to home with me, and I felt very empathetic towards the author's painful journey and his desire to raise his children with love and compassion.  The other which is a more academic response, is from Rabbi Schmuley Boteach: "War Cry of the Values-Based Parents."  Although it's hard for me to fight my lifelong Confucian-based programming that academic and career success are the ultimate goals, I find more and more that I'm most interested in raising compassionate, independent and happy girls who make a positive contribution to society and have a healthy dose of self-esteem.  Whether they get there by climbing the corporate ladder or building outhouses in a third world country makes no difference to me.

A vignette

It's 10:30pm on New Year's Day. The babes are both soundly asleep (finally!). I steal a moment of quiet and relaxation, sitting at my desk and sipping on my favorite wine. As I'm reflecting on the events of this past year, I spotted this little scene here by the corner of my elbow, and I think...this picture says it all.  An overflowing inbox with forgotten to-do's, a chew toy, and a glass of wine.  I want to stick it in a time capsule and revisit it one day when I've forgotten about my chaotic, joyful, tiring and precious life was as a new mother.

My life, circa 2011.

Sisters

My little sister and I, circa mid-1980s

A few days ago, the New York Times published this interesting article about how people who had at least one sister in their lives were, in general, happier.  The writer hypothesized that it was due to women's tendencies to "just talk".  Turns out that "talk", even when it's about nothing in particular, can be very therapeutic.  I can attest that this is very true in my own life.  Every day, I chat with my sister and most of the time it's about absolutely nothing of importance.  But it feels good.  It keeps me grounded.  I am relaxed.  So, I'm absolutely thrilled that I have two little girls of my own.  Hopefully, they will love having a sister as much as I did.

Bathtime

Look how big she's getting! My little baby barely fits in the sink anymore. I'm soooo going to miss moments like this when I return to work in a month....

Parenting While Plugged In

Is this you?

I read an interesting article in the New York Times a few days ago about how more and more parents were distracted with their smart devices while they were supposed to be parenting. The author mentions a study in which children from more educated, affluent families are exposed to more vocabulary than those in struggling families, purely on the basis of how much their parents speak with them. Parents who are focused on their devices rather then being engaged with their children may change this.

This is something that Darren and I have discussed (and struggled with), and we're trying more and more to be mindful of it. Neither of us use blackberries or surf on our phones very often, but we are guilty of using the internet when we could be interacting with Sophie. It's a struggle, but I think we might try instituting an internet ban for the few hours she spends with us every evening. After all, she's growing and changing so quickly these days...

Mother's Day

What you get when you ask Sophie to smile for the camera.

Today was my 3rd Mother's Day as a mom. Every year, it seems as if the day means more to me and I am more reflective of what motherhood really means and how much it has changed me. Mothering has been my most profound and transformative experience--more than going away to college, working my way through law school, living on my own, or getting married. Motherhood taught me about the depths of love and sacrifice, tested my patience and stamina when I thought I had none left to give, gave my life focus and singular purpose, and has rewarded me beyond measure. So, on this day, I don't expect any thanks or presents from my daughter...instead, I am grateful that she came along and gave me these gifts.

One of my favorite presents ever. I should've expected that I would have received this from Sophie's school, but I didn't and it was a sweet surprise.

National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day

After watching one too many episodes of Intervention, it seems like all the people with mental and substance abuse issues have one thing in common--messed up childhoods. So, I was especially interested when I ran across this interesting article by Rosalynn Carter (yes, the former FLOTUS). I thought this was the most interesting part of the article:

There are a number of characteristics present in resilient children:

- Having a sense of purpose in life
- Confidence in one's ability to control any given situation
- Compassion for others
- A belief in the fundamental goodness of people, and
- The energy and resourcefulness to make things happen.

In the end, all of these things are characteristics that enable children to work well, play well, love well, and expect well. Today is National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day, and I think it's an understatement to say that a good mental health foundation for our children goes a long way.

Easter Baskets

One of my fondest childhood memories was being taken on an Easter egg hunt by my mom and aunts. We had only been in the U.S. for a few months, yet my family embraced the American tradition wholeheartedly. I now have them to thank for such a precious memory that's stayed with me for almost 30 years already...So, even before I had kids, I knew there were certain rites of childhood that I wanted them to look back on happily. And of course one of these things is hunting for eggs on Easter.

I made my first Easter baskets--one for Sophie and one for Bodhi. I took extra care not to (1) fill them with too much junk candy, or (2) fill with plastic junk that would eventually clutter our house. So, the contents were pretty simple: plastic eggs filled with organic gummy worms, a board book, and a toy that makes a cat sound when turned upside down.

Obvious note to self: gummy worms get hard when exposed to air, duh! Do not make Easter baskets so early next year.

On a completely unrelated note: today's weather was gorgeous! After I picked Sophie up from preschool, I gave her some kettle corn and let her hang out on the deck. Here are some shots I managed to take.

Corn-lovin'

This recent blog post about Genetically Modified Organisms is really disturbing to me, especially since I love corn and all corn-products....who'd have thought that I was eating something by the made by the same people who brought us Agent Orange? Yikes...

On a more light-hearted note....would this be taking my love of corn too far?

Wow, she looks so comfortable.

Nursery School Gourmets

I read a really interesting article in Time Magazine recently about Parisian nursery school lunches. The French really care about the quality of food that their children eat, and they believe it's something that should be taught from a very young age. For instance, french preschoolers learn very early that they'll only be fed at the table. Secondly, they take their time during eating...often being served a leisurely 5-course meal consisting of salad, cheese, plenty of organic fruits, and an adult-style entree.

This article really hit a nerve with me. I'm not claiming to be the world's healthiest eater, but I would never feed Sophie 90% of the food that she's served at school. Her menu today consisted of waffles & maple syrup, a brownie, chicken nuggets and fries....in other words: junk. The thing is, it seems like most parents I speak to feed their children things like this on a daily basis. It seems pervasive in American culture that parents feed their families the fastest, cheapest, most processed food possible. And I truly believe that this diet has contributed to our poor health and skyrocketing healthcare costs.

I'm not all about low-fat, diet stuff. There are many cultures out there that eat high-fat diets in which people are thinner than Americans. I'm more concerned about sugar (especially the fake kind) and the amount of processing that goes into the food. I wish that more people wanted to feed their kids high-quality, real food.

Why do kids have to eat macaroni & cheese, or cereal that contains ultra-violet marshmallows? Why do parents have to make separate meals for themselves and their children? These questions trouble me when I speak to other parents, but I keep my mouth shut for the most part. Since this is my blog, I'm on a soapbox here (I know). And I've even changed how we eat at home since reading this article. We all eat at the table (with no TV) every night now. We avoid high fructose corn syrup or other unnatural sweeteners (even aspartame) as much as possible. We only eat 100% grass-fed beef at home. But we still have a lot to learn about eating from the French.

33rd

Today was my special day. The day started off with the news of a tragic event that really made me reflect on what is important in my life. The rest of the day went well...I got some nice, meaningful little surprises and spent the entire day with the people I love the most, and today I was especially grateful.

Darren stayed home from work today and I had the day off, so our little family of 3.5 went to lunch at Rio Grande. Sophie is sharing a chip with me.

She loves those tortilla chips.

Especially with chile con queso.

The real celebration for my birthday was at Present, where my parents, Michou and family, and Jenny joined us.

The "present"-ation was really nice. Harharhar...

I love Apple for inventing ipods to keep kids busy and well-behaved at dinnertime. The three of us are big fans of Wallace and Gromit.

My mom and Jenny, who begrudgingly let me take her picture.

This delish flan was a sweet surprise at the end...thank you, Darren.

Sophie likes to blow out birthday candles. I'm giving her a little help in this pic.

Thankful

I'm so thankful for loyal best friends, a kind and thoughtful husband, supportive parents, a flexible job, a great kid, and a happy life so far. Have a great Thanksgiving, everyone!

Hungry Kids

As we get into this season of bounty and abundance, I am more and more reflective of those who are less fortunate. Nothing tugs at my heartstrings more than stories of children who go hungry. This video was an eye-opener, but I couldn't resist watching (and sharing).