Apparently, today I’m in a bit of a PSA mood. In addition to asking you to get out and vote, I wanted to urge you to take care of you. I firmly believe that you need to take care of yourself in order to better take care of others (think oxygen mask airline instructions) and I felt compelled to post this PSA because: a) I’ve been fielding a lot of questions these days about self-care (mostly informally, but also more formally via a recent fit mom profile over at Momtrends); and b) this past weekend I had the lovely opportunity to host a yoga event that was infused with personal and global mindfulness; the deliriously happy looks on the attendees faces made it clear that self-care was not happening enough.Apparently, today I’m in a bit of a PSA mood. In addition to asking you to get out and vote, I wanted to urge you to take care of you. I firmly believe that you need to take care of yourself in order to better take care of others (think oxygen mask airline instructions) and I felt compelled to post this PSA because: a) I’ve been fielding a lot of questions these days about self-care (mostly informally, but also more formally via a recent fit mom profile over at Momtrends); and b) this past weekend I had the lovely opportunity to host a yoga event that was infused with personal and global mindfulness; the deliriously happy looks on the attendees faces made it clear that self-care was not happening enough.
Today, from parent educator Hetti Wohlgemuth of Alphabet Soup 4 Parents, because it’s never too late to resolve to communicate better:
Earlier this month, Bob and I listened to an NPR show about making and keeping resolutions. The advice? Keep resolutions to a bare minimum and keep resolutions specific. While resolutions such as losing weight, becoming a better tennis player, and communicating more effectively are all good in theory, these resolutions raise red flags. They’re too general. However, resolution number three is critical to me -- I believe that good communication is the underpinning of all great relationships (and certainly parent-child partnerships) -- so I want to break it down into smaller, more tangible components.
Today, Sarah shares a soup recipe to satisfy the whole family:
The eternal struggle to find a meal for dinner is one of the banes of the mom’s existence. For millennia, we’ve been combining this and substituting that to discover the holy grail of a single dish that will fill hungry bellies, fuel growing bodies, tempt picky taste buds, and soothe savage budgets, all while being prepared with a minimum of fuss, prep, and time. Oh, yeah, and the same goes for tomorrow. And the day after that.
Apparently (and unintentionally), today is all about Blissdom! The lovely Amanda of Oh Amanda invited me to guest post for her BLISS*TASTIC guest blog series leading up to Blissdom, and the article went live this morning. Amanda asked me to share how I manage a local blog while making it attractive to a broader audience. I receive a lot of inquiries about this topic from folks looking to start geographical niche sites, so it was a pleasure to think more concretely about this topic and share my blogging niche & beyond approach. Enjoy!
The dead of Boston winter is the perfect time to head south, but that’s not the only reason I’m thrilled to head to Blissdom in a few weeks. I heard so many amazing things about this blog conference last year, and meeting lovely co-founders Alli Worthington and Barbara Jones this year provided extra motivation to attend. The agenda is fantastic; I’m so looking forward to listening to, learning from, and meeting other bloggers, and I’m also honored to be speaking on the life balance panel. If you’re headed to Blissdom (there's still time to register), do drop me a line; it would be lovely to connect in Nashville!
Today, Paige shares her raves for MiniLuxe:
“Ever since I moved back to Boston from New York, I have searched for a fabulous nail salon. Not a shmancy spa. Not a hair salon that has a great manicurist on staff. An honest-to-goodness nail shop -- the kind you find every three blocks in Manhattan, where you can walk in when the mood strikes and be guaranteed a fabulously groomed set of ten in 30 minutes for less than $20. But with no luck to date, I have had to deal with my gnarly nails and cuticles, except for the occasional weak moment when I’m willing to fork over $40 for a mani at the local spa.
Kids grow fast and seasonal gear subsequently has a short window of use, so I was thrilled to find these Bladerunner adjustable ice skates (also available in blue) for Laurel. Sturdy and (according to Laurel) comfortable, the skates are available in three size brackets, each adjustable across four sizes, which means we’ll get at least two, maybe even three, seasons out of them. Super fabulous.
Today, Tracy shares tips to help soothe sensitive souls:
When our second son was born, he wailed from the moment I brought him up to my chest. He wailed through his first bath, an experience his older brother had loved. He wailed for the first three months we put him in his car seat. Snow suit? Wailed. Hiring a babysitter? Cue the wailing. At nearly every turn, tearfulness and sobbing were part and parcel of his experience. I realized very early that I had an emotionally sensitive kid on my hands.
One fun by-product of parenting is reliving games of my childhood with Laurel (oddly enough, I’m also looking forward to a second pass at learning math and history when Laurel hits high school…). And often times it’s the simplest and least expensive games and activities that offer so much fodder for fun and creativity.
Without fail, every time we visit with our wonderful friends Anne and Michael, we pick up lovely hosting ideas. And this New Year’s Eve we learned about raclette, a dish/serving method that’s wonderfully communal and conversation inspiring. It’s also perfect for people like me who like to sample a little bit of everything at dinner, and it presents elegantly while being super simple to prepare.
Today, Kate recommends a thought provoking book about motherhood:
“The essayist Caitlin Flanagan has developed a successful career writing thoughtfully and often with acerbic humor on issues of family, marriage, motherhood, and feminism. She courts controversy by raising uncomfortable questions about whether men or women are better suited to housework, whether small children should be cared for by anyone other than their mothers, and whether contemporary women are fundamentally unsuited to accept the sacrifices required by marriage. She points at working mothers, stay-at-home mothers, and work-at-home mothers -- in other words, all of us -- and asks us to look into ourselves to understand our motivations, our compromises, and our choices and their impacts on our children. She is also the mother of twin boys, and a breast cancer survivor.
As I noted in yesterday’s year in review post, it has been a remarkable and humbling year for press and accolades. And 2010 started in a similarly humbling fashion when I hit the grocery store this weekend, picked up the January issue of Boston Magazine, and followed the front page teaser to see myself as the story lead in Elizabeth Elfman’s article on Boston mommy bloggers. Elfman did well capturing my story in the context of the amazing proliferation of local mommy blogs, and the potential relation to highly educated and savvy Hub women turning towards blogging following (late) motherhood. However, the concluding paragraphs drew my concern and I wanted to address that here.
I meant to write this post in advance of January 1 but instead opted to take a much needed break to enjoy downtime with family and friends. However, this week I'll hit the 1800 post mark at Boston Mamas -- a number that seems both arbitrary and momentous -- and it seemed fitting to peruse the 2009 archives and reflect on what happened this past year. So much of my life is set in the context of the work I put into Boston Mamas, and it truly is an honor to be here with you. I hope you enjoy this recap of my favorite posts and notable occurrences of 2009 and I wish you all a year full of joy and blessings and fantastic surprises!
Today from Jules, because no doubt some post-holidays push-ups could do us all good:
“As busy mothers (synonymous words as far as I’m concerned), we tend to put ourselves on the back burner to care for the little ones. With two babies under the age of 18 months, I have had to sacrifice lots of me time. However, one thing I refuse to give up is my daily workout regimen. And on days where I only have 10 minutes to spare, I do push-ups. Push-ups are a weight bearing exercise that target multiple muscle groups and, when done correctly, can seriously tighten you up in no time.
Best-of lists are tricky. At best, they’re meant to be interesting, fun, and sometimes even inspiring; at worst, they cause ill will or seem random and/or contrived. In the former realm, I was honored and humbled to learn last week that I was named to Babble.com’s list of 50 Best Mommy Bloggers. So why is this list different and worthy of mention? First, it's purely editorial (not vote-driven), and second, there is a thoughtful editorial spread about why each blogger was selected. In addition to overall rank, there also are rankings for a handful of breakout categories; clearly, time and thought were put into this process.
Today, Heather shares a fabulous idea that simplifies gift wrapping and makes the holidays accessible for pre-readers:
“I love Christmas and all that comes with it: the music, decorating, baking, shopping, and -- my favorite part -- watching the excitement and anticipation of my four children. The one thing I do not love is gift wrapping, possibly because I come from a family where gift wrapping is considered an art form. The busier my life gets, the more stressful I find this task. Though I love the look of artfully wrapped gifts, my practical side always wonders if it is worth spending so much time on gift wrap that will be ripped off in a few seconds.
Minding your intake during the holidays can be challenging for anyone, and even more so when you’re eating for two. Yes, you’re expected to consume extra calories (thought in general, it’s only about 300 calories, which isn’t a lot when you stack it up in terms of holiday cookies), but it’s important to make the calories count in a healthful way. This month, in my role as a March of Dimes mom, the discussion is around healthy eating and weight gain during pregnancy. Here are some of my key recommendations for healthful pregnancy habits; many are applicable to the non-pregnant crowd as well.
I adore Gabrielle Blair; I first met her at the inaugural Disney mom bloggers mixer where we bonded over our shared passion for design, and I have since admired and enjoyed all of the artful ideas and stories she shares via her blog Design Mom, as well as the social media smartness that stems from her work as a co-founder of Kirtsy. Gabrielle projects such grace and generosity and kindness and creativity. And for the fifteenth installment of my Simplifying the Holidays guest blog series, I’m thrilled to share Gabrielle’s three super fast, surefire ways to create instant holiday mojo at home.