Thursday, January 28, 2010

ah, the subtle differences...

I'm madly trying to pick up/organize/clean our apartment
for Nana's arrival tonight.
One of the obvious tasks is to put away Sadie's toys so that there is room
to walk around without the peril of tripping.
Just now, I came across this - tucked neatly under the coffee table:


Clearly, Andrew was the last one to put Sadie's blocks away.
I don't think they were even like this when we got them!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Mission: Ice Skating with an almost 2.5 year old. Outcome: FAIL.


Sadie was *so* excited about this little adventure...
that is, until her skates hit the ice.
I guess it was a bit premature.
Rookie mom.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Fresh Start 2010

YAY!

We're moving! We're MOVING!!!
No, we haven't bought a home (much to my parents' chagrin) but we're
M-O-V-I-N-G!
I still kind of can't believe it.
Andrew and I moved into our little 2 bedroom apartment a stone's throw from downtown Mtn. View over 5 and a half years ago. We had already outgrown it when we were expecting Sadie, but we've made it work just fine for the past 2 and a half years.
With Bun's due date looming, we decided it was a priority to find a place with more space. We've been looking at rental houses all over the South Bay area for a couple of months, feeling hopeful and determined. Hopeful that we'd find something we really liked for a good price, with good landlords, etc. and determined not to stress about it.
Well, the stars aligned and voila! - we found a cute little house just on the other side of our beloved downtown for only a few hundred more dollars than what we pay now. It's almost too good to be true.


It's definitely funky/old/a bit odd, but I still can't believe all of the little aspects that make it such a sweet deal:
  • 3 bedrooms (one's teeny tiny, but that's all Bun needs)
  • 2 bathrooms (oh, bliss)
  • gas stove (I think every other rental we looked at had a junky old electric stove)
  • central heat (no more banging & pinging in the middle of the night from a wall heater)
  • a big playroom for Sadie
  • indoor laundry (w/d included)
  • 2 car garage (that we will NOT fill with junk this time...ahem!)
  • 2 cute little parks within walking distance
  • very close to the bike trail that Andrew takes to work
  • very near our dear friends A & G (who are expecting their first baby in June)
  • still walking distance to downtown
  • awesome landlords
and the best part:
  • it's a month-to-month rental, so we didn't have to sign a year of our life away on a lease! We'll be able to continue to get all of our ducks in a row or whatever and still inch toward the goal of home ownership.
That's the part I'm hoping will assuage my mom, dad and anyone else who has been humming the refrain, "now's the time to buy! this is it! rates will never be lower!" etc. (which, for what it's worth, has been ringing in my ears for...oh, about 2 and a half years now.)

Jeez...new car, new home, new baby on the way. I like the way 2010 is shaping up so far.

Monday, January 11, 2010

I *heart* this article!

I'm on the opposite coast from Park Slope, Brooklyn, but I have totally noticed/experienced this phenomenon.
Actually, certain aspects of this topic are even sort of an "elephant in the room" issue amongst my own working vs. stay-at-home mom friends. (Let alone my single or childless-by choice or not-friends.)
I can honestly say that I had absolutely NO idea that becoming a mother would entail anything like this. I mean, seriously? Having to be defensive about my choice to be a mom (especially a stay-at-home mom) and then worrying that people think I am tossing around some sense of entitlement about it? Having to feel like I owe strangers apologies for taking an extra few seconds to wriggle a stroller through a coffee shop door (9 times out of 10 without any help offered)? Getting glared at for being in someone's way on the sidewalk for a moment while my toddler stops to crouch down and check out an ant or an acorn or a leaf?

I guess I'm not old enough yet to say that nothing surprises me.

http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2009/11/22/mommy_hate/index.html

"Everybody Hates Mommy" by Lynn Harris

*

Friday, January 8, 2010

double diss

Ugh.
Sadie just got SO dissed by her little 5 year old neighbor friend.
It started out perfectly - a soft knock on the door just as Sadie was waking up from her nap, K's sweet face asking if Sadie could play. Sadie was delighted to wake up to a playmate and was immediately all smiles and giggles.
The two of them got into a few of Sadie's toys and then K asked if they could do Play-Doh. So I set them up in the kitchen and started prepping for dinner while they smushed and rolled and poked at the colorful blobs I had set in front of them.
Sadie adores this little girl, but rarely interacts with her, as there are 3 other older kids in our complex who often pull K's focus. They all race around on their bikes and razor scooters while Sadie watches and plays with her chalk or hula hoop.
Sure enough, a few minutes into Play-Doh time, M, one of the older girls (mind you she's only 8) knocked on our door and asked if K could come out to play.
(you've gotta love the audacity of small children)
I said, "Well, K is here playing with Sadie right now, but you're welcome to come and join them, if you'd like." She mumbled something about not wanting to, and K jumped out of her seat to go with the older, clearly more appealing M. I said to K, "do you want to stay and play with Sadie?" and she said "no, I want to go outside because I'm bored."
Ouch.
Thank God Sadie is still too young to understand well enough to get her feelings hurt, but I was stung. I'd better grow some thicker skin if I think I'm going to survive the grade school and middle school and *gulp* high school years, watching my sweet girl navigate through the perilous ups and downs of girlhood.
Ugh.
Serious dread.