Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

I have been completely focused on bonding with our amazing daughters these last few months, and while there are a million post running through my head day and night ( oh wait, those are the same thing :) have just let them brew..It goes without saying that motherhood is as amazing as I expected, hard at times but more meaningful, more difficult, more intense, and more important then anything I have ever done.

There is nothing better then seeing the girls face light up as they smile in the morning, or laughing during the day.

I find myself, as I hold that in my heart and head, sort of wanting more out of everything. Conversations that are more direct, connections that are more meaningful, food that is more wholesome and delicious…I can’t explain it but it is there.
So, as the last few months has passed, I find that certain people, sources, and places that do that in a way I appreciate and connect with. Next up, the part where I surprise myself and perhaps you…
With time more valuable, and at a premium, I was shocked at how much I loved this when I read it, and how much Iook forward to it each week.. Yes, it is Goop, Gwenyth Paltrow’s newsletter.

The recipes, the fashion ( perhaps not this week :() the books, the honest conversations about relationships…it really is a simple and useful weekly read.

Sign up, and see what you think. Most of all, have fun!!

A great idea for summer parties…love this “vintage” soda bar.

So perfect for young and old alike…

On the West Coast, you can find most of these at Bev Mo.

courtesy of party perfect

When we first found out that we were pregnant, I kept wondering if all of the things you hear about pregnancy and pregnant women would happen to me…In my mind, starting to formulate a ( short ) list of things I did not want to do/be. As I shared a few of these with my husband ( I can not even remember them now ) I remember him saying calmly “that’s great babe, but instead of deciding what you don’t want..how about you decide what you do..
From that moment on, sheer bliss. Lucky for us ( me ) I had a relatively easy pregnancy and for that I feel truly lucky. Aside from feeling tired at the end of the day, and yes ok, sometimes in the middle as the weeks progressed, I felt great, loved being pregnant and was felt emotionally myself. Not everyone is this fortunate.
A few months later, I started thinking about “stuff” No, not the emotional issues of becoming a parent, truly partnering with someone in one of life’s greatest journey’s, connecting more with my family, I did all of that…but truly the stuff you need ( or in this case don’t need )
As a great shopper ( though this is no longer an aspiration ) I found myself quietly assembling wish lists, thinking about the nursery, and checking out a variety of stores that catered to new parents. Once again, I recognize that this is where things could have gone terribly wrong. If not for the good grace of :
Number One-The age of the Internet wish list and favorable return policies at a few key retailers.
Number Two-My age and the Recession
Number Three-My Husband ( and father of three )

We would be surrounded right now by a bunch of crap.

The therapeutic nature of creating these lists, and not actually buying this stuff in person is quite helpful. There is the mental joy of looking, thinking and listing ( sort of like buying) stuff, without the actual acquisition.
At times, sharing with the Mr. what I thought we needed, would be met with a supportive, but experienced man who had already raised three babies. Diaper Genies that I thought were a must were deemed as difficult to change…sterilizers for bottles were nice but the same task could be completed with a pot and water..

So alas, I have learned a great deal. Once again, learning that less is more, and that in the end, there are a few things that you need and want and the rest is just not necessary. In our case since we were expecting twins, we already needed more then most.

Just yesterday, I was catching up with a friend who is in her second trimester, and yes, her morning sickness is gone and her nesting instinct has kicked in. We found ourselves talking about what was truly needed..So for her, I provide this ( hopefully helpful ) list. In future posts, will share more of what we learned and what we bought-The Stroller is pretty Fab!
For us, the filter was pretty simple. Products that helped with the emotional development or were focused on safety, ideally items that would grow with us all so we did not need multiple versions of an item/category, great design and well priced.

Day one…lets talk about Gear:

Gear
1.Stroller. This to me is one of the key purchases. We did a ton of research, with my husband sharing the thoughtful, development learnings ( front facing vs. rear facing ) and my weighing in on style and function.
We opted for a pretty amazing stroller that uses basinetts ( or carry cots ) in the first 6-8 months, can accomodate car seats and adjusts to a traditional stroller later on. Truly this thing should work until a stoller is no longer needed.
The Easy Walker Duo is Fantastic
2.Car Seats. This was another item that we did a lot of research on, mostly looking into which car seat would adapt to the stoller, accomodate babies that were smaller, and got great safety reviews. We opted for an infant version, that came with a handle so we could easily carry the girls. The other option we considered would have accomodated the twins from birth up to 60 lbs, but it could not go into the stroller, and had no handle…For trips to the Doctor, ease in and out of the car, I would highly recomend the one we go.
The Maxi Cosi is great.
3.Carriers. Since we live in California and the idea of taking walks and hikes with the kids is something I think about…Wanted a carrier that was safe, comfy and that my husband and I would both be comfortable carrying. This one is made from Bamboo, and has great back suport..
The Lascal M1 carrier-though not well known, got great reviews and is both stylish and sturdy. I can’t wait to use it..
4.Diaper Bag. So I went back and forth on this a few times. Part of me thought we could simply convert a fabulous bag I had. Then, the voice of reason kicked in and reminded me that it would be easier to know where the bottles, keys, wipes etc were at all times. So we have two systems…one which is with the stroller-we have two beautiful blankets from dwell studio ( think haute look sample sale..more on that another day ) and two “cosmetic” bags from dwell studio that hold diapers, wipes, purell etc.
The Diaper Bag that I love is from Petit Planet..not easy to find but worth tracking down.

Tomorrow..The Nursery/Baby’s Living Area.

Photo from Martha Stewart Living

Wishing you all a wonderful Holiday Weekend. We wanted to celebrate the start of Summer with friends and family and an invitation to our summer friends and family sale.
Have to make sure those kids are comfortable and stylish with dollars to spare for road trips, days at the beach and trips to the boardwalk.

Have fun and thank you for all your support.

An old friend sent this to me a few days ago… I admit, it brought some tears to my eyes.
Hope it touches you the same way.
Enjoy your life, your family and your friends on this glorious holiday weekend.

Here you go….

A friend of mine opened his wife’s underwear drawer and picked up a package wrapped in silk paper:
“This”, he said, “isn’t any ordinary package.”

He unwrapped the box and stared at both the silk paper and
the box.

“She got this the first time we went to New York, 8 or
9 years ago. She has never put it on, and was saving it for
a special occasion.

Well, I guess this is it.”

He got near the bed and placed the gift box next to the
other clothing he was taking to the funeral house; his wife
had just died.

He turned to me and said:

“Never save something for a special occasion.

Every day in your life is a special occasion”.

I still think those words changed my life.

Now I read more and clean less.

I sit on the porch without worrying about anything.

I spend more time with my family, and less at work.

I understood that life should be a source of experience to
be lived up to, not survived through.

I no longer keep anything.

I use crystal glasses every day….

I’ll wear new clothes to go to the supermarket, if I
feel like it.

I don’t save my special perfume for special occasions,
I use it whenever I want to.

The words ‘Someday…’ and ‘ One Day…’
are fading away from my dictionary.

If it’s worth seeing, listening or doing, I want to
see, listen or do it…… now

I don’t know what my friend’s wife would have done
if she knew she wouldn’t be there the next morning -
this nobody can tell.

I think she might have called her relatives and closest
friends. She might call old friends to make peace over past
quarrels.

I’d like to think she would go out for a Chinese, her
favourite food.

It’s these small things that I would regret not doing,
if I knew my time had come.

Each day, each hour, each minute, is special.

Live for today, for tomorrow is promised to no-one.

Just wanted to share and thank our wonderful friend Jo Manolis for another fabulous photo shoot. As always, she totally captured the essence of the kids, made sure they had a great time and left all that participated with amazing memories and images to treasure.

Check out the whole shoot and her work here.

Love this book from Chronicle..and website. Simply put, how can you in a small way help make the world a better place. Sometimes, it is hard to just get through the day to day, but when you live in the world, in your community and with your friends and family in a meaningful way everyone benefits.
Fascinated by people and things big and small that we can all do to help make the world a better place, thought this book captured this hope simply and well.

The website is so easy to follow and participate in. Check it out.

Stay tuned for some really inspirational agents of change…

Last week, little Miss. S started Horseback riding lessons.I sat and watched her first lesson, with this amazing smile on my face, and feeling in my heart. It is funny, thinking about what and how to expose your children to different learnings, cultural activities and adventures in life. Balancing time for play, school work and the world at large.  Knowing that in addition to the activity itself, there are so many life lessons in each of these moments..

After weeks ( actually months of asking if she could take riding lessons ) she had finally cleared the waiting list, and was a bit shocked when we announced at breakfast that today was the day!

As we walked up to the stables ( and the boys ran around the barn ) she grabbed my hand and announced ” I’m a bit nervous ” No worries I said, that is totally understandable and after some more conversation…imagine how the horse feels!

At that exact moment, a memory in my mind. Me, in Ballet at the age of 7, crying the entire first class.

A week or so before, as we were driving somewhere, my mom had proudly announced that she had signed me up for Ballet and Brownies. She was clearly so excited about both of these activities and had clearly spent some time thinking about her little girl and her own dreams for me…

In these moments, I think about her often, and I realize so much differently then I did simply as a young adult.

I understand for the first time the delicate balance between her dreams, her hopes and her role as a parent. She spent so much time thinking about how to introduce us to the world and then allowed us then to find our own ways and things we loved.

Balancing I realize looking back art, sports, culture in a way until now I did not understand. There was a simplicity and elegance to it, things she had wanted for us, and expose us to, but then at times an understanding of what actually fit and served us well. Never feeling like we moved from one thing to another, there was enough time to work through the initial excitement ( or apprehension ) the appropriate amount to time to actually participate ( and not quit ) and then in some cases to really and deeply connect with..

Our afternoons early on consisted of the classics and in hindsight a really balanced little plan; Brownies, Ballet and Little League early on, Piano lessons ( this was probably the biggest disaster in a house filled with natural talent and a grandmother who had gone to Julliard ) Art Classes, Little League and  Soccer in the later years and finally a full roster of Sports and Art Classes that perfectly fit the things I most loved and excelled at..Somehow, we found our way through all of it and naturally got to where we were meant to.

Her hopes and dreams, her dedication to making it all possible and then her understanding of who I really was.

Finally, I am appreciating it now. Weekends and School Vacations were meant for big outings into the city, Museums, Planitarium’s, Broadway plays and in the Spring and Fall daily treks outdoors.

I realize more and more, how much like her I actually am, and in some ways want to be.With more affection, and no holding back of emotion, I want the best for our kids and want them to have a love of life, confidence in themselves, a knowledge of the world, a love of learning, and honesty about what feels right and a dedication to try their best.

Looking serious through out the group lesson, little Miss S.  finally came out of the ring, leading her horse back up to the stable. Her instructor kindly said how well she had done and was clearly hopeful that she had enjoyed it..A few minutes later, after a hug, when it was just us,  a huge smile came over her face. ” That was great she said, when do I get to come back ? ” walking down the path with two other girls, she looked a little taller and eagerly joined their conversation.

A pretty amazing afternoon.

Thank you Mom. Image courtesy of Tara Donne

These are the current windows in the stores. The Washington & Lincoln graphics relate back to a group of T shirts in the store. We thought it would be fun and interesting to have the windows be relevant as we get closer to the election. As always our focus was how to get parents and children talking, while making it aspirational for kids.

Asking “What Number are You?”  Allows kids to peek back and choose a favorite President, or peek forward say what number they are going to be.

I was flipping the channels the other night (which of course annoyed Amy and put her to sleep), when I happened across To Kill a Mockingbird. It has been over twenty years since I read the book, and many years since I have seen the movie. Reflecting now…I have not seen the movie since becoming a parent. As I watched my love and appreciation for the movie and book switched from a child’s point of view to a parents. My previous viewings and thoughts were focused on Boo Radley, Jem, and Scout. The friendship they forged through small steps, small gifts and mostly imagined was magical to me.  The racial injustice was always palpable and understood.  Never failing to cause the right amount of indignation, sadness, and anger.

As I watched this time, the central character in my mind became Atticus Finch.
A quiet, humble, gracious, and deliberate man. Doing the right thing, regardless of the difficulty and cognizant of the consequences. Loving his children, while teaching them the sad and beautiful nuances of life. Not shielding, but protecting. Not editing, but explaining. There is no submission in the world of Atticus Finch and his children. If Jem & Scout are to become it will be through surrender and love. As the book and movie end, there is little doubt that Jem & Scout will become a tremendous source of pride for Atticus.

I have a new role model. My work as a parent is subtle, and obvious. Allowing the mystery to unfold without interference. Being there when it goes really badly. I must be the best person I can be every day, because my children are watching.