Posted by: Sarah in Untagged on
Aug 27, 2010
This September, my daughter enters preschool, my son goes into first grade and I turn 40! How fast we move through life! Today, I work full-time, but it wasn't too long ago when I was making the decision about being a stay at home mom, working part-time or trying to be super woman and do it all.
For some of my friends, it was an easy decision with really only one option that made sense for them and their families...stay home with baby. For me it was never that cut and dry. I loved my job and my new baby. I remember rocking my 4 month old to sleep one night with my tears flowing and telling him I was sorry to be sending him to childcare - even when it was just a couple days a week. After the inital tears, I recognized that I was a better mom because I had something that was mine - my job. As my children grew, I slowly added more days to my schedule. Then, when life through me a curve ball and I got divorced, I was in the best possible position. My career was still in tack and
Posted by: Sarah in Untagged on
May 29, 2009
Recently, my girlfriend, Rebecca and I took our four year olds to a production at the Oregon Children's Theater in downtown Portland. Rebecca and I have a common goal of wanting to expose our children to the arts. Given the attention span that comes with being four, I was amazed at how captivating the live production was for the kids. We saw "Petite Rouge" (a Cajun version of Little Red Riding Hood - an alligator instead of a wolf - you get the idea). The costumes were colorful, the songs captivating and the acoustics in the Newmark Theater were great. The cost was reasonable too - tickets run anywhere from $13 to $24 dollars. And, after the show, all the characters were available to autograph the programs for the kids. A nice added bonus, but quite a mob scene.
The show was about an hour, just perfect for the little ones. You can rent booster seats for a dollar which just adds to the fun for the kids. If you haven't checked it out, I highly suggest it. And, it's fun for the
Posted by: Sarah in Untagged on
Apr 28, 2009
When I got married and had children, I never thought I would get divorced. Who ever does? John and I dated for nearly five years, were married for 11 years and have two beautiful, healthy children together. But, life happens and sometimes the person that you fell in love with changes...we all change.
I grew up in a household with parents who loved and respected one another. They celebrated their 47th wedding anniversary this past summer. I was blessed to model a healthy relationship and realized when I was not in one.
When it came to telling our four year old the news we sat down together and conveyed this: 1) Mommy and Daddy make better friends than a married couple; 2) we are still a family, but Daddy won't live here any more; 3) he can see or talk to Daddy anytime he wants; 4) we both loved him very, very much and nothing would change that - ever. Then, we asked if he had any questions - about anything. He didn't. After this painful conversation was over, we played board
Posted by: Sarah in Postnatal Parenting, Pacifier on
Apr 20, 2009
It has been a two-year love affair for Caroline and her binkie (she calls it "bubba"). If your child is fast friends with his or her pacifier you know what I am talking about. Recently, Caroline has made a new attachment, however. For my little girly-girl, it's not surprising that the attachment came in the form of a doll with a pretty yellow dress, frilly socks and felt shoes (Caroline loves shoes). I saw my opening when this new friendship started to blossom.
I have been weaning Caroline off the pacifier for awhile now to slowly lessen the reliance of her "bubba" for comfort (and habit). After her mid-day nap and in the morning, she takes the pacifier out of her mouth and drops it in the dresser drawer on my queue.
Last week, I asked her caregivers to not give Caroline the pacifier at naptime. To my delight, she did just fine without it. That evening, she did not get her "bubba" at bedtime either. While she did cry and ask for her longtime friend, I did not relent. After
My little guy will be starting kindergarten in September. For the last year or so, I have tossed and turned about what to do about this big transition in my little guy's life. Do I keep him at his current school, move him to a public school near our house, or is private school a better option.
We've gone to school open houses, consulted friends and family members and even talked to his doctor about her recommendations. Like most parents, we are biased by our own experiences. For most of my early education, I went to public schools and had mixed experiences. After fifth grade, my parents transitioned me and my siblings to a uniform wearing, no-nonsense but nurturing private school. I loved it, plaid skirt and all.
As I set my own child's educational course, I want him to have all the advantages that I had. And for me that means, good friends that live nearby, a school that has resources to invest in its teachers and technology as well nurturing the academic and creative
Posted by: Sarah in Weight Gain on
Apr 20, 2009
I'm no exercise queen. Not by a long shot! But over the past several months, I've been trying something new. Exercise the old fashion way - on the floor with my kids, at home. We make a game of it. "Okay let's do exercises," I exclaim. Then it's a free for all. My four year old runs and jumps with excitement. He makes up all sorts of wild positions and movements. My 21 month old daughter chases after him trying to get her little body to act like his. The laughter is infectious; the energy palpable.
Then there is me. Like I said, I have never been a gym rat. I have however, been blessed with good genes and that has carried me a long way - until the kiddos came along.
So it's back to basics for me. Push ups, sit-ups, squats, lifting weights (the hand weight variety), running up the stairs, good-old-fashion stretching, etc. While I have to watch out for the occasional kid landing on my back or jumping on my tummy, I figure that just adds a little weight to my activity.
I'm
Posted by: Sarah in Toddlers, Postnatal Parenting on
Apr 20, 2009
Have you heard the term "helicopter parents?" Well, I ran into a hovering parental unit when I was having my son's hair cut at a local children's hair salon. It was clearly their daughter's first haircut (let's call her Olivia). Olivia's mom told the hair specialist tasked with cutting her hair to please shape up her hair without really taking anything off. As the hair specialist diligently tried her best to cut, without cutting, dad was holding a plastic bag underneath each cut of the scissors while mom took photos of each darling little curl that was released from Olivia's head. It first, I thought, oh, how sweet! Look at mom and dad so involved in their little girl's first haircut. Then, big brother, bored with the salon's toys, came over to check in with his parents. That's when mom said, "We are not done yet, don't bother us, go back and play." The boy toddled off, just as he was instructed but a bit dejected.
On the way home, I mentioned to my son if he had noticed the
Posted by: Sarah in Untagged on
Sep 11, 2008
It's been a rough couple of weeks to say the least. Long story short, my dad was unexpectedly diagnosed with terminal liver cancer. In a span of less than four weeks he was gone. I should preface this by saying that I dearly loved my father and he was worthy of all my affection and admiration.
When I first found out that there was a serious medical problem I was a mess. My 4 year old picked up on this immediately. "Why are you so sad, Mamma?" he said. I thought how I am going to tell this precious little boy that the grandfather he adores was really sick and was inevitably going to die. I was having a hard time wrapping my brain around the concept, myself. I decided that I wasn't going to run out of the room when the tears hit me, and they did. Instead, I let him see the tears stream down my face. I told him that Mamma was having a really sad day because Papa is really, really sick. That's when it came. "Is Papa going to die?" he asked. "Probably," I said. Then I asked him a
Posted by: Sarah in Untagged on
Jul 31, 2008
I lay in bed with my eyes wide open. My husband, John was fast asleep.
All the signs of pregnancy were there -missed period, tender breasts, and I just felt like something was going on inside my body. But I had not taken a pregnancy test yet.
I snuck out of bed, opened the pregnancy test and with the first pee of the morning (recommended by my test) took my home pregnancy test. Then, I waited. While it was only three minutes, it seemed like forever. My heart was pounding because deep down inside, I knew I was pregnant. The small screen finally filled with the word "Pregnant." My mind was racing with thoughts of my body changing, caring for a baby, and how John and my family would feel.
I decided to wait until later that day to tell John. I wanted to do something special. It was the Friday before our anniversary and we were headed up to Seattle for a quick getaway. At lunchtime, I ran to the store and bought some little white booties. I was going to wrap them up and give
Posted by: Sarah in Untagged on
Jul 08, 2008
We had it all planned out - my Mom came down from Seattle about two days before my scheduled induction. We spent the last few days "pre-baby" relishing in the anticipation and her assuring me that I would have an easy labor just like she did. My induction date was delayed three days - it seemed like three weeks.
After a wonderful experience at the hospital, we brought baby home on the Fouth of July. My Mom had planned a party for our homecoming with friends and family for that evening. What a great way to welcome baby home, I thought. What I didn't realize was how utterly exhausted we would be. I was delighted to show off our baby, but it was difficult to do anything but nurse him, get something in my stomach and keep my eyes open.
If I had to do it all over again, I would have given ourselves a least a couple of days of recuperation time before throwing a party in honor of our newest arrival. My friend Rebecca enforced a two week "no visitors" rule after their daughter was
