August 2007 - Posts
The kids and I were out on another adventure today. This time we visited the newly renovated movie theater in downtown. It was so cool to see the lights, movie posters, and employees wearing suits and bow-ties. Our downtown is experiencing a much-needed revitalization. I've always loved downtowns in nearly every city I've ever visited. Each downtown has a different feel to it -- Chicago and Atlanta are large and modern, Nashville is large but unique with its honky-tonk bars, DC is educational, Richmond is historic. Even the tiniest downtowns have their own feel.
My hubby and I visited a very small country town in PA one time. The downtown had exactly one stop light, one bank, one hotel, one diner, and one grocery store/pharmacy. And what made it even more special were the Amish horse and buggies that lined the streets. The whole scene made me want to give up my complicated life, buy a farm with a big white farmhouse, have 15 children, and grow a garden. But then I suddenly realized that I'd be responsible for all the work that accompanies such "uncomplicated" living and so I promptly changed my mind.
Our downtown is much bigger than the one in PA, but much smaller than Chicago. It has tall new buildings, shorter historic buildings, attorney offices and banks galore, and it's full of business people during weekdays. Me, my friend, and our four children were in downtown today to see what all the fuss was about with the brand new theater. All movies were just one dollar and popcorn and Coke was just one dollar as well. What a bargain! Kids two years and under got in free, therefore, for three dollars me and L (S is too little to count) saw a movie, ate popcorn and drank a huge Coke (well actually L drank the juice that I sneaked in my diaper bag). The whole experience had a very nastalgic feel to it. The experience reminded me of why I like downtowns. Maybe one day, when the kids are grown and moved out, my hubby and I will buy a downtown loft so we can enjoy the excitement of downtown life more often.
In our town, inflatable play centers are popping up every where. Within 5 miles of my house I am aware of three different inflatable play centers. We visited one of the newest ones today with my girlfriend and her two children. Our toddler girls had so much fun! They, and mommies too, bounced for two hours straight.
It seems that play areas for preschoolers have become big business in my town. Just this year, three new inflatable play centers opened and in the fall two indoor play and activity centers will be opening. These centers compare to Atlanta's Creative Discovery Museum. With all these kid places opening I get excited to think that maybe more moms and dads are choosing to stay home with their children. These places must be observing a trend and capitalizing on it. I have no demographic data to back up this statement, but you can usually make assumptions by observing what companies are springing up and becoming successful (at least that Marketing degree is still useful for something!).As my blog name suggests, I'm very much in support of stay-at-home moms (or dads). I don't believe I'm old-fashioned, but I see the huge benefits my children have reaped by me being able to stay home with them. At the same time I respect women who have to work. As a professional woman in my past life, I know the pressures of the corporate world. I had my dream job as a corporate communications professional. I received a Bachelor's degree and worked hard to earn the position. My communications job required me to write correspondence and talking points for the CEO of a large Fortune 500 company in addition to employee communications across the company. I know what it's like to have deadlines -- unrealistic ones -- and to have the whole company scrutinizing my every word. I remember one time when I mistakenly used the word "effect" in the place of "affect" in a letter from our CEO (yes, CEOs don't usually write their own letters). Thank goodness only about five co-workers, including my boss, knew that I had written the letter on behalf of our CEO. But sure enough, after the letter was printed and distributed to over 11,000 employees I promptly received phone calls from my boss and each co-worker pointing out my mistake. It was a stressful job -- any small mistake was costly and was multiplied by 11,000. I didn't quit work as a communications specialist because I couldn't handle the stress any longer. No, it was the joy and fulfillment that I was lacking at the office that called me home. And that's exactly what I've received with my current job as a full-time stay-at-home mom -- unspeakable joy and fulfillment! The rewards are so much different now. No raises or promotions. No public praises of a job well done. No glamorous business trips in beautiful Ann Taylor suits. No luncheons to develop strategies with other like-minded professionals. Now my raises and promotions are the new words my little girl speaks, the new colors and shapes that she learns, and the smiles my son gives when I coo at him. My praises come from my husband and my children when they hug me and I truly know that they need me. My business trips in classy suits have been replaced by play dates in comfy jeans and tennis shoes. And the luncheons are at kid-friendly restaurants with my girlfriends and their children -- the strategies are to avoid spilt drinks and fights over kids' meal toys.
Any business that caters to my young children, which in turn makes my job even more fun and enjoyable, will gain my support. My kids and I will probably be some of the first at the new play and activity centers this fall. It's the simple perks that make my job a blast!
I wish I had had my camera with me today. Foolish me for forgetting it! I took my little girl to the library for the first time. She's only two years old so she had not been ready until now.
Lately, we've been reading books first thing in the morning, before naptime, and before bed. And periodically we read books in between those times, too. She knows the titles of her favorite books and audiobooks. She can ask for them by name. We've been listening to audiobooks in the car. She absolutely loves them! We've received these audiobooks in kids' meals from various fast-food restaurants. Car rides have become such a pleasant experience now that she has her books on CD. I hardly hear a peep from her in the backseat, except to tell me to turn up the volume -- "Louder, Mommy!" And I've recently made an amazing discovery! The public library has downloadable audiobooks. Wow! What an amazing resource (check your library's website to see if this option is available in your area). All we needed now was a library card to download these books and away we go!
After we had many conversations about going to the library today, L confidently marched into our local branch and immediately spotted the children's section with big picture books. She walked up and down the aisles of books proudly saying, "library books, library books, library books!" I completed the paperwork for her to receive her own library card. The librarian made a big deal about it because she said it was important for her to understand the significance and responsibility that comes with the card. Of course L already knew -- she refused to put the card down for a second! We picked out some fun, picture books and L checked them out herself. Before naptime we read through the three library books two times, and that was just about 2 hours ago. And I'm certain we won't be done reading them until she has each page memorized. I sure hope she understands that these books must eventually return to the library...oh, I hate to think of the due date temper-tantrum!
I'm almost ashamed to share this information because I'm generally a very frugal person. I try to bargain shop whenever possible. I generally do not pay more than $20 for any one article of clothing and $10 and under is preferable. I make exceptions with a good pair of jeans and shoes. When a pair of jeans fits my new mommy figure then I don't look at the price tag. I just blindly approach the counter and hand them my credit card (Shhh! don't tell my hubby!). And well, shoes, especially running shoes, are an investment as far as I'm concerned. I've been running long distances (3 or more miles) since my college years. And a good pair of running shoes makes all the difference (right now I'm lovin' my Asics Kayano).
I recently discovered this same price=quality phenomenon with double strollers. I spent no less than 100 hours online researching double strollers. Ask my hubby. He will verify this fact. With the addition of our son, I would now need a double stroller -- one that could tackle our indoor and outdoor adventures. I researched every double stroller's size, weight, folded dimensions, open dimensions, accessories, car-seat compatibility, cup holders, storage baskets, parent consoles, wheel size, ease of use folding and pushing indoors and outdoors, available upgrades, etc. I built several Excel spreadsheets to hold all this data so I could see each stroller side-by-side. I visited all baby supply stores in my town including Wal-mart and Target. I test drove no less than 10 double strollers. I finally decided to order a Schwinn double jogging stroller with a swivel front wheel. It seemed to have all the features that I wanted for a fair price. We took the Schwinn on a mini-vacation to a nearby town and soon discovered that this was not the double stroller for us due to its wide dimensions and because it was not car seat compatible. So as soon as we got back into town I returned it and resumed my research.
Alas! I happened upon one of the greatest double strollers known to man. And it should be because I paid about $650 for this fine piece of machinery. It's called the Valco Runabout TriMode Twin made in Australia. One look at this machine and you know the Valco company meant business when they built this stroller. It rolls like a dream, maneuvers with one hand, and has the coolest looking rims of all strollers (very important feature, of course!). I'm embarrased by the fact that I would pay this amount of money for a stroller since there are plenty of strollers on the market for $200 or less. But I have found that once again paying more for a product can make all the difference. I have found the perfect stroller that will glide easily through the shopping mall while I'm eating a gooey chocolate chip cookie from the Cookie Company and one that will also bump and jump over rocks, grass, tree roots, and curbs without giving my kids motion sickness. If you are in the market for a nice double stroller, I can recommend the Schwinn. But if you are in the market for the finest machine on earth, I'll have to insist on the Valco.
Hello! I'm back to blogging after a short leave during the last phases of pregnancy and then birth and recovery. I'm back and I'm feeling great! I'm so glad that the good Lord gave me back my energy because keeping up with a 2-year-old with miniscule amounts of sleep is a very challenging feat. My 2-year-old daughter (we'll call her L) has adjusted well to the newcomer in our family, our son (we'll call him S), who's now 2 1/2 months old.
If you have children of your own then you totally understand what I mean when I speak of those "childhood development experts" who can share their never-ending advice on topics ranging from childbirth to children's clothing. It has totally amazed me from the very beginning how being pregnant can invite the most obscure comments from complete strangers. During my first pregnancy, this onslaught of childhood commentaries overwhelmed me. I guess I was trying very hard to take it all in, process it, and sift through the good and not-so-good advice. Such as, "Put socks on that baby before she catches pneumonia!" Nevermind that it was 90-degrees in the shade on that particular day. But with my second pregnancy, I quickly learned to simply nod, smile, and keep pushing my grocery cart.
But recently, my husband and I received the funniest advice. We were at our favorite eatery placing our orders at the counter when the lady behind the counter commented how cute our little girl was and how sweet our little boy was. Then, without a moment's notice out came the advice: "Great! You have a boy and a girl so now you can stop having kids! There's no need to have more since you now have both!" I was stunned. I guess it was not so much the comment that she made as it was the way in which she said it. We've heard that comment before so it was no surprise, but it sounded so ugly when she said it. Almost like she could not see why anyone would dare to bring anymore misery on oneself by having more than two children. I usually have some nice response ready in the wings, but this time I was caught completely off guard. I just looked at my husband who was also very short on words - and this does not happen very often! I guess the strange looks that he and I exhanged prompted the lady to quickly reply, "Oh, do you have more? Are they at school?" If I had been smart I would've said, "Yes, we have six more. These two are our youngest." Now I'll be prepared for the next comment because trust me, there will be more.
My husband's uncle also made a similar comment when we first found out by ultrasound that our second baby was going to be a boy. He informed my husband that we could stop having kids since now we had one of each. My hubby replied that we may in fact have more children in the future. His uncle then laughed and said, "When God said 'Go and fill the earth' he did not mean just you and E!" At least I got a good laugh out of that one!