Yesterday I finally got to see the Georgia O’Keefe exhibit at the Phillips Collection before its final weekend. However, although it was a lovely afternoon out in the city, it didn’t quite hit all the sweet spots I was looking for after a week of staying home with a sick son. Read my post —…
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Look both ways — a tale of a city and its suburbs
Having someone in from out of town helps you see where you live with new eyes. When my brother-in-law visited, I was kind of psyched that after my husband picked him up at Union Station, they got enjoy a lovely drive through the District — past the monuments — at dusk on a perfect summer-feeling…
Food for the animals?
Today I went to a zoo I hadn’t been to before, and I’m not sure what to think about it. Having yesterday been to the (free) National Zoo — where signs all over tell you the animals are on a planned diet and please don’t feed them — I was surprised that when I was…
Nothing is good enough
Oh, how many varied ways there are to disappoint a four-year-old. Or maybe it’s just my four-year-old. Time to pull out a parenting book and see just how much I suck as a mom and how much things are going to developmental stage plan. Here are a few of the gems I heard today between…
Business as usual on Earth Day
This post originally appeared on DC Metro Moms on April 22, 2010 Business as usual on Earth Day I felt a little guilty when a friend said she was turning off her computer for Earth Day; I had no plans to commemorate the day on my own or “celebrate” the day with my son. I’ve…
Poetry and motherhood
Last month I attended an amazing session on the politics of writing motherhood at the Split this Rock Poetry Festival. Read more about it here in a piece I wrote for Mothering.com
Time to chill
I woke last night around 3 a.m. with that sad feeling of having finished something and, though it was successful, feeling like I could have played it better. Said more thank yous, not left Slow Food DC off the resource list, not been so snappy about having to rearrange the room or not having any…
New book! "Knocked Up, Knocked Down"
I was thrilled today to get an email blast from author Monica Murphy LeMoine that her book is now available on Amazon from Catalyst Book Press. Order your copy of Knocked Up, Knocked Down: Postcards of Miscarriage and Other Misadventures from the Brink of Parenthood today! Never one to hold back or bullshit, Monica is…
Clever title?
My freshman year in college, my Brit Lit I professor expected we would always have a “clever title.” I always used this as a space saver until I came up with one (except that on more than one occasion I noticed later that I’d spelled it “cleaver.” This was almost 18 years ago, the same…
Navigating the birthday present conundrum
This post originally appeared on DC Metro Moms on April 1, 2010 Navigating the birthday present conundrum I was pretty comfortable with my “No gifts, please”/Birthdays Without Pressure approach until last week when my newly-four-year-old son said of the friends coming to his playdate, “But I want them to bring presents!” Am I an evil…
Navigating the birthday present conundrum
I was pretty comfortable with my “No gifts, please”/Birthdays Without Pressure approach until last week when my newly-four-year-old son said of the friends coming to his playdate, “But I want them to bring presents!” Am I an evil mommy for pushing low consumerism on my kid? Or am I just feeling the sting of letting…
Hot Momma finalist
I just learned that I was a Top 25 Finalist for the Hot Mommas Project whose mission is “to increase self-efficacy in women and girls by providing scalable, global, free access to role models online. “ My case is titled “Spreading the Word About Healthy Living” and can be found in the case library. The…
Reflecting on NIH VBAC conference
As I wrote shortly after attending the first day of the NIH conference on Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) a few weeks ago, the experience was tiring. The panelists might have been trying to convey the message the uterine rupture is really rare — less than 1% — and that it does not deserve to…
How long until Daylight Savings Time ends?
Four-year-olds do not sleep when it’s sunny. That’s an exaggeration, but I cannot say that I am in love with this early switch to later sunsets. The hour shift has been tough enough when we’ve had three more weeks of gradual, natural lightening to get used to the idea. But now that it’s mid-March… Ouch….
Breathe on me, when you’re not strong
I had a hunch my son was not in the greatest health when, on Wednesday morning, his breath didn’t smell right. Whenever he gets a fever, his breath has a metallic or medicinal smell. I get the impression his body is heating up and detoxifying. But it’s hard to justify keeping a child home for…
How long until Daylight Savings Time ends?
This post originally appeared on March 17, 2010 How long until Daylight Savings Time ends? Four-year-olds do not sleep when it’s sunny. That’s an exaggeration, but I cannot say that I am in love with this early switch to later sunsets. The hour shift has been tough enough when we’ve had three more weeks of…
NIH conference addresses vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC)
More personal reflections will follow, but below is my official report from attending day one of the NIH conference on VBAC, a post I’ve also published in my column at the Washington Times Communities. This week, the National Institutes of Health is holding a Consensus Development Conference entitled “Vaginal Birth After Cesarean: New Insights,” a…
The day after
It was nice to have such warm & fuzzy feelings about my son yesterday, but today I just feel guilty. He was so whiny and out of sorts this morning. It’s great that he can adapt well to situations (like yesterday’s marathon of being in others’ care), but I feel like we always pay for…
Tired and missing my kid
It feels good to look forward to seeing your son. Lately I’ve felt so swamped — and especially after all that snow with no break — I haven’t exactly loved all my many minutes with my boy. Today I went to the National Institutes of Health for a conference on Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC),…
Dissed for Summer Camp
This post orignally appeared on DC Metro Moms on March 3, 2010 Dissed for Summer Camp Why do I feel like a loser if my four-year-old has no one to go to summer camp with? Last year I’d signed him up for just one week at a French camp, your standard 9:30-12:30 Monday-Friday day camp….