Posts filed under 'rambling'
I am sitting down. One child is at school. One child is sleeping. I am not chasing a child while at home for the first time since I can’t remember when.
I am almost overwhelmed. This small window of free time is nearly panic-inducing. What to do with such a tiny window? There is dinner to cook and laundry to switch. There are phone calls to make. Toys to put away. It is almost easier when I have no free time and I am not sitting, frozen, unsure of which of the 3 gazillion things on my list to start doing.
But the best part? This scenario may repeat itself tomorrow, if Gloria naps while Frances is at school.
It is almost too much to think about.
September 10th, 2007
So in your opinion, what are the very best toys out there? if you have kids, what are the toys that have gotten the very most use in your house? if you don’t have kids, what childhood toy would you name as your favorite above all others?
just curious, as someone who spends a lot of time organizing toys.
August 8th, 2007
After my last post on diaper bags I discovered the world of the truly diaper-bag-obsessed. I took the plunge off the deep end and wandered into fantastic message boards filled with like-minded organizational lunatics. First of all, there’s the Babybags Yahoo! Group. This place, a buy-sell-swap-discuss mecca of all things diaper bag, actually has a database of photos of different bags. Please do not hold it against me when I say that I actually spent several hours perusing the photos just to see the interior shots of all the bags. Because how often do you have to buy a bag without seeing the inside first? Too often, in my opinion. Even more helpful were the comparison shots: Skip Hop Dash next to Fleurville Sling Tote. Front view. Side view. Observe.
Also helpful were the Baby Bargains message boards; their diaper bag forum is teeming with diaper bag addicts eager to discuss the differences between the Land’s End Triple Compartment Diaper Backpack and the DadGear Diaper Backpack. At this very moment someone is cataloging the differences in measurement between all available diaper bag packs. YES.
Then there are the lovely folks over at the Ju-Ju-Be message boards, kvelling happily over their latest JJB acquisitions. This is, dare I say it, Diaper Bag Fandom. The innovative and super-nice head honchos at JJB read these boards and actually take their users’ feedback into consideration when designing or modifying these bags. I was pretty darn impressed with the obsessiveness of everyone involved, and sent away for a JJB bag to see if they had managed to achieve diaper bag nirvana.
Based on photos and message board reviews, I also sent away for a Lexie Barnes Superstar (on SALE!), a mega-sized messenger style diaper bag that was rumored to be both lightweight and pretty darn big. I have been thrilled with my Fleurville Sling Tote as a small bag, but if I’m going somewhere and need to carry a packed lunch for both girls and extra sweaters for everyone, it just doesn’t cut it. So I thought I’d compare the Ju-Ju-Be Packabe and the Superstar, both of which got raves — one of them would have to be my perfect Big Bag.
Well, apologies to the lovely folks at JJB, but for me, the Superstar came out on top. Although the Packabe was rumored to carry a huge amount of stuff, it lacked the interior organization to make the stuff easy to find. And although it was cute as hell (especially in brown & robin’s egg blue), it was HEAVY. All those special teflon thinsulate space age materials really weighed it down. And although it was billed as the biggest JJB bag, I found it to be roughly equivalent to the Sling Tote in size, and I needed still bigger.
The Superstar, on the other hand, weighed less than the Packabe, but fit all my stuff with tons of room to spare. It’s not as easy to carry, since it’s not a backpack, but since it’s lightweight I don’t think it will be too awkward. It also has magnetic closures, a wipeable exterior, a brightly colored interior, and enough pockets to make angels sing. The only big disappointment with the Superstar is that it lacks rings or straps to attach it to a stroller. It also doesn’t have the cushy cellphone-specific mom gear pockets of the Sling Tote. If it had those things, it might actually achieve nirvana status.
So I’m keeping the Superstar (yeah, I know, another bag), which will leave me with two bags in regular rotation (Sling Tote, for little outings, and Superstar for big ones), plus my old DadGear backpack for airplane travel. Even more satisfying than sampling new diaper bags was organizing my stuff to easily switch from one bag to the other.
So now I’m on to my next obsession for now: finding new recipes to work into our regular rotation. More about that very soon.
April 8th, 2007
This morning I found myself in Urban Outfitters with a baby strapped to my chest. I browsed through the tank tops and smiled gamely at the salesperson folding clothes next to me who was easily fifteen years younger than I am. “Mamamama!” cried Gloria, over the din of blaring indie pop. I felt like an alien invader. How did I end up so far from the playground, the grocery store, from Gymboree?
It all started with one phrase from my preschooler a few weeks ago: “Mom, why do you wear the same clothes every single day?”
It’s true: I have fallen victim to the Mommy Uniform, and I am striving to break out. Or at least liven things up a little bit. The Mommy Uniform in my case consists of a v-neck t-shirt (short or long-sleeved), jeans or capri pants, and a black fleece vest. Plain colors, playground-ready, no ironing or dry-cleaning required. But I need new stuff. And it’s not just because I’m in a rut; it’s because at the moment, after two pregnancies, I actually have no clothes.
Earlier this winter I cleaned out my closet. I mean, really cleaned it out. Bags and bags of clothing: gone. With all my maternity gear stashed away in the attic hopefully forever, I got rid of everything. Donated to Magic Johnson’s big purple charity shop. Dozens of pairs of stretchy dress pants from my last job five years ago? Gonzo. “Biz-dev blue” work shirts? Gone. Gross t-shirts from Old Navy in a dozen unrecognizable shades of black and whitish-grey? Buh-bye. If I never missed it in five years, I tossed it. If I wore it last when I was in college, I bid it a fond farewell. It was highly satisfying and a little bit scary.
Anyway, the New Me is waiting to be discovered and hopefully purchased on sale. But what to get? The sad thing is, I spend so much (enjoyable) time and energy outfitting my kids that I have not thought about my own clothes in years. I have also vowed not to accumulate lots of crap; I don’t want to end up with dozens of white and black t-shirts again. So this is how I arrived at Urban Outfitters this morning, wondering whether it was acceptable for a minivan-driving mommy of two to be checking out the babydoll tops and sparkly ballet flats.
I bought some tank tops. Also, alas, some v-neck t-shirts, but hopefully they’re slightly more interesting than the Old Navy variety. And one sort of offbeat patterned t-shirt, just to see if I can pull it off. This will be a work in progress, because I’m not quite sure where I fit in: one part Urban, one part North Face Outlet, one part J.Crew, nothing too nice in case Gloria wipes her nose on my shoulder.
March 14th, 2007
Welcome to my new and very sparkly blog. Please pardon my dust; I’m just learning the ropes. My About page should explain things somewhat. I hope to get into the swing of things soon, once I’m done changing my design fifty or sixty times. Hello, new procrastination tool!
March 4th, 2007
