So, Magic beans is hosting the drool baby expo next week  and boy would I love to go! As a second time preggo who's been out of the loop for a while, I can actually use a good refresher on some of the products and clothing that I may need to replace, as well as all the goods that may come in handy having a preschooler with a newborn in tow (buggy board recs, anyone???). If you live in the Boston area, it may be worth checking out the drool baby expo! May 15th, 2012 6pm. Go to magic beans for more details and to get your tickets!

I'm addicted to pinterest

Yes, I too am addicted to pinterest. However, I've noticed that amongst the usual "wedding colors" and "cupcake idea", a slew of body-image oriented pins. Most of these pins claim to have a workout or diet or exercise routine that will help you lose weight. Others are sayings such as, "will it look as good on your hips?" Knowing that pinterest is a mecca for the creative, it angers me that (mostly) women are using it to advertise that amongst their ideas, their style and their talents, lie their age-old insecurities. And so, I decided to pin the following-


Now, back to pinning.

Little's Birthday!!!

Well, little's "little" 2nd birthday has come and gone and we had a wonderful time. We are so fortunate to have family that makes the trip to Boston for these special events. Little loved celebrating surrounded by those who love her so much. After all of my planning, I loved watching everything coming together. In my opinion, that's always the best part of party planning in my opinion!
A special thank you to Natalie from the pretty paperie for the amazing printables
Here are some pictures from the big day... I must warn you though that my camera's memory card filled up midway through the party, so I'm waiting for better pictures from others.

The invitation, the little business card sized invites came with a mini magnifying glass to introduce the little theme and the color scheme (hot pink, orange & pale pink) to all our little guests

We set up a "how big or little are you?" art project. Parents were given the materials to trace their children onto paper. Kids could then color themselves in and hang it up on a wall next to tape measures. It was fun to see all the kids' scribbles!

The table. We served sliders with condiments and toppings such as cheese cut out into tiny hearts with cookie cutters, mac and cheese in mini cups, shot glasses of homemade tomato soup with grilled cheese, mini fruit kabobs of cantaloupe and raspberries, fresh baked cookies, cotton candy, and mini cupcakes! The adults had a more sophisticated slider station, mugs of tomato soup, sparkling tangerine and pink lemonade beverages, and mini cans of diet coke! The backdrop to the table was made using a vintage folding ruler with homemade streamers of miniature paper circles hung with clear thread.
Mini grilled cheese and tomato soup

Pink lemonade in miniature glass bottles

Mac and cheese
Mini cotton candy
mini chocolate chip cookies

Start 'em young

I just had so much fun with little that I had to share. One of the ideas that I had for her upcoming "little" party was to have the kids do that tried and true activity of tracing yourself, and cutting it out. To tie it into the theme, I decided to also have the little guests color themselves and stick up their masterpieces beside a ruler to see how "big" or how "little" they are. In preparation, I decided to do little's and Louis' (our dog!). I also hope to get my husband to do one.... we'll see how that turns out ;)


I've posted the results, but I have to say that getting little involved in her party, even at such a young age, was amazing! We had so much fun coloring and talking about her upcoming special day. I think Louis had fun too!

On my mind

Although I do not want this blog to be a place for me to vent, I really feel like writing tonight, and here's what's on my mind: Ever since beginning my internship in September, I have found solace in knowing that eventually I would "get in the groove", "hit my stride" and life would no longer feel so hectic. In past years, this has always happened rather quickly. This afternoon, I had the sobering realization that I am feeling like an amateur juggler with about 100 balls in the air. And that it's November. Where's my stride? About 5 minutes later, my chiropractor (read: genius) remarked that I was unusually tight and tense and that I appeared to be "carrying a lot of tension" in my shoulders. I began to face the fact that my stride is still a long way off and may be on hiatus for this academic year. As much as I've been resisting it, life may just be this way for a while. Little's birthday party is less than 2 weeks away, I am trying so hard to excel at work, hand in thoughtfully written papers at school, keep our household afloat and manage to meet all my thesis deadlines. And most importantly, to be a good mother to little.
As the chiropractor re-adjusted my spine, I began to readjust my outlook. I began to remember that one has to savor the little moments, while doing their best during the others. Despite all my stress, I chose to pursue this degree, and I'm actually quite passionate and excited about it. I love being a mother, even when I am chasing a little naked baby who doesn't want to get in the bath. I am also well aware that life can throw challenges at you that far exceed my own in terms of worry, exhaustion, pain and hardship. I came home tonight exhausted, stressed and feeling a little defeated by my to-do list. But I also came home grateful. I sat on the floor and cooked a make-believe dinner out of fabric food with Little as my real dinner sat raw in a frying pan on the stove. It was the highlight of my day.

Been a while...

Alright, so maybe I wasn't as ready as I thought to devote a ton of time to this fledgling blog of mine. However, I am going to give this another shot. Little is now approaching two years old and the theme for her birthday (a "little" party, what else?) reminded me of the very little contributions that I have made to the little bittle. So, here I go again. It's been a crazy year and a half. Little is discovering more and more of our wonderful world everyday and me and the hubs just can't get enough of watching her. She's finally talking and becoming such an adorable little girl! I've been busy too.... I went back to work/school to finish my degree and have been plugging away at an internship and a thesis while trying to get a handle on the transition to working mom. While it definitely gets easier, it is by no means easy, and I will always feel a little guilty and miss her a whole lot when I'm at work. I know that I'm "setting a good example" and "making a career for myself", but it's still tough to miss out on the everyday moments. We've been blessed to have found some wonderful people in our lives to help look after little in my and the hubs' absence which makes us feel even better.
Despite all the craziness, little's second birthday is fast approaching and I am soooo excited about this party. I've been planning for months and I hope that her "little party" will turn out to be everything that I want it to be. Here's a sneak peek at the invites, which went out yesterday.

She won't be going to college...

As I am just getting going here with the blog, I thought I'd pass on some advice that was passed on to me when I first became a mother. I was in a mommy & me class filled with first-timers and the instructor assured us that "they won't be going to college in their infant car seat", "they won't be going to college in the swaddle", "they won't be going to college spitting up on your shoes". I have to say, I still fill in the blank when needed. It's true. With parenting, it's only a matter of time before they leave one stage and go onto the next. Each new problem, while challenging, is an opportunity to get more creative and flexible. I am honestly having the time of my life with little, knowing that these moments are short-lived and ever-evolving.

Alright. That being said, here's my challenge of late. I breastfed exclusively for 6 months, I allowed little to watch us eat, I am constantly cooking and eating a wide variety of foods in the house. Both my husband and I LOVE to eat. I guess you can call us "foodies". So why is it that my kid is completely not into solids? I go to a playgroup once a week and watch other babies slurping their squash and gobbling their green beans. Little will (maybe) take a few bites and it's over. Despite her resistance to anything but breastmilk, I remind myself that "she won't be going to college drinking breastmilk". And in that vein, I have immersed myself in the myriad of gadgets and gimmicks out there for solid feeding.

We have resisted the dreaded highchair, opting instead for a booster seat. And are sticking to some small glass bowls at home. However, for feeding on the go, I have noticed that there are so many new things out there. One that I think does hold value are these portable placemats. I have seen them at some of the bigger baby stores, but the idea of tossing countless plastic sheets and looking at those characters every day is not that appealing. Yet I like the idea of covering a grimy table, or protecting a nice one. And I also like that the baby or toddler can have a designated place where they can be messy and not feel too bad about it. Recently, I found something that I love! These Oopsie! baby snack mats on etsy are not only adorable, but reusable, washable and portable!!! Look at these prints! I am partial to the apples and pears, but any one would work.