Seeking Sabbath: 40 Days of Quarantine
We are literally on hiatus from our normal daily rhythms. Which makes me wonder if this will help us decide which rhythms are the most important.
Tag: Motherhood
Soothing Effects of Laundry
Last night, at 10:30 p.m., I was in my pajamas, scooping up as many Duplos as I could and doing a quick list check in my head. What was on the agenda for tomorrow? Answer: I couldn’t remember. How were we on diapers? Answer: poor. […]
40 Parks, 40 Reasons to get Outside
Several months ago, my husband mentioned that he wanted to get back into hiking and backpacking (which is really different from camping, because instead of keeping everything conveniently in your car, you actually wear pounds of items on your back and walk far into places to set up camp and be eaten by mosquitoes. Then you have to repack your items, strap them back on you, and hike back out). He started reading a ton of books bout hiking in our area, looking into trips, and purchased a new tent. He set it up in the backyard one fairly cold night, in order to test out the temperature rating of some of his gear. The kids had a field day.
“Where’s daddy?” Question one of the morning.
“Outside.” I’m nothing if not honest.
“Why?”
“He slept out there.”
“On purpose?” Their eyes were huge as they regarded me. “Did he get locked outside?”
“No! He wanted to.” Cue more shocked looks.
The advantage to all of the discussion surrounding how to camp and hike, is that we were trying to spend a little more time outside. If you follow me on insta, you may have even noted that I tagged one of my photos with the infamous #optoutside hashtag. I might tag more.
We went to our favorite state park, also conveniently a short drive from our house and got ready to hike. Meaning, we immediately headed up to the visitor’s center to have a picnic lunch. I wasn’t about to take two hungry kids on a trail. It was beautifully set up- you could buy t-shirts, mugs, look at examples of some of the flora and fauna you might see on the trail, and…
“What’s this?” I asked, scooping up a small, non-descript booklet at the desk.
“It’s the State Passport.” The girl behind the desk was bored, spinning lazily in her chair and watching the afternoon drift by. I started flipping through it, and that’s when things changed.
“Oh my…. hey! Y’all! Have you seen this? If we visit all the state parks in one year, we can get a t-shirt! And socks! All we have to do is get our booklet stamped at each park center!”
Everyone stared at me as I clapped my hands with glee, and bought two t-shirts for the kids, and then dragged us outside for a picnic lunch at a table, thanks.
We got our stamps, and on the way home I started flipping through the book. Forty state parks (technically forty-one, but you get the swag for “only” completing forty). We got home and I pulled out my laptop and started planning. Which parks were closest? Is it too much pressure to try and do three parks in one day? Our weekend trips would become all about the state parks. Maybe we could work a family vacation around one too. Which friends would go with us?
“Is this really all I had to do to get you interested in camping? Offer you a free t-shirt for some really hard goal, and you’re in?” Matt was incredulous as he watched me furiously map out routes that would take us as close to possible to the state parks when visiting family.
“Well, yes. I’m a marathon runner. We will do a lot for a t-shirt.” I went back to planning. “Okay, what if we hit Lake Norman on the way to your parents house, and then Stone Mountain when going home? Too much?”
I began looking at my gear, trying to decide which backpack baby carrier to get, and reading hiking blogs. We could do this. It would not be easy- after all, we have two kids under six, and we work full time. But it could be done. We were going to do it.
Fast forward to weekend two in this challenge. Saturday morning. I have been up in the middle of the night, again, and am exhausted. Matt is already warming up the espresso machine downstairs and all the little people are clamoring for a Pop Tart. The sun is shining, the temperature is supposed to hit the low 70s. It’s going to be a beautiful day.
“What parks are we hitting today? Maybe Occoneechee and Eno River? Or something closer?” Even my voice is wavering a little bit. I really just want to work on Marie Kondo’ing my clothes, and I want to get in a run, and there are like five loads of laundry calling my name.
“Sure! Or, I could do some yard work and go to Home Depot.” Much better plan for Saturday. But then, I spend a good part of the day agonizing over wasting one of our park days when we are all together and don’t have other plans. We should be at a park right now, I think, as I unload the dishwasher- again, and make plans to move laundry to the dryer. The kids go to the park for a couple of hours, and come home happy and sandy. The question is: will they be happy to come home sandy from 40 state parks?
A Visit with Santa
It began with a grain of inspiration. Actually, that’s not true. It really began with a trip to the mall with my youngest the week of Thanksgiving. We did everything wrong. We showed up precariously close to lunchtime, then went into a […]
Motherhood: The Game in Which No One Plays by the Rules
This is the 10th year I have been running this blog, and my 12th year of blogging. I feel like those deserve some sort of acclaim, but haven’t figured out how I want to celebrate yet. Maybe instead of #tbt, I’ll do a #blogthrowback […]
Samuel Cole Salon = It’s not a haircut, it’s a lifestyle.
Driving up Six Forks Road, I was nervous. In my head, I was thinking that this might be a major mistake, and berating myself for being one of those people who enter every contest that sounds remotely interesting. It was a facebook post from Raleigh Moms Blog that offered a free cut and color from Samuel Cole Salon. You just needed to post why you should be the mom who needed it. So I (jokingly but it was serious) posted Because my hair hasnt been out of a ponytail in two months. True story. For the most part it had been the more professional low pony, or sometimes a low bun for work (Im sure theres a librarian joke in there somewhere), and then at home a higher ponytail. I actually would occasionally read articles about the variety of ponytails you could wear.
So when Jill Kornegay sent me an urgent message about winning this particular contest, I read it about 3 times. My first thought was that I almost never win anything. I did win this awesome school bingo in 5th grade. So this was kind of a shock. I responded with No! I didnt see that I won! But Im excited! This was a truth and lie sort of statement. I was excited, but at the same time faced with the reality of both pulling my hair out of a ponytail and getting it highlighted were daunting tasks, to say the least. I received the details from Jill, which were essentially to call Samuel Cole Salon and get set up. Below are the details:
PRIZE DETAILS: After consultation with KatieM, winner can decide between any of the following color services:
Color Retouch $82 or Balayage (Hair Painting) $182
Glaze $82 (recommended to add shine regardless of which color service is selected)
Shampoo Cut and Blowdry $72
Grand Total $418 (Value) + $60 in Products of their choice
I can say without hesitation that I have never had $400 worth of anything done to my head before. Plus or minus? Not sure. When I called, the front desk was great. They seemed excited to be able to schedule me with a relatively new stylist to the salon, assured me she was amazing and were enthusiastic.
I arrived hot (it was more than 90 degrees and I had been working in the library for several hours), and just on time, literally! But instead of staring me down, or making a remark, they were all
Oooh, are you the Raleigh Moms Blog winner?
Do you want to see our drink menu?
Menu, friends. Menu. You want to see me happy? Offer me coffee and the new issue of Vogue with Nicole Kidman. ANDlet me drink the coffee while its still hot. The combination is perfection. I would have happily just sat there and read and drunk coffee. But there was more coming. Like this really adorable stylist who, instead of just throwing me in a chair and messing with my head, sits me down and starts talking to me about my life. What I do, why Im there, what I imagine my hair could be. I think that stylists are equipped to be psychologists on the side. She listens to me go on and on (because I know the antics of a two year old are the highlight of anyones day, yes?) and then says she has an idea and begins showing me images of how my hair could be. She is warm and encouraging and believes she can bring it back. So I make one of the hardest decisions of my life. I say, You know what? I trust you. You can do whatever you like. Then I sit back in the chair with my coffee and Vogue and get to work on catching up on the important stuff. Like what people with absurd amounts of money are going to be wearing in New York this fall, and is Nicole Kidmans marriage still going well? In case youre interested, rich people will be dressing like Mad Men with a touch of color this fall, and Nicole Kidman is currently living on a farm in Sydney when she isnt working.
While Im hanging out, drinking a French Vanilla Latte, Katie is hard at work behind the bar mixing and mashing a variety of colors in so many little dishes for me. She tells me shes going to pull out the color my hair had at age 12. I had really pretty hair at age 12, so Im super excited. She foils my entire head, and then I am left to hang out again. Looking around Samuel Cole Salon, I realize what I am also really loving is that it isnt salon-y. Sure, there are typical salon chairs, a washing station, color station, etc, but the ceilings are high and there are so many windows, you feel like you could be in a lounge. The air doesnt smell strongly of chemicals and everyone in the chairs lookshappy. Hands down, this was the best salon experience of my life.
When Katie comes to get me a little while later, she tells me that she uses Oribe (pronounced Or-bay) and Wella products- vegan, never tested on animals, and free of chemicals that have been recently linked to cancer. Then she reminds me that not only am I getting this amazing cut and color, but I am also due products. I try to play it cool, like Im always getting free shampoo, but break into the same smile I had in tenth grade when my braces finally came off. Katie recommends a shampoo, conditioner and gloss that I pay for because my hair looks that good.
One deal that Katie and I made was for me to wear my hair down every day for a week, and to really practice working with it to see how to make it both beautiful and every-day manageable. Thank you Samuel Cole Salon! I am in week 3, and not only is it still down most of the time, I am still getting compliments on it. Win, win, win.
*Make an appointment with KatieM at Samuel Cole Salon, mention me as your referral, and receive $20 off your first hair cut and/or color!
Her Royal Highness Sets Us Up…Again
Oh, sweet friends who are due in the year of a royal birth, take note. Dont forget to bring your favorite heels and hairdresser to the hospital. I mean, I love Kate as much as the next person, but seriously? TEN HOURS after birth she […]
Faster than Running
Last week I had to be a grown-up. Again. Normally I can squeak by in what I lovingly refer to as pseudo-grown-up world. Thats where you are technically at a physical age in which you are considered a grown-up, but […]
The Day My Daughter Became a Mother
After reading that you are probably wondering how you missed the part where my sweet baby, the one who just celebrated a birthday, grew up. Fortunately, dear readers, you havent. Shes still a little bit, though she regularly grows in her sleep, surprising me and Matt in the mornings with a little extra height, useful for things like trying to turn the doorknob on her own or reaching for things from the counter when she shouldnt.
She has always had a ton of baby dolls- some from when I was little, some from shower gifts, some from Christmas and then one from our delightful neighbor, who is seven and the official babysitter. This is by far the most important object she has ever owned, besides Lambie and Bunny. She calls her Baby and carries her high on her shoulder, gently patting her back. She has adapted quite well to only using one arm to do many things, such as build with Duplos, eat a snack, or push her various carts/wagons/scooter things. Often we place baby in the stroller to be taken for a walk, and she gets a bottle as long as SL isnt feeding it to the cats.
It is pretty common for babies and toddlers to love baby dolls. Who doesnt love them? I played with mine until I was keeping it a secret from people because at a certain age I no longer wanted to admit how comforting it was to rock a baby doll. Maybe more teenagers should get them. There are a lot of health benefits. First of all, they are comforting. Similar to holding a stuffed animal, holding a doll is comforting. Having a bad day? Try cuddling with something. See if you dont feel better. One of the second most important benefits is that it starts children on the path to empathy for humans and other living beings. They learn how to carry them, how to soothe them (even though dolls cant cry, I see my daughter rocking hers on a regular basis), how to feed them, change diapers etc. My husband did not play with dolls growing up, and so for him, the first time he change a diaper was at the hospital after our daughter was born. Hello, Learning Curve.
As I was watching Sarah Leighton play with Baby I was picking up on what I consider the most important benefit of children playing with dolls. Parenting. I was literally watching my daughter model behavior that she has seen from my husband and me. The same way we carry her, she carries her doll. Her favorite activity to do with her doll? Walking her in the stroller- the same activity we did literally every single day for the first year of her life, and still do now. Ive seen her sit and rock her, read her books, and play games with her. Ive also seen her sigh and point at something on the floor, babbling. Ive heard her tell our cats No, no no! when they arent cooperating as she plays her games. And its a reminder that everything we do is shaping her. That she is tucking away our walks, trips to the grocery stores, rolling around on the floor, shaking our heads, pulling her hands away from electrical outlets (WHY does she love them so much?), requiring her to hold our hands going up and down the stairs. She is tucking all of that away. Its a wonderful reminder that we are doing is shaping everything they are doing. That the choices we make in front of our children are the choices we will watch them make. For me, its meant making an effort not to hop on email one last time in the evening before she goes to bed, and letting her drag me over to the rug to play even if I am in the middle of doing dishes (although the girl loves to throw things into the dishwasher). Lately she also does the dishes and cooks us dinner in the play kitchen we put in our dining room. And as soon as she figures out wooden food does not a meal make, we are putting her to work in the real kitchen. My hope is that what she is doing now sticks, that even as she outgrows publicly playing with babydolls, she will instinctively continue to love, to nurture, and to want to cook her parents dinner, at least every once in a while.
Lambie
Bunny
Workout Post: barre3 Raleigh
Occasionally, it is time for change. There are some fixtures, however, that dont change. Monday- Friday, barring a plague, I go to work. SL usually goes to bed by 7:30/7:45. In the morning I have oatmeal, then I kiss my baby and head off into […]
