Dear Irene,
If you do indeed barrel up the coast and hit Long Island (which I am still not convinced will happen, but it does make for lots of media fodder) and we lose electricity, and the ample milk supply that is currently frozen solid in my freezer spoils, you will be responsible for my death. I trust you do not want that on your Category whatever conscience.
All the best,
Danielle
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Just a crush
You may or may not know that ever since she was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars, I've had a total girl-crush on Brooke Burke. If you've seen her, you may not believe that she has had children. What a rock star. Anyway, she also has a blog all about mom stuff. And today she posted this which I thought was just really sweet. A week or so after AJ was born I told Joe that I didn't realize how much he loved me until we had AJ. Our whole world changed, especially how we look at each other. We've grown closer every day since we've become parents, and I know we are lucky because thats not always the case.
The Art Of A Good Marriage
Wilferd Arlan Peterson
Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens.
A good marriage must be created.
In marriage the little things are the big things.
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say "I love you" at least once a day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is at no time taking the other for granted;
the courtship should not end
with the honeymoon, it should continue through the years.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is standing together facing the world.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers the whole family.
It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice,
but in the spirit of joy. It is speaking words of appreciation
and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is not looking for perfection in each other.
It is cultivating flexibility, patience,
understanding and a sense of humour.
It is having the capacity to forgive.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow old.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal,
dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal.
It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.
A good marriage must be created.
In marriage the little things are the big things.
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say "I love you" at least once a day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is at no time taking the other for granted;
the courtship should not end
with the honeymoon, it should continue through the years.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is standing together facing the world.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers the whole family.
It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice,
but in the spirit of joy. It is speaking words of appreciation
and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is not looking for perfection in each other.
It is cultivating flexibility, patience,
understanding and a sense of humour.
It is having the capacity to forgive.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow old.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal,
dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal.
It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Details
We just returned from a great family vacation, where AJ got to spend lots of time with his grandparents and uncles and aunt, and of course with Joe and I. What a treat it was for me to be around him day in and day out for an entire 9 days! Total heaven. As a result, yesterday coming back to work was a little harder than usual. When I got home last night I realized how big he really is getting and how much more expressive and full of personality he is becoming now that he is almost 6 months old. There are the physical differences-- he's taller (longer?), his hair is almost all grown in, he has great control over his hands and arms and grabs at EVERYTHING now-- and the personality differences-- he knows what he wants (to be held) and what he doesn't want (pears, bananas, squash) and he will let you know it! He is really transitioning into a little person, our little person.
Our nanny starts today. A week home with Joe before he goes back to work so that she can learn our routine and get to know AJ better. Today I think Joe realized what kind of a transition this is going to be for him, and he is sad. Which is in turn making me sad all over again for him and for me. It was one thing to leave every day and know AJ was home with his dad. Now, at this expressive and fun age we are turning responsibility over to someone else. I feel like the hours in a day just shrunk even more, as Joe and I will both be rushing home at night to get some precious limited time with our little guy.
In thinking about this I realized how many of the women I know are actually stay at home moms. The raw number is not high but as a percentage of total women with kids that I'm friends with, it is high. The grass is always greener, I'm sure, and calculating it out for the 200th time wouldn't change the fact that its financially pretty impossible for one of us to stay home. I am also jealous of the Canadians, since I learned that standard practice there is a one year maternity leave (but they also have Justin Beiber, so I guess we break even).
When I envisioned having kids, I didn't know enough to think about the little things that would make me smile on a daily basis. Like AJ becoming so adept at eating rice cereal, noticing how his reaction to his reflection in the mirror has changed over time, and noticing when he notices something new, like shadows. I never thought of the details and certainly never imagined the pure joy that is buried in them. Everything else seems unimportant, as evidenced by my writing this at my desk at work when my to-do list is multiple pages.
And now I have to go make myself look presentable for a meeting I have in 20 minutes. AJ didn't get my ugly crying genes, thankfully!
Our nanny starts today. A week home with Joe before he goes back to work so that she can learn our routine and get to know AJ better. Today I think Joe realized what kind of a transition this is going to be for him, and he is sad. Which is in turn making me sad all over again for him and for me. It was one thing to leave every day and know AJ was home with his dad. Now, at this expressive and fun age we are turning responsibility over to someone else. I feel like the hours in a day just shrunk even more, as Joe and I will both be rushing home at night to get some precious limited time with our little guy.
In thinking about this I realized how many of the women I know are actually stay at home moms. The raw number is not high but as a percentage of total women with kids that I'm friends with, it is high. The grass is always greener, I'm sure, and calculating it out for the 200th time wouldn't change the fact that its financially pretty impossible for one of us to stay home. I am also jealous of the Canadians, since I learned that standard practice there is a one year maternity leave (but they also have Justin Beiber, so I guess we break even).
When I envisioned having kids, I didn't know enough to think about the little things that would make me smile on a daily basis. Like AJ becoming so adept at eating rice cereal, noticing how his reaction to his reflection in the mirror has changed over time, and noticing when he notices something new, like shadows. I never thought of the details and certainly never imagined the pure joy that is buried in them. Everything else seems unimportant, as evidenced by my writing this at my desk at work when my to-do list is multiple pages.
And now I have to go make myself look presentable for a meeting I have in 20 minutes. AJ didn't get my ugly crying genes, thankfully!
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