Must…get…this…for…Aerin! (Not because I favor her over Claire, but because Claire doesn’t need bibs anymore. 🙂 )
Get your own at INKtastic!
Via Laughing Squid.
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Letting Go of Control
Yesterday, I had noted that Aerin generally seems to be an easier baby than Claire.
I now have another theory as to why may be so: it’s because as second-time parents, we are much more relaxed about EVERYTHING. For example, for the first few months of Claire’s life we religiously tracked her every breath with the Baby ESP app. This time around? We haven’t used it, or anything similar to it, once.
Earlier this week, Jenn of Orange You Sweet wrote about giving up control as a first-time mother. The post really resonated with me, because with Claire, I had practically driven myself crazy — and even made myself physically ill several times — because I had refused to give up control. I wanted to raise the perfect baby while maintaining the perfect household and keeping my husband perfectly happy.
And when I couldn’t maintain control? I made myself feel like a failure.
But the thing is, once you have children you are bound to lose control over at least one aspect of your life. You are no longer solely responsible for just yourself — you are also in charge of an entire PERSON’s life. And as much as you want every little thing to go perfectly with your child’s life starting day one, things are bound to go wrong because hey, it’s life.
So this time around? Who cares if the house needs to be vacuumed? Who cares if the kitchen is a mess? Who cares if you haven’t brushed your teeth in 2 days and showered in 3?
…Okay, I still care. A little.
But the point I’m trying to make is that I force myself to forget these things when there are more pressing issues at hand, like when Aerin needs to be nursed. Or when Claire is throwing a tantrum. Or even when I want some cuddling time with the little ones, or if I want to nap an extra 5 minutes.
Because now, I look back to a year ago and ask myself what in the world I must have been thinking when I chose to go do the dishes rather than spend the time dozing off with little Claire in my arms.
And for that, Claire, mommy is truly sorry. But I am learning. And I promise to get better.
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The Asian Grading System
Atypical of Asian parents, mine weren’t too strict about grades growing up. In fact, they bribed us — we would get $20 for every A on our report card! (And yes, even A-‘s counted.) So whenever I got straight A‘s, my wallet would be fuller by $120. Not bad at all when you’re a kid.
What about you? Did your parents offer any enticements for good grades?
Via 9GAG.
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The State of the Union, 1 Month
Today, our Aerin Isabel turns one month old.
And because I know my sister — who is currently living in Paris(!!!) for 3 months — is always begging me for pictures of her nieces, here is the latest of Aerin:
One of the most common questions I hear these days is: how is everything going? In other words, just how in the world am I surviving motherhood with two babies that are just 13 months apart?
The answer is simple: one day at a time.
That, and wonderful grandparents who are doing everything they can do to pitch in so that I can get some rest here and there.
As previously stated, Aerin has finally started to sleep in 2-3 hour stretches. But her day-night reversal has not improved and she fell victim into the dreaded “witching hour” at only 2 weeks of age. As such, I look to the hours between 12am ~ 3am with great trepidation every night. What usually ends up happening is that I will hold her and bounce her around the house for up to 3 hours at a time, because HEAVEN FORBID that I even sit down while holding her…she will start screaming her little head off! (And we can’t have her waking up Claire, who will surely take a while to fall back asleep, or J, who has work the next day.)
That being said, Aerin generally seems to be an easier baby than Claire. I am not sure if this is because she is the second child and we know what to do and expect, or if it’s really because she is an easier baby. (Neither J nor I can accurately remember how Claire was at this age.)
Speaking of Claire…I had failed to mention on this blog that she has been pulling herself up into a standing position for over a month now, and even took her first unassisted steps a few weeks ago. However, our overly-cautious little girl is still too scared to transition fully into walking. We’re in no hurry and are letting her do things at her own pace, but I think it’s safe to say that she is now a toddler. 🙂
With toddlerhood comes all the frustrations of this stage, which mainly stems from not being able to physically accomplish everything they want to do — including communication. This, in addition to her new life as a big sister (where she is no longer the center of attention at all times), has led to an increase in tantrums and other unpleasant behavior, such as throwing items on the floor. And if you can believe it, Claire has started to talk back to us! Most of what she says is still gibberish, but the tone and attitude — including gesticulations! — are definitely already there.
This is perhaps the most difficult part of my new life: attending to a newborn while tending to an oftentimes frustrated toddler.
Once again, one day at a time.
The upside to Claire’s maturity is that she is learning, and absorbing lessons at an unprecedented rate. I am proud to say that at 14 months of age, our eldest already knows 3 letters of the alphabet: O, R, and S. 😀 This is mainly thanks to my cousin’s wife, who had gifted us the LeapFrog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Alphabet Set — although this toy is marketed for those who are 2 years of age and older, Claire has loved it since day one and plays with it all the time. Additionally, we all continually point out different letters of the alphabet in books and anything else with large text — this is something even the grandparents, whose English is not too great, can help with since they all know the English alphabet.
As for mommy — myself — I am happy to announce that I seem to be back to my pre-pregnancy self in terms of how I am physically feeling (aside from the typical new parent fatigue). I have lost an additional 5 lbs since my last update, bringing the total weight loss to 30 lbs in 1 month, and am hopeful that I will lose the remaining 20 lbs in 2 more months, as was the case the first time around.
I will also be turning 31 next week, and have decided to keep it low-key by celebrating it with a lunch-and-movie date with J. And although he wanted to take me to my favorite steakhouse in NJ, I insisted on Red Lobster instead so that we could save some money.
Is this a sign of old age? Not being excited about birthdays anymore, and insisting on cheap(er) celebrations? And we can’t overlook the fact that most of the items on my Amazon Wishlist now consist of things for Claire and Aerin!
…Does anyone have any suggestions on what movie we can watch on my birthday? I hardly watch television anymore, so I have no idea what’s even playing.
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Zombie Attack Barbie
I have never been a doll person, even as a little girl. Would I be opposed to my girls gettings Barbies or other dolls? No, but that doesn’t mean that I would prefer them to get something else, like a Transformer. 😉
The Zombie Attack Barbie, on the other hand, is a doll I can get behind…
Via Laughing Squid.
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Guest Post: On Writing
Writer’s block. Lack of inspiration. They are the bane of any blogger’s existence, and I must confess that they occasionally make me want to just throw in the towel too.
Today, Katie writes about how she finds inspiration and even gives us a few choice quotes that may help other bloggers tackle writer’s block as well. Even if you’re not a blogger or writer, I’m sure that you will find this post helpful and inspirational. Enjoy!
I’m excited to be guest posting for Jenny while she, J and Claire enjoy their first few weeks with little Aerin. I’ve known Jenny for three years now through her blog and really appreciate what she has to say on her blog about motherhood, her faith and her family, as well as her fun posts on tech and pop culture.
(image source)
I have been thinking a lot about writing lately — particularly, better developing my own writing style. I love to read well-written blogs, but I rarely put in the time or hard work to do it well myself. It’s usually easier to skip writing the tough stuff and focus on the more trivial topics that take less effort to write. Good writing usually looks easy, but can be agonizingly hard work.
Blogging has always been a very personal writing medium, but I find it’s difficult to balance remaining transparent, as well as keeping the interest of an audience of readers when trying to post multiple times a week. So I’ve been looking for ways to both keep writing inspiration coming, and to improve my abilities.
What inspires you guys to write?
I get really inspired by other bloggers who write about their lives honestly and candidly. I get inspired by reading great novels and by reading the Bible. I get inspired by time spent with loved ones and time spent alone, reflecting.
I also get inspired by the advice of experienced authors. I’ve been compiling a list of writing advice from some talented authors whenever I come across them, and I thought I’d share.
(image source)
CS Lewis
I love CS Lewis’ advice because it is practical to all sorts of writing. He wrote the following tips in 1956 to a young girl who asked him for writing advice. (My personal favorite — and possibly the hardest to do – is #4)
- “Always try to use the language so as to make quite clear what you mean and make sure your sentence couldn’t mean anything else.
- Always prefer the clean direct word to the long, vague one. Don’t implement promises, but keep them.
- Never use abstract nouns when concrete ones will do. If you mean “More people died” don’t say “Mortality rose.”
- In writing, don’t use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the things you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us the thing is “terrible,” describe it so that we’ll be terrified. Don’t say it was “delightful”; make us say “delightful” when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers “Please, will you do my job for me.”
- Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say “infinitely” when you mean “very”; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.”
[Originally published in the collection, Letters to Children]
Flannery O’Connor
“I’m a full-time believer in writing habits…You may be able to do without them if you have genius but most of us only have talent and this is simply something that has to be assisted all the time by physical and mental habits or it dries up and blows away. Of course you have to make your habits in this conform to what you can do. I write only about two hours every day because that’s all the energy I have, but I don’t let anything interfere with those two hours, at the same time and the same place.”
[Originally published in a volume of her letters entitled, The Habit of Being]
Ernest Hemingway
I recently finished the book, A Moveable Feast, a posthumously published memoir by Hemingway on which the recent novel The Paris Wife was based. In addition to talking about his years in Paris with his wife Hadley in the book, he also writes much about his writing processes. Hemingway believed there was no real formula for writing so he rarely gave advice on the topic, but his philosophy on writing is so refreshing.
“All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.”
“My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest way.”
Once, when Hemingway was challenged to tell a story using only six words, he said this:
“For sale: baby shoes, never used.”
Jennifer Egan, via my friend Carly
“Don’t write when it moves you — that’s a loser. Try to make it habitual, even if you just start with 15 minutes a day, two pages a day. Make it such a part of your routine that not doing it makes it a stranger. You have to be willing to write badly. You can’t say, ‘I’m going to write habitually,’ and it’s going to be good. It’s unpleasant to write badly, but it’s much more important show up on a regular basis so that you’re there when the good stuff comes.”
(image source)
I realize blogging is a different medium from what most of the authors above draw their experience from. But the takeaway for me? Write regularly, write honestly, and write what you know.
I’ve set a goal to write in my personal journal for 15 minutes every day to both record more personal anecdotes, and to be better at putting thoughts and words together. And I’ll keep reading really good writing.
What moves you to write?
About the Author:
Hi! my name is Katie. I’m a wife, grad school admissions counselor, and coffee lover. I spend my free time cooking, blogging, reading, dressing up, and going on thrift store adventures. I blog about those things and more at my blog, LatteLove.
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The Cutest (Little) Printer You’ve Ever Seen
I may be a geek and a gadget-lover, but I don’t always embrace new technology. I like to stay old-school in some aspects of my life, including my preferences of old-fashioned books over e-readers, physical keyboards over touchscreens, and even a pad & pencil over many phone apps.
And this is precisely why I love the Little Printer.
Created by London-based design firm BERG and running on BERG Cloud, a web-based system for controlling wireless products, the Little Printer is an adorable web-enabled printer that prints mini-newspapers containing content from the Internet. Users select the content — anything from news to puzzles to status updates from friends — using an iPhone or Android app.
In other words, it makes mini receipt-sized newspapers!
Check out these examples of what the Little Printer can spit out — birthday reminders, puzzles, news headlines, and to-do lists…oh my!
For more uses (including a running coach), be sure to check out the website!
I know that some readers may see the Little Printer as a giant waste of ink and paper. But I know that anyone who prefers physical reminders and lists over digital ones — or even anyone with an often-used bulletin board, would greatly appreciate this little device.
Besides, it’s just so darn cute. 🙂
Pre-orders for the Little Printer will begin in 2012, at which point Little Printer will launch in beta form.
Via TechCrunch.
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Guest Post: Artist Spotlight on Olly Moss
You know me. I can’t resist well-designed pieces of graphic art, especially when they relate to my favorite television shows, movies, books, and video games! So when BreeAnn offered to submit a guest post on Olly Moss — whose work embodies all four subject matters and much more — I couldn’t help but be excited.
A big thank you to BreeAnn for introducing me to this wonderful artist, in addition to highlighting some of his best works! And to my readers: I hope you all enjoy this post as much as I did!
I tend to geek out when I come across a movie poster or book cover design that utilizes a minimalistic style with a clean, brilliant idea. And while Saul Bass‘ opening sequences and logos have inspired many graphic designers to follow a similar path in their designs, I got especially excited when I discovered the works of UK-based artist Olly Moss.
His works are visually stunning and his ideas are brilliantly concise, but what really has me jumping up and down with glee are the movies that are represented. These aren’t your everyday posters for your everyday films… these are spectacular posters for some spectacular favorites and cult classics.
I absolutely love how Olly’s ideas are presented in such an in-your-face manner that I can’t help but wonder, now why didn’t I think of that first? He makes it all look so easy with his subtle associative imagery.
Some of his most popular designs include the set for the original Star Wars trilogy, which is currently listed on eBay for upwards of $3,000. This set would make the perfect gift for any fanatic, but Olly has sadly confirmed that there is no chance they will be re-printed. Still, they make for a great desktop background!
Unfortunately for fans of old and new, Olly Moss’ screenprinted designs sell faster than hotcakes and are often in limited runs… which means once they’re all sold out, you’re only hope may be forking over hundreds on eBay. Which is too bad, because I wouldn’t mind plastering the walls of our office room with his designs.
And if you’re like me and can’t get enough of his work, check out the images from his recent solo show, Paper Cuts. The show was comprised of more than 300 silhouette portraits of just about every pop icon you could hope for. I doubt there’s a single person that wouldn’t discover or recognize a figure they were a fan of.
While the majority of the portraits are laser-cut from black paper, a few have a burst of color that they just wouldn’t be complete without, like Rufio from the movie Hook.
The silhouettes cover a wide range of beloved movies, comics, and television shows. My husband’s personal favorite is the Solid Snake portrait from Metal Gear Solid.
Needless to say, I absolutely love when art meets geekery and produces a love child of this caliber. Now I’ll just have to try and wait patiently to see what project Olly tackles next.
*All images courtesy OllyMoss.com
About the Author:
BreeAnn is a freelance illustrator and designer who spends the majority of her time running her business, Lullafly Studios. When not hard at work, BreeAnn enjoys going on adventures with her husband and two cats as well as blogging as Mrs. Bunting at Weddingbee. You can follow her creative adventures on her art blog.
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Baby Announcement Video
After watching this kickass stop-motion video announcing the birth of baby Althea Elicona, I wish I had been more creative in announcing my pregnancies and the births of my children…
Via haha.nu.
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Guest Post: iPhones for Babies
In this day and age, I honestly do not know a family (in real life, not ones I only know through the internet) who never lets their babies play with their touchscreen phones or tablets. In fact, the Nabi Tablet — the first Android tablet that is designed for kids — is currently at the top of my Amazon Wishlist!
In this guest post, Mrs. Zhukeeper (hilariously) gives us a run-down of popular accessories to keep your iPhone baby-proof, as well as a very good reason why the iPhone, iPad, and other similar devices may be GOOD for both you and your child. Enjoy!
Last year, at my cousin’s sixth birthday party, his parents gave him…an iPhone. At first, we thought it was pretty ridiculous, but then we found out that it was his father’s deactivated old phone, which was just sitting around since he’d bought a new one. And now that I have a one year old, my first thought has changed from “Really?? A six year old needs an iPhone?” to “Wow, I can’t believe they didn’t give him one until he was SIX!”
The Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Apptivity Case — pretty sure my son would chew
on this whether or not anything was inside
Which is to say, babies LOVE LOVE LOVE iPhones, or any touch screen device, or, well, anything with buttons. This is clear from the new rash of products designed to enable you to allow your baby to play with the iPhone without messing it up, by blocking the home button so the baby can’t close out the current app, protecting the screen with a plastic cover, and/or making the phone easier to hold or chew on.
A few of the options on the market now are:
- The Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Apptivity Case — has grippy handles & rattle attachments for teething, as well as protecting the screen & blocking the home button
- The Woogie — a stuffed animal thing with bendable legs & a cover that protects the screen
- The BubCap — simply covers the home button to prevent the baby from accidentally closing out the current baby-approved app, while allowing a (stronger) adult to still push the button (so it doesn’t have to be taken on and off, unlike the other options)
The BubCap — which I’ve heard other moms rave about
All of which begs the question, should we be handing over our iPhones to our babies? Cracked recently ridiculed the Woogie in its Twelve Great Parenting Products for Traumatizing Your Baby, saying:
As most moms today will gladly tell you, one of the best ways to shut your kid up is to hand her your iPhone. Kids LOVE those things. Unfortunately, iPhones don’t come cheap, nor do they work so well after being sucked, bitten, smeared with grape jelly and farted on repeatedly, which is what we presume happens every time you hand an iPhone to a kid.
Admittedly, the Woogie is pretty ridiculous looking
Enter the Woogie, half stuffed animal, half protective pouch, all electronic babysitter. Your iPhone fits snugly inside, safe and sound, and there’s a screen protector to keep sticky little fingers off. And, if your little princess is too young to hold it herself, the Woogie’s legs will prop it up. Balance it in her lap, put Sesame Street or some shit on there and grab a few precious moments to go out and get a latte or whatever.
Never mind the haters who suggest you might be introducing gadgets at too young an age or should be actually interacting with your child. They’re probably just jealous that your iPhone does a better job of parenting than they do. Idiots.
However, in the midst of such products as a bite counter and a tube to help boys learn how to aim when they pee, there are a few less ridiculous products mixed in. In fact, an earlier article on the same theme ridicules the much beloved NoseFrida, which makes it pretty clear that the Cracked authors couldn’t be parents themselves. Sure, using your mouth to suck snot out of your babies nose through a tube doesn’t sound like a good idea, but thousands of parents swear by it.
Okay, yes, this one is just crazy
Likewise, a lot of parents I know would vehemently disagree with Cracked‘s take on iPhone toys for babies. The number one reason for this is what I call The Break. As anyone who has ever spent any substantial amount of time alone with a baby could tell you, it is extremely physically and emotionally draining — even when you’re having a wonderful time! What I finally realized not too long after my son was born is that if you make a few minutes for a Break when you start, um, going crazy, then everyone is 1000000x happier. So maybe grabbing “a few precious moments to go out & get a latte or whatever” isn’t something we should be mocking so much as saying “YES!! TAKE A MINUTE TO YOURSELF ON OCCASION!!!”
Parenting can make you do crazy things
Like, well, pretty much everything in life, tools such as iPad baby apps should obviously be used in moderation, but for the life of me I cannot come up with a single argument against letting your baby play with an educational app for 5 minutes once or twice a day. Sure, a reliance on electronic toys or television could inhibit a child’s imagination, creativity, and/or attention span, but…seriously? Five minutes? And that’s all it really takes (usually) for a parent to breathe and reset and get back in the game.
My son enjoying Peekaboo Barn on the iPad
Obviously it’s bad to leave a baby alone with an iPhone for hours, or alone in front of a TV for hours, but you know what? It’s also bad to leave a baby alone with an extremely safe educational toy for hours! Point is: it’s a BABY! Babies require supervision! So if I’m desperately in need of 5 minutes to clear my head, sue me if I’d rather take that mental break while my son happily plays with an educational app in my lap instead of leaving him alone in his crib to cry. Parents have to take breaks sometimes, and this seems like as good or better a way to do it as far as I can see. Plus, super handy at a restaurant or on a plane or when I’m on the phone to keep him quiet! But again — in moderation.
So as far as I’m concerned, order whatever you want to make you feel more comfortable about handing over that iPhone, take a Break — and get a latte, why not?! — and interact with baby again in a few minutes. Your baby might need a Break from YOU too!
Mmmmmmm latte
Disclaimer: I was not paid to review any of these products and have in fact never used any of them! But I do let my son play on my iPhone & iPad…
About the Author:
Ms. Zhukeeper blogs about her 1 year old son, cat, husband, and whatever else strikes her fancy over at The Zhukeepers. Currently a stay at home mom, she and her family have just purchased their first home and made the move from New York City to Philadelphia.
I like books, gadgets, spicy food, and art. I dislike shopping, hot weather, and the laws of entropy. Although I am a self-proclaimed computer nerd, I still have a love for handbags and makeup... and I am always teetering on high heels. To learn more about me, visit the 
