Category: Life

Aristocat Fan Fiction

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We’ve been sick around here.  3/4 of us so far.  James is still standing strong.  I hope he stays that way, but I fear it is only a matter of time.  The rest of us are a snotty, feverish mess.

Stage right, enter the TV.  Because we try not to watch too much generally, I feel no guilt about employing this weapon in survival mode situations.  TV, chocolate (mostly for me), PJs all day.  Nothing is sacred or off-limits if it will bring us closer to the goal of renewed health and good moods.

One of the fun things about being a parent is revisiting old favorites from your own childhood and sharing them with your children.  A less fun thing is realizing that many of these films just aren’t very good.  And I’m sorry Aristocats.  You just aren’t very good.  There isn’t that much going on, there is only one kind of good song, and that one cat is, dare I say, a little racist.

This does not bear on my assessment of the film’s merit, but I did not notice as a kid how much Disney was into recycling in the 1970s.  It feels like half the cast of Robin Hood (a film that does stand up IMHO) is voicing the parts here.  Also, the wicked stepmother from Cinderella looks almost identical to Madam, the cats’ owner.  Right down to her hairdo and brooch.  This is just bizarre.  How am I supposed believe that this lady is nice and caring when all I can think is evil Evil EVIL??  Does Disney really only know one old lady hairdo?

But I digress.  I found it interesting that absolutely no mention was made of the kittens’ father.  I mean, kittens must come from somewhere.  They didn’t throw in a line about how the father was gallantly killed in the cat war of ’23 or how Duchess went to the sperm bank and looked at Grade A cat sperm for philosophers and chemists.  Nothing.

So I present the following backstory on Duchess.  A classy cat who mysteriously ended up with three kittens.

Duchess gazed moodily out the window, twirling her diamond collar.  Madam was talking about something again, but Duchess couldn’t make her mind focus.  She took in the room with its plush upholstery and ornate furniture.  It was nice.  No, much more than nice.  It was every cat’s dream.  Or it should have been.  Duchess knew she was lucky, but she couldn’t shake this dreadful feeling of ennui. 

Duchess longed for a cigarette, but she knew Madam wouldn’t approve.  She’d have to wait until after Madam went to sleep.  Duchess had taken to roaming the streets at night.  She no longer bothered to stick to their well-lit and posh area of Paris.  She just wanted something different.  Something to shake her out of this dreadful rut. 

Something outside twitched and drew her attention.  It was that cat again.  That was the third time this afternoon he had stalked down the street.  Oh, he thought he was something, didn’t he.  That swagger.  That cocky swing of his hips.  Even though he clearly thought too highly of himself, Duchess surmised he was probably the kind of cat who could help her find a smoke.

You get the drift.  Or maybe it wasn’t like that at all.  Maybe Madam fixed her up with a nice doctor cat and they were very happy together until he died of Feline AIDS.  (There was random “Feline AIDS” graffiti near our place in Columbia Heights.  It cracked me up every time.)  Or maybe the kittens just showed up on their doorstep and they took them in.

I don’t know.  But I won’t be watching again any time soon to look for more clues.

Image via IMDB

2014 was quite the year

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Ah, January.  The time for being resolute.  I have some goals for the new year that I will share soon, but I wanted to spend a moment looking back on 2014.

A lot happened in 2014.  We had our second baby.  James and I celebrated our ten year anniversary.  I quit my job in biglaw.  We packed up all of our belongings and moved to Italy.  I’m a little overwhelmed just typing that.  My only other year that even comes close is 2004, when I graduated from college, moved to DC and started a new job, got married, and bought my first house.  If the trend continues, I suppose 2024 will be a crazy year?

I started this blog in 2014.  I shared 80 posts.  The blog had more than 2500 page views.  (Thank you!)  Most viewed posts of 2014:

Confessions of a mono-dresser: I only wear one shirt

Fall in Italy

My Mission Statement

I can’t believe they didn’t mention church

Apples and Oranges: San Gimignano and Volterra

It was a good year for books.  I read at least 50 new books in 2014.  This number is mostly based on looking at my kindle order history.  I probably squeezed in some other books as well.  I signed up for a goodreads account, but I haven’t been active on it.  Maybe I’ll try to keep up this year.

I read a lot of good books, but here are some faves.  Many of these are Modern Mrs. Darcy recommendations.  If you like to read, her blog is a fantastic resource for what to put next on your to-read list.  In fact, her blog is one of the reasons I haven’t covered more books here.  I feel like I would just generally be copying her suggestions instead of offering new ideas.  But maybe there will be some book reviews here in 2015.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.  This was in my book club.  I bought the book, but couldn’t make the meeting and forgot to read it.  When I rediscovered it on my kindle, I inhaled it.  It was a mystery!  And it’s in a series.  I haven’t read any of the others yet, but I may have to do that.

Anything by Orson Scott Card.  I’m not normally huge on sci fi, but really liked Ender’s Game when we read that awhile ago.  James went ahead and got the rest of the Ender series, the Bean series, and the books on the first Formic Wars.  I can’t really explain why, but I can’t put any of them down.  It is just such a rich and fully developed world you inhabit in these books.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society: A Novel by Mary Ann Shaffer.  Historical fiction.  Loved.  And I learned what the Channel Islands are!

Clutterfree with Kids: Change your thinking. Discover new habits. Free your home by Joshua Becker.  This was a timely book that helped as we purged for our move.

All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood by Jennifer Senior.  I find books that discuss the evolution of parenting fascinating.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth E. Wein.  More historical fiction.  More WWII.  The end of the book made me turn around and immediately read again.  I have no idea why this is marketed as YA.

Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time by Brigid Schulte.  I’m also fascinated by books on society’s obsession with busy-ness.  I think a lot of people feel the time confetti Schulte mentions.  Feeling like I can breathe a little is something I am definitely enjoying here.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell.  I think I read this in one night.  I just couldn’t stop.

The Silkworm (Cormoran Strike Book 2) by Robert Galbraith aka JK Rowling.  Ya’ll, did you know that J.K. Rowling writes mysteries under a pen name?  I didn’t like this one quite as much as The Cuckoo’s Calling, but I still liked it a lot.

I Don’t Know What You Know Me From: Confessions of a Co-Star by Judy Greer.  Interesting observations and thoughts on show business from someone who has put a lot into her career.  I read more memoirs in 2014, but I liked this one the best.

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty.  Also a sort of mystery, as the main character forgets 10 years of her life after a gym accident and has to piece things together.  An excellent read, and I may have enjoyed it even more as I’ve been looking back over my own past decade.

The Secret Keeper: A Novel by Kate Morton.  More historical fiction.  More WWII.  (Hmm, maybe I have a type?)  This mystery toggles between characters in London in WWII and their present day descendants who are trying to unravel a mystery.  Like Code Name Verity, the ending here immediately made me turn around and reread the whole book.

It was a good year for books, but I don’t think I saw a single movie in the theater.  I did finally see Frozen, and I haven’t gotten sick of it yet.  I saw The Lego Movie and Divergent on the plane.  Surely, I saw some others, but not very many.

On the TV front, we continue to watch Brooklyn 99 and The Mindy Project.  I love both of these, but if you aren’t watching Brooklyn 99, you really should start watching Brooklyn 99.  At the very end of the year, we started on Sherlock and I am hooked.  We only have one episode left which makes me sad, but I’ll just have to watch them again.  We also like the show’s American cousin, Elementary.

On the vacation front, around this time last year we went to Disney World which seems like eons ago now.  We did a trip to SC and the beach last summer.  So far in Italy, we’ve made it to Hadrian’s Villa, Volterra, San Gimignano, and Siena.  We saw the Christmas markets in Munich and Nuremberg in December.  We’ve had some fun in Rome, but we have plenty more on our list to see.  I won’t list them all now, but I am pleased to report that I have been to many more restaurants in Rome since providing our two month update.

And, of course, there are all the metrics I can’t measure.  (I mean I guess I could, but it would be super creepy.)  The smiles.  The hugs.  The tears.

It has been a full year.  I’ll miss ya 2014.  (I’m always partial to the even years; not sure why.)  But there is much to look forward to in 2015!

Good 2014?  Do you look back and recap your year?  Any books you recommend for the 2015 list?

Crazy Eights

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Dear Mac,

You are somehow eight months old.  You have lived outside the U.S. longer than you lived there.  Wild.  When we first moved here, we met an eight month old.  She seemed so impossibly big and capable and it all seemed so far away, but I knew it would be fast.  And here we are.

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You are quite the little roly poly.  Not just because of your adorable squish, of which there is plenty.  (Your dad said your thigh crease looked like a second butt the other day.  A very cute butt, of course.  And I mean booty, don’t say butt.)  No, you are a roll-a-mus because you are literally on a roll.  After showing very little interest in rolling at all, you can now flop from front to back AND back to front effortlessly.  We can put you down at one end of the carpet and you end up all the way at the other end.  You are going to be crawling any day now, I’m sure.  Although we said the same thing about your teeth . . .

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Even though you have been teething for at least four months, you refuse to sprout any teeth.  I can only imagine this is some sort of Benjamin Buttons situation where you are not growing teeth because you lost them already.  (If it was not abundantly clear from the previous sentence, I have not actually seen the movie.)  Every day we keep checking, but no dice.

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Your lack of teeth has not deterred your love of solid food though.  Man, you love to eat.  There is no combination of baby food too disgusting for you to ingest with relish.  You will eat pork, mixed veggies, and prunes together and then probably wonder about a second course.  You are a little more skeptical on some of your less pureed foods.  The chopped fish and green bean situation was not your jam.  We give you little bits of things to try to pick up, a challenge you seem to enjoy.  You will happily gum a hunk of apple all through breakfast.  You have tried rabbit baby food, but I think we will skip the recently-spotted horse.

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You had a fun Christmas with your brother.  Wrapping paper was a big hit.  Speaking of your brother, even since I last covered him, he has taken his play up a level.  He can now do imaginative play, particularly with his new Christmas cars and trucks.  The cars go on adventures and eat pancakes.  It feels like a little mini game of improv.  The cars jump off the building?  Yes AND they land at the octopus park!  I love this so much.  I really do.  But I find it to be draining.  I’m not sure why.  I can read the same book 12 times in a row without complaint, but for some reason “being the firetruck” takes a lot out of me.  Needless to say, I’m really excited to see you and Henry play this way when you are older.  I have very fond memories of playing Barbies, or My Little Ponies, or both with my sister for hours.  Her memories may be less fond because I know I was teeniest bit cough cough bossy.  I hope you and Henry have excellent memories together.  And if you can “be the firetruck” for a bit, that is all the better for me.  (I am always fire truck.  I don’t mind.  I’m just curious what made the kid look at me and think, yup, you are definitely firetruck material.)

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For being a baby, I am always impressed how hard you can troll your brother.  You guys seems to have a strange symbiotic relationship where you can’t stand to be apart but often can’t stand to be together.  It usually starts when Henry insists on playing right beside you.  You grab all the toys he doesn’t want you to grab.  He melts down.  You melt down.  Repeat.

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You also seem to have fun together.  I think you could watch Henry for hours.  I get pretty indignant when he causes you harm.  (I do try and avoid this, prevent it, and police it.)  You look at him with such admiration and trust and when he hurts you it feels like a punch to the gut.  Every time.  You never see it coming and your eyes go from trust to naked disbelief that this would happen.  And then you flip over on the bed and put your feet all over your brother.  I think you’ll be fending for yourself before I know it.

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I keep sleep stalking you.  At the risk of waking you, I even take pictures.  Or ask your dad to do it.  You still aren’t quite making it through the night, but your wakeups are getting closer to five or six AM.  I keep telling myself that we’re getting there . . .

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Speaking of sleep, you seem to be dropping your morning nap.  I’m OK with this.  It frees us up for more morning adventures and you can cat nap if you need it.  I am not OK with the state some days which seems to be a crankypants baby who refuses to sleep.  Your choices are be asleep or be awake and pleasant.  Thank you in advance.

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I really can’t complain because you continue to be the happiest, most cheerful little dude.  I think you are getting a little slower to smile at strangers; you like to analyze the situation first.  You don’t mind not being around me, but you often get upset when I leave the room.  This always surprises me because many times you are doing your own thing, and I didn’t think I was even on your radar.

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Being on a cute baby’s radar.  There are worse places to be.  🙂

Love, Mom

P.S.  Whoops, didn’t write about 7 months (I swear we took pics!), but more on Mac at 4 months, 5 months, and 6 months.

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How tidy is tidy enough?

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I’ve been seeing some buzz about a book:  Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing.  Modern Mrs. Darcy covered it; she’s a fan of the folding method.  Laura Vanderkam suggested not cleaning up can be a more useful philosophy.  Nicole and Maggie mention an earlier post questioning the wisdom of raising children to feel stressed out by clutter.

I love a good organizing book, but I haven’t read Kondo’s book yet.  I may.  We’ll see.

As I try to assimilate our lovely Christmas gifts into our home, I’ve been thinking about stuff.  And cleaning.  New year, new start, right?

For me, there are two separate issues here.  Tidying involves moving around things.  Cleaning involves removal of dirt and grime.

On the tidying front, we did a lot of “de-owning” before our move to Italy.  I read Joshua Becker’s Clutterfree with Kids an at opportune time.  He stresses de-owning possessions over organizing them.  If you are organizing things, it is just a shell game.  You are still spending energy on cleaning, maintaining, and housing the things.  It is better to just get ride of them entirely than to be beholden to your things.

I like this idea.  We really don’t need that much stuff.  I rotate toys to keep from being overwhelmed by them.  I’ve embraced minimalist dressing and should really purge my closet again.  James cut back on clothes and has expressed enjoyment at having a well curated closet full of things he likes.  We still have more stuff than we need, but I like the idea of only keeping around things you need and like.  Kondo suggests you should not keep things unless they “spark joy.”  I get that.

On the cleaning front, I’m all over the place.  We still don’t have any cleaning help.  In the early days here, I had a daily schedule together.  I cleaned about 20 minutes a day, and I felt like we were on top of things.  Then life happened.  We spent more time seeing friends and getting out of the house.  This is a good thing, but it made chores harder.  I refuse to do chores when the kids are napping.  The chore window feels limited.

I’ve also let it go.  Kitchen and bathrooms get special attention.  I find that doing a little bit daily or weekly makes a big difference.  If I clean the bathrooms once a week, I can do it in 15 minutes.  (Does not include floors.  Or mirrors.)  If I wait, the stuck on grime starts to feel insurmountable.  I really need to work on the floors more.  The baby is not yet crawling, but the kids live on the floor.  But I don’t need to vacuum every day.  My general cleaning philosophy is to be clean enough that things are sanitary and you wouldn’t shy away from an unexpected guest.

And for me, this is where tidying and cleaning intersect.  I think cleaning is easier to do if things are generally tidy.  Right now I really need to vacuum the rug, but the kids toys are all over it.  Kitchen counters are a lot easier to wipe if they are clutter free.  I think my more militant cleaning schedule worked in the early days because all of our stuff hadn’t shown up yet.

I’m still trying to find my groove.  I came across this cleaning schedule printable while reading this awesomely interesting article on following Pinterest’s most popular for a week.

So I decided to do it as well.  Without further adieu, let me present my own cleaning schedule printable for your consumption:

Cleaning Schedule-1

Nothing on here is mandatory, as you would know by the current state of my floors.  ABL – always be laundrying is an important tenet.  Our one floor dwelling has made laundry much easier.  I don’t really mind laundry except the putting clothes away part, which I suppose is sort of like saying that you don’t mind marathons except the running part.

And please don’t think I’m doing this alone.  James does 99% of the after dinner clean-up, trash/recycling removal, and more.

But as you can see, a lot doesn’t get done.  Dusting is rare.  I haven’t cleaned any ceiling blades or windows.  This is mostly working for us for now.  At least until our next change in schedule anyway!  Mac already seems to be dropping his morning nap . . .

Do you have a cleaning schedule?  I’d love to hear!  What is your mess tolerance?  Have you noticed a correlation between amount of stuff and ease of cleaning?

Our Christmas in Italy

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This was our first Christmas in Italy.  Our first Christmas away from family.  We missed everyone very much, but we did have some fun here.

Henry and I made a pomander.  One of his new Christmas books talks about making one, and I thought it could be a fun craft to do together.  I was wrong.  Stabbing those cloves in was hard for me.  There was no way Henry could do it.  Martha’s it is not, but at least it looked a little better than my usual Pinterest fails.

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This pomander is now in the rubbish. I don’t really get how you are supposed to keep this in your sock drawer and not have it mold.

We visited an exhibition on Nativity Scenes near Piazza del Popolo.   There were sets from around the world, which reminded me of the (free!) display at the Mormon Temple outside DC, elaborate sets made in Italy, which seemed to feature Jesus nestled in your local town amongst the trattorias, and sets made of unconventional materials, which included sets made from shoe horns and various types of pasta.  It was pretty impressive.  Only mildly extremely crowded.  Henry enjoyed it.  Sadly, no pictures allowed.

Our building had a very fun and awesome holiday house crawl.  I love that it feels like college here sometimes when you could just go see people without leaving the building.  On the crawl, I discovered the “Dirty Girl Scout” which is now one of my new favorite cocktails.  I’m a sucker for peppermint at the holidays.  Or any other time of year really.

I used the opportunity to bust out an awesome gift from my MIL, her own blazer from her own pre-kids era.  This now vintage blazer is so well-made and beautiful that it really deserves more play, but I at least make sure it sees the light for the holidays.  And I promise that if I continue to take mirror selfies, I will find a better pose.  (Yup, still wearing that shirt.)

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We heard that Romans don’t really “do Christmas.”  This seemed strange considering the location, and I thought it was unfair.  Granted, we didn’t see as many lights as in Germany, but most shops put out festive garlands and lights.

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Downtown had tons of awesome lights.  Via del Corso was lined with lights showing flag from every country, which I’m told is to celebrate the upcoming World’s Fair in Milan.  The tree at Piazza Venezia was ridic.

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James bet I wouldn't put this photo on the internets. It's like he doesn't even know me.

James bet I wouldn’t put this photo on the internets. It’s like he doesn’t even know me.

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The grocery stores also filled up with lots of holiday treats.  There were literally stacks of panettone and pandoro, panettone’s more buttery cousin.  Henry and I had a very Italian moment when we skipped down the street with our carby goodness.

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They were pretty good.  They were even better as french toast.  That’s right, we just can’t stop french toasting leftovers, but I can’t claim credit for the idea this time.

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We were very excited to receive a Christmas dinner invitation from some new friends.  Not cooking was great.  Enjoying delicious food with friends was even better.  James made this cake.  It is easily the best cake he has ever made in his entire life.  I won the no limit hold ’em tournament, a family tradition of theirs.  (This is another tradition I can definitely get behind.)

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We had our first visitors!  Our dear dear friends, who are also the boys’ godparents, came for three jam-packed days.  We rode bikes at Borghese–which will almost certainly be more enjoyable when the cold wind isn’t blowing in your face, ate pasta, and enjoyed catching up.  It was very special to see them and it means a lot that they made the trip.

The boys have some exciting new toys.  Henry is in car heaven.  Mac has new things to chew on, which is pretty much his jam.  We have some very wonderful family and friends, who not only sent things halfway across the world but wrapped them as well!  I’m beyond touched and can’t thank them enough.

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That’s right. BE jealous of our Christmas jammies.

It was a full and fun festive season.  How about you?  I hope you enjoyed all of your holidays!  

Merry Christmas!

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Wishing all the best to you and yours.

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No tears but after we got the pic, Henry slid off Santa’s lap, handed back the present, and bolted.

P.S.  I’m taking Christmas vacation.  See you back here on January 5!

The answer is always Henry

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Why is there a deflated balloon in the refrigerator?

Why is there a metal spoon in the couch cushions?

Why is the veggie steamer on my nightstand?

Henry.  The answer is always Henry.

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Oh, Henry.  It feels not long ago that you turned two and now you are two and a quarter.  You are a force of life.  You are always on the go.  “Mas running” is still one of your favorite games.  Lately, you want to climb everything in sight.  I do the best I can to spot you while wearing a baby.  Thankfully no damage too serious yet, but we do call you Head-Injury-Henry for a reason.

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You still love balls.  Kicking is your jam and you always get comments on your skillz, but you have picked up your throwing and catching game as well.  You love trains and motos and planes.  Especially planes.  You pore over your Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft, each page exclaiming “Airplane!  Airplane!  Look at that airplane!”  We read a lot too, which I love because reading is awesome and it is one of the only times you let me cuddle.

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I can’t believe how much you talk.  You can tell me what colors the airplanes are and that they are landing in the water or zooming in the sky.  We really do have somewhat legitimate conversations.  Very recently you started putting your “please” sentences together and can say things like “can I have my sticker book please?”  Color me impressed.

You are very social.  You have a circle of friends here that you seem delighted to see.  Sometimes it takes you a little bit to warm up, but I’m always amazed how eager you are to seek out new playmates.  You fearlessly stalked some kids at the market in Munich, and after I translated for you, you and your new buds ran around terrorizing the patrons at the gluhbier stand.  (More on gluhbier later; shocking to no one, hot beer is NOT as delicious as hot wine.)  You’ve been approaching Italian kids at the playgrounds too.  We are working on getting you into daycare for a morning or two each week.  This is less about giving me a break and more about giving you some more peeps to run around with.  (Particularly until you turn three and we have to decide if we want to go the pricey private preschool route.)

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I’d say you are generally mild-mannered, for a toddler, but you do have your share of meltdowns.  I’m always blown away by how food-motivated you are.  I can flash one M&M and you will happily climb obediently into your stroller.  I don’t love bribing you and try to avoid it, but sometimes one M&M or cracker is a pretty reasonable price to pay for compliance.

I think you’ve been growing.  I haven’t measured you lately, but you can reach more elevator buttons than when we got here.  You certainly feel a bit heavier.  And you have so much hair!  I love that you have enough hair that it can get messed up.  We’ll do a haircut someday.  But not yet.

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Things are never boring with you around.  I have honed negotiation skills that I never dreamed I would need.  (Seriously, I think “getting toddlers to do things” should be a legitimate resume bullet.)  For example, in between when I started writing this and now, you had an EPIC meltdown that was solved when I eventually got you to eat and sang a spur-of-the-moment-creation “I’m a pizza monster.”  (To be released next year.  See you at the Grammies, suckas!  That’s the awards one for music again, right?)  You kept cracking up and your giggles were so sweet that it almost made up for the previous half hour of screaming and hating everything.  (Haha, not even close.  But it was a welcome, joyful sound.)

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Life with you can be tiring, but it is very fun.  It is certainly never dull.

Love, Mom

Do SAHMs have higher rates of skin cancer?

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And we’re back!  We got back from five nights in Munich last week.  There were definitely some lows (like Henry causing 50 euro of damage at the hotel breakfast), but plenty of fun moments and the Christmas markets were amazing.  You guys will be hearing plenty over the next few weeks, I’m sure.

After a week of meat, sugar, and beer, I’m looking forward to getting back to cooking real food.  This is a bit of an exaggeration, but I almost feel like I haven’t cooked since Thanksgiving.  The holidays are here which makes it tough, but it is time.

I’ve been thinking about this article: How I Gained and Lost 60 Pounds as an Entrepreneur — and So Can You!  Even though I’m not an entrepreneur or working outside the home right now, many points here really resonated.  I try very hard not to, but it is easy to put yourself last.

Overall, I’d say my new lifestyle is less healthy than my old in several ways.  I drink less water.  When sitting at a desk, I had my Nalgene bottle right in front of me and I drank water all day long.  I am excellent at drinking things put right in front of me.  This is a great skill for staying hydrated, a less great one for trying not to get sloppy at a party.  Now because we are on the move, I don’t have water in front of me.  I feel like I take two sips and then we are off to something else and cups just end up all over the house.  It is not ideal.

There is less incidental movement.  Before, I did a good bit of walking on my commute.  I would often walk to lunch.  Even walking around a large office building built in some exercise.  I thought here, we’d be constantly on the go and would really rack up those steps, but it is surprisingly easy not to move far at all.  The grocery store is only a few blocks away.  I have playgrounds steps from the front door.  I want to walk more, but the sidewalks here can really be a pain for the stroller.  And the toddler doesn’t really want to sit in the stroller anyway.

One of the best bonuses about working at home is making your lunch.  It is easy to throw together a real salad or even just grab leftovers without having to lug them to work in a giant Tupperware.  But even though I’m at home, I haven’t been taking advantage.  Lunch is usually a scramble.  An afterthought.  Not good.

I’ve been noticing more freckles.  Freckles I haven’t seen this bright since I was a kid.  Small wonder, I’m spending much more time outside now.  Usually just standing at a playground with the baby strapped to me, but it adds up.  My mom has had precancerous things removed from her skin.  Why am I not doing better?

Looking over this list objectively, I admit that there seem to be easy solutions to many of these issues.  A little more effort.  A little more planning.  But it is easy to get really caught up in the day-to-day kid spiral survival mode and the last thing I want to do is walk across the city or even walk to my kitchen to get a glass of water.  And even typing that sentence, I know it doesn’t make sense, but that is honestly the way it feels sometimes.  I’m tired.  And even though I know that making an effort on some of these things would make me less tired, it is hard to do.

As the Entrepreneur article says, the answer is inevitably to “Plan the work, work the plan.“  I get it.  I need to do this.  I’m working on it.

In the meantime, at the suggestion of my cosmetologist friend here, I have switched to wearing real sunscreen on my face.  SPF 55.  Formulated for babies actually so I think it stinks less.  (I hate smelling like I’m going to the beach all day.)  My Oil of Olay with SPF 15 advertised continuous moisture all day long, but if you read the fine print, stated that you needed to reapply every two hours for sun protection.  Ain’t nobody got time for that!

Anyone have any tips or tricks?  I know, I know, there are no easy solutions.  Grr.

A day in the life

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This is not the most glamorous, but I present for your consideration a typical day around here.  In many ways it is not “typical,” (we don’t always go to tree lightings), but is there actually a typical day?  As you will see, it is not all cappuccino wishes and fettuccine dreams.

7:06 am James’s alarm goes off. Holy tootknockers, that means Mac slept through the night! This has only happened a handful of times and is big doin’s. Of course, he stirred right when James got in the shower, but settled back down.
7:06 – 7:30 Reading. Most days this is spent dozing fitfully, thinking about the day, and yelling at myself that this would be the perfect time to get up and do some pilates. Sigh, some day.
7:30 – 7:55 Shower, get dressed, makeup. Mac is stirring so James gets him up and changes the dipe. We say goodbye to James.
7:55 – 8:36 Henry is stirring. I grab Mac and head into Henry’s room, giving Henry a couple books. Henry reads while I feed Mac. Eventually, Henry is ready to leave the crib. He gets the new diaper, fresh clothes treatment. We hang out on the bed for a bit.

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8:36 – 9:10 Breakfast time. I’m irked because the dishwasher was not run last night and walking into a messy kitchen is a pain. Less shenanigans today than usual from the boys though, likely because I told Henry that if he eats his eggs than he can have leftover banana bread. The boys sit while I cook. Henry and I have eggs, as we do most days, and Mac has the rest of a jar of prunes baby food. I throw more in the dishwasher and start it on the way out.

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9:10 – 9:32 We head to the living room to play. New outfit for Mac. Henry is super into the nativity scenes here. So far, I’ve seen cows eating grass, wise men marching, angels dive-bombing shepherds, and sheep eating Baby Jesus. I slip out for two minutes to throw in a load of laundry at some point.

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9:32 – 9:37 Prepping Mac for his nap and putting him down.
9:37 – 9:48 Confirm that Henry is occupied and clean the two bathrooms. Henry comes in when I’m finishing up the tub in the second bathroom.
9:48 – 9:50 Refill waters and sippy cups.
9:50 – 10:15 Henry and I read. Lion King and a book on military aircraft today.   It’s all toddler’s choice around here.
10:15 – 10:25 Henry and I play basketball.
10:25 – 10:45 Mac wakes up. New diapers for everyone!   (Bathroom break for me.) Locating shoes, socks, and jackets for everyone and stuffing shoes, socks, and jackets onto everyone. Two meltdowns result which is not a terrible track record.
10:45 – 11:55 We head outside. I thought about heading to a farther park like Villa Borghese, but the clouds are still looking ominous and decide it is better to stay close. I thought we’d hit the playground out front, but we ended up on a “toddler walk.”   This is a walk where the toddler sets the pace and we stop where he wants. Henry kicked trash.

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Climbed on window grates.

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And kicked columns.

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For the record, the Italians approve of none of this. Italian kids generally sit in strollers bundled up to their eyeballs. Nobody said anything though, except the one lady who commented that Henry should be wearing a hat because of the wind, but she was pretty nice about it.
11:55 – 12:25 We head inside to watch one episode of Winnie the Pooh, aka the only way I could convince Henry to come inside.   I can’t just scoop him up because I’m wearing Mac. I feed Mac while Henry watches. Mac and I play. I throw Henry’s wet shoes in the dryer. Henry has a meltdown that he only gets one episode and then gets a timeout because he repeatedly shoved his brother.   He is uninterested in lunch and tells me it is time for nap.
12:25 – 12:38 Naptime is usually at 1:00, but who am I to question a screaming toddler? New diapers and story time. Kids are down for naps.
12:38 – 12:50 I switch that laundry from earlier and make myself lunch. I start to unload the dishwasher, but double naptime is sacred and must not be squandered on chores.  Lunch today is some seriously past its prime arugula with oil and salt/pepper (I end up abandoning about a quarter of the way through), apple, cheese, three leftover pieces of coppa, and a heated mug of turkey broth.
12:50 – 1:01 Read some blogs. I’m in the bad habit of associating food with internet break time. Too many lunches eaten at my desk at the law firm.
1:01 – 1:15 Read some sites on what to do in Nuremberg for upcoming trip.
1:15 – 2:25 Write 1.5 blog posts.  Post the day’s post.
2:25 – 2:55 Take dishes back to kitchen, grab a small piece of banana bread and nutella spoon, respond to email, check a few more blogs.
2:55 – 3:15 Text with my neighbor about walking to Christmas tree lighting. Read guide book on Munich.
3:15 – 3:18 When I hear the kids start to stir, hit the bathroom and go on a blitz gathering up stuff for our outing.
3:18 – 3:45 Feed Mac, change diapers, get Henry yogurt, put on shoes, socks, coats, etc.
3:45 – 4:25 Walk to James’s work for Christmas tree lighting.
4:25 – 5:30 Enjoy tree lighting and reception.

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5:30 – 6:25 Walk to and enjoy best gelato ever at Come il Latte. More on this soon.

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6:25 – 7:00 See someone we know. Walk home with friend, chatting all the way.
7:00 – 7:40 Peel off shoes, socks, coats; hanging out and chillin’ as a fam.

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7:40 – 8:00 Get kids ready for bed.
8:00 – 8:45 Make soup from the turkey stock we made previously. Empty the dishwasher, reload the dishwasher, and do other kitchen cleaning tasks with James. In theory, we would do more chatting about our days here, but we were both kind of out of it and cranky.
8:45 – 9:30 Eat soup and do some plotting with James on Munich trip.
9:30 – 9:50 Watch an episode of Brooklyn 99 with James. (If you aren’t watching this show, you really should be watching this show.)
9:50 – 10:00 Get ready for bed.
10:00 – 11:00 Read in bed. I really need to get better here. In my mind, I only read for like 15 minutes. Clearly, that is NOT the case.

So there you have it.  A typical-ish weekday in December.  Some days we see friends.  Some days we go to the store.  Most days we feed the kids a real dinner.  But if you can’t have gelato for dinner every now and then, what’s the point of living in Italy?

 

 

 

 

 

Red lips to the rescue!

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Modern Mrs. Darcy has a post up on Simplicity, productivity, and the personal uniform.  Yup, I’ve got that.  I’m a fan.

[Hi to any MMD readers who clicked over from my comment!  Thanks for taking a look around!]

My personal uniform remains, but I’ve been feeling a little frumptastic lately.  This is because I don’t usually add the completer piece unless I’m going out.  The baby would destroy my necklaces.  Why put on a scarf or a jacket if it is just going to get covered in spitup and flung food?

Let’s just say, I feel all of those What Not to Wear contributors who scoffed at Stacy and Clinton for saying they should wear nicer blouses.  Yes, I use burp cloths.  But did you know that kids can aim past the cloth?  Or I might not have one in reach?  There is a reason that my uniform is washer-friendly.

I also need to rethink my makeup regime.  I feel like it is all wiped off by mid-morning.  I’m not loving my hair lately.  I’ve got those bald spots and wisps thanks to the postpartum hair loss.  And all of this rain and humidity does not cute hair make.

Sum it all up to say that I’m not feeling super cute most days.  And this is not the best place to not feel cute.  The women here, they know how to work it.

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Enter the red lip!

I’ve been loving Boots Botanics lip gloss.  Mine is cherry, but I can’t seem to find it anywhere for a link.  It doesn’t pass the kiss test, but it adds a punch of color without getting peely, chappy, and flaky later like so many lip products I find.  (I know this is reading like a giant advertisement, but nothing sponsored here; I just like the product.)

I’ve got it right by the door and it is now a part of my going-out-the-door routine.  Shoes, strap on baby, jacket, red lip.  It’s not a salon blowout or a stain-free shirt, but it always helps me feel a little more put together.

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Yes, those are mirror smudges from a certain toddler.  And, wow, taking mirror selfies is crazy awkward.  I kind of can’t believe I’m sharing this with all of you.  Please, be gentle.

Do you have a fave lip gloss?  Any special thing you add to feel polished?