Ricki Lake @ Borders Books, Columbus Circle

Ricki Lake is scheduled to appear and sign DVD copies of The Business of Being Born on May 6. Event details here.

Babywearing Pic of the Day, Possibly the Year

Must-Read Interview

Check out the May/June issue of Mothering Magazine for a cover story interview with Ani DiFranco, who I recently highlighted as a Fabulous Home Birth Mom of the Day. The mothering interview is full of fantastic, refreshing, and inspiring insights from Ani on pregnancy, birth, and motherhood. A couple of my favorite highlights:

Ani on childbirth in America: "It makes me really sad that women have been ejected from the seat of their power in this society in terms of what happens around childbirth. In other parts of the world, there are places where women can't drive a car, but they're still in charge of childbirth. I look at my society and think, how emancipated are we, really? We can play basketball, but can we benefit from eons of women's wisdom that accords a birthing woman the support and time to give birth healthily? Those elements are absent in our society for so many women."

Ani on new motherhood: "It can be a shock to the system for a woman who's only really just maybe learned how to do what she wants in this world -- to pursue her own dreams unfettered by expectations that come from outside herself -- to shift. It may feel like, 'I have to put my own needs and desires down and focus on someone else, again?' A perilous moment. 'Am I less empowered now, falling into that role of woman as nurturer to other than herself?' The truth is that those two things don't have to be mutually exclusive. If you can appreciate being where you are even in those early years of giving most of your energy, time, and love to your kid, give yourself over to it and reap everything that it has to offer in terms of lessons and growing, the unconditional love will flow back your way."

Read the rest of the article by picking up the current Mothering at your local newsstand, or by subscribing, here.

Recent Kiddo Cuteness

Some cute moments captured that I've been wanting to share...

Friday Night @ STOMP

The three of us were downtown on Friday night (headed to Ghenet for dinner) and on a whim we decided to stop by T's old work, the Orpheum Theatre (T is a former member of the cast of STOMP). The timing was right -- rehearsal was over but the house was not yet open -- so we ran into several cast member friends hanging around outside the theatre and we stopped to introduce them to the Kiddo. Before we knew it, we were inside, and T was showing the Kiddo around the stage. As you can see, father and son had a blast:

Weekend Flowers

I decided to splurge and buy a couple of mixed bouquets at the corner deli on Friday. For no good reason other than that I wanted to, I bought two bunches of baby roses (one yellow, one coral-orange, priced at two bunches for ten dollars) and a mixed bouquet of gerbera daisies, carnations, assorted greenery, etc.

Once home I broke out an assortment of vases and containers, and with a set of scissors I went to town on the flowers, breaking them up and re-arranging them to suit myself. I then proceeded to spread them around the apartment...kitchen, bathrooms, dining table, bedroom.

Two days later the posies still look glorious and it's amazing how much they've brightened our weekend. This might sound funny, but having flowers around has actually inspired me to go the extra mile when it comes to keeping the place nice. Instead of leaving a pile of papers strewn across the table, I've straightened it up and put them away. Instead of letting the top of my dresser go to seed, I've kept everything inside the top drawer. It's as if the flowers are there not just to be pretty and refreshing in their own right but to remind me that I can do little things to keep the equilibrium at home. It has been nice.

Fabulous Home Birth Mom of the Day: Julianne Moore

I'm always happy to see a new issue of Domino in the mail, but I was even happier today when the May issue arrived with fabulous home birth mom Julianne Moore on the cover.

The cover story doesn't mention Moore's childbirth experiences (it is a decorating magazine, after all) however, elsewhere in the uber-hip, trend-obsessed glossy I was delighted to see the following allusion to babywearing: Way to rock the babywearing accouterments, Domino! Pleased and intrigued, I decided to check out the featured sling in greater detail at Serenaandlily.com. Indeed, it is very pretty, with a unique design and embroidered detail: Are any of my readers already familiar with this sling? Is it as comfy as it is pretty? Feedback, please!

Illustration Inspiration

I just discovered a trove of marvelous vintage magazine covers on Flickr. Get lost in the glamour here. (Via Automatism).

Totally Addictive Website of the Day

Once again Photojojo has tipped me off to a weird and cool internet photo resource. This time, it's a site that will instantly "age" your photos so that they look like they've been sitting in an attic for decades. Witness the transformation of one of my favorite wedding pics:
...Et voila! We are magically transported to another era! Try it out for yourself, here.

Blogging the 2008 Our Time Gala: What a Night!

Finally, thanks to my talented and entirely awesome photographer friend Mikiodo, I have some incredible highlights from the Our Time Theatre Company benefit gala to share with you:

Our Time company member, Victoria, with my husband, T

Company member Danielle, with Jesse L. Martin

Company members Andre, Keith, and JonathanCompany member and host of the show, JosephMandy Patinkin and company member, DorjeeCompany members Julianna and Victoria with Daphne Rubin VegaJohn Slattery with company member NickCompany member Michael, with Ramon RodriguezCompany members Dorjee, Naudia, and Adam
Ned Eisenberg and Lauren AmbroseMary Testa and Tiffany McElroyMy niece, Isabelle Moon and company member Nina, twirling in pink! The cast of Spring AwakeningThe evening's honoree, music legend Bill Withers, and company member Andre performing Lean on MeDaryl Hall singing Lean on Me, joined by the entire cast
Me and the Kiddo on stage moments after the climactic finale of the show (Note to Chelsea: I want the picture you're taking of us!) T on stage with Rosie PerezMe, the exhausted Kiddo, and our friend Andrew, who Stage Managed the productionAll photos by Mikiodo

Storage Boxes Really Should Not Excite Me This Much

However, I just located these canvas storage bins and they will fit exactly into the squares of my Ikea Expedit bookshelf. Booyah. Take that, burgeoning piles of stuff!

Fabulous Home Birth Mom of the Day: Cindy Crawford

Supermodel and mom Cindy Crawford gave birth to both of her children at home with midwives attending. She says, "I'm a big advocate of home births if the pregnancy's been healthy."
(Via Babyworld.)

In Case You Missed It...

I just got word that there will be a screening of The Business of Being Born on Monday April 28st, at 6pm. The screening will be held at Tribal Spears Gallery and Café 2167 Frederick Douglas Blvd. (at 117th St.), New York, NY.

Q. and A. to follow with BabyMoon Doulas and Martine Jean-Baptiste, a local midwife.

The presenters are asking for a $10 contribution to Tribal Spears.

RSVP here.

For cancellations, please call Heather at 212-678-0539

A still from the film. Certified Nurse-midwife Cara Muhlhahn attends the homebirth of Mayra and David Radzinski.

lomography fun at turtle pond

So, we are in love with our little Diana camera. There's something so magical about the lo-fi quality and the hit-or-miss effects of light and focus. Every time we drop a roll of the film off for developing we find ourselves impatient and excited to see the results. Here are our latest shots, taken on Thursday afternoon. (FYI: you can click on each image to see a larger version).