MIA Plans Home Birth

Hip Hop artist (and one of my personal faves) MIA is profiled in today's online edition of The Wall Street Journal, where she talks about her plans to have a home birth! 

Due on Grammy night (she's been nominated for both an Oscar and a Grammy this year), MIA muses about the prospect of going into labor at the event:

 We're planning a home birth, but it might be a Grammy birth! Eating a hot curry could make me go into labor, so imagine what getting on stage with Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and T.I. would do. Everyone's been very understanding.

I've been watching and admiring this woman's totally rad pregnant style for months.  I can't wait to see how awesome she looks as she performs center stage at full term.  Inspirational!  

Photos:  Wall Street Journal & Jezebel

Tea Love

One of thing that has been getting a lot of play in our home recently (what with the frigid temperatures outside and my lolling about inside) is hot tea.  Sleepytime tea, with a spoon-full of honey, to be exact. Turns out the Kiddo even likes to drink it, and can barely contain himself while it cools down to a palatable temperature.  Well, imagine my delight when I discovered these genius little teacups on Double Takes.  Aren't they just cozy-cute perfection?

Sweet Photos

I'm totally loving the photography of John Kernick, whose work I just discovered over at The Bedlam of Beefy.  Aren't his shots so sweet and lovely?  The last three have me yearning for summer...

See more here.  

Celebrity Babywearers of the Day

A huge "thank you" to my friend Raina of the inimitable If the Lampshade Fits, for sending me the link to this Brangelina Babywearing Bonanza posted on today's Huffington Post.  See more photos here. 

For Fun

The Kiddo watched his first clips of The Cosby Show on YouTube today. This was by far his favorite.

A New Rhythm

Well, it seems that just shy of five hundred posts, my hitherto (mostly) prolific blog has slowed to a trickle of updates.

The reason is no mystery:  I no longer seize the Kiddo's naptime as prime time to blog.  I no longer stay up after he has gone to sleep at night, in order to post.  I no longer wake up 30 minutes to an hour before he does in the morning to get the requisite overview of the Internet as research and inspiration for my blog.  

What do I do instead?  I sleep.

Turns out that this whole gestating a person while raising a toddler is pretty exhausting.

My hat is off to parents who are outnumbered by their children.

But the fact that I am tired is only part of it.  I also must admit that when the Kiddo has fallen asleep cuddled to my breast, I would rather lay there and enjoy the sweetness than get up and go about being "productive".  Apparently, along with this pregnancy I have developed a heightened sense of the fleeting nature of these moments that exist between just the two of us.  

And I want to savor them.

So dear readers, I ask you to bear with me while I find a new/different blogging rhythm that is compatible with my newfound sentimentality-laced fatigue.  

Thank you for your patience!

Photo found here.

I'm In the Mood For Red, White, and Blue...

Loving the vibe of this photo posted by Garance Dore today!

We Were There!

Here's a glimpse of our point of view, as we watched history unfold today:

Inauguration

Official, Limited Edition Inaugural Poster, designed by Shepard Fairey.  Available here.

Back in November, I posted about deciding to go to DC for Obama's Inauguration.  Well, I can't believe the time is here already!  We leave for DC tomorrow evening (we're taking Amtrak) and will return on Wednesday. 

I'm sure we're in for quite and adventure, especially since I'm now not only planning to be at this event with a toddler, but I'm knocked up, to boot ;)

T's mother, Riki, has graciously (and probably very wisely!) decided to stay at her house with the Kiddo while we traipse around in the cold trying to see something historic with our own eyeballs.  Depending on my level of nausea/tiredness on Tuesday I might end up deciding to stay home as well, but at this point I intend to be strong and summon all my fortitude for OBAMA!  

I haven't had the kind of week that lent itself to finding all sorts of juicy links for your weekend -- too much time has been spent napping -- but I did run across this beautiful and moving letter written by Barack Obama to his daughters that I thought would be the perfect note to leave you on as I head to Washington to see him become the 44th President of the United States.   I urge you to read it, and let me know what you think:

Barack Obama's Letter to His Daughters.

How I Feel About My Readers...

I just want to send a huge, overflowing "Thank You" to everyone who left such sweet and excited messages for me (and T and the Kiddo) yesterday.  I am so very moved and grateful for the kind of support, love, and happiness that was expressed as we announce the beginning of a new journey.  

I am in awe of the power of the blogging medium to connect people and create community and I feel so fortunate to have stumbled on such a lovely little corner of the internet where old friends and complete strangers alike can find one another and bond over a shared love of raising babies and enjoying beautiful things.  Whether I've known you for years or just heard from you for the first time, I want to say "Thanks" for being here with me and sending me your love.  It is felt and appreciated, and I love you right back :)

Now for more on what's going on with me:

I am about seven and a half weeks pregnant, making me due at the end of August (woo hoo, here comes a long, hot, big-bellied summer in the City!).  I hesitated to blog about my pregnancy so early, but it has been difficult to think about anything else to blog about!  I'm already reading (new-to-me) books about pregnancy and childbirth and I want to be able to share as I go along.  

Physically, I'm feeling pretty well, all things considered.  I am one of the lucky few who seems to get off fairly easy in the nausea and vomiting department of the First Trimester.  So far, I've just felt tired for the most part and I LOVE to sleep and stay curled up in the bed if possible. This has led to more watching of Sesame Street on YouTube with the Kiddo than I would like to admit, but I'm not going to beat myself up about it.  

We plan to have another home birth.

The Kiddo is doing great, perhaps buoyed by his sudden awareness of all things Big Bird and Elmo.  He is really obsessed with babies right now, and insists on referring to everyone that is his age and younger as a "bibi" (I'm viewing that as a hopeful sign that he is taking well to the news that we're having a baby).  Really, it's all too much for him to grasp right now when I tell him there's a baby in mama's belly, and who could blame him?  It kind of blows my mind too.

Stay tuned.  I hope to update soon...

Word art by Castle, via Desire to Inspire. 

I'm Pregnant

And the adventure with Kiddo number two begins... 

We Have a Winner!!!

The Winner of the Barretzz handmade baby shoes giveaway is....Riki, who said,

"I just love those yellow weekenders!!

What a great find!"

I chose the winner using the Custom Random Number Generator for the first time.  What a cool tool!  Here's the number, as it appeared when it was generated:

Congratulations, Riki!  I want to send a huge THANK YOU to Barretzz for offering such a wonderful item.  

Photo, from here.

Have a Yummy Weekend

Alexandra Grablewski Photography

Tomorrow we're off to celebrate my mother-in-law Riki's 60th birthday at her home in DC.  While we're traveling, getting snowed-on, and partying down, here are some splendid links for you to explore...

You Won't Remember This and You Won't Remember This Either. Unforgettable.

This is why I love the Internet.  Addictive.

New York through the eyes of a great Mississippian.  Indelible.

A tour of Michael Stipe's pad.  Fascinating.

The Julia Child of Unschooling five-year-olds.  Awesome.

Three Kid's Rooms to Love

Some of my recent favorites:

Via Desire to Inspire

Via Black*Eiffel

via Ohdeedoh

Marvelous Giveaway! Pair of Handmade Wool Felt Baby Shoes

Today's giveaway is courtesy of the amazing Etsy seller Barretzz. Barretzz sells these unbelievably cute handmade wool felt baby shoes in an array of designs that make me *swoon* with delight.  To enter, visit the store and leave a comment on this post with your favorite Barretzz item.  The winner will be randomly selected and will receive a pair of baby shoes of their choosing!  (Note:  Boots are excluded from this offer).  

Please leave your comment here by Monday, Janary 12, at midnight, PST.  I will announce the winner the following day.  Good luck, and happy itty-bitty shoe shopping!

I want to send a huge "thank you" to the talented and generous Maria at Barretzz for making this giveaway possible.

Have You Heard?

There is this amazing new (to me!) fabric resource called Spoonflower that allows anyone to custom-design their own fabric!  It's free to sign up on their website, and then you're able to easily upload your own graphics or patterns.  When you're ready to order, fabric is $18 a yard, with no minimum purchase!  

I think this is the universe's way of telling me that it really is time to start sewing already:)

Decor Love

I want to be there with a cup of chamomile tea and a new book.  Via The Nerdy Fashionista.

Snow in Paris

Captured by Garance Dore.

The First Kiddos' First Day of School

Photos here.  Via Politico.

We're SO Down With the Young People

On a total lark last night, we went to see Twilight.  The Kiddo had just fallen asleep hard in the Ergo, and T and I were wandering around on a post-dinner stroll, thinking about how nice it would be to see a movie.  Alas, we figured we would have to wait a while for anything we wanted to see, and by the time we waited for something to start, the Kiddo would surely be awake and ready to party.  But since we were just a block away from our neighborhood cinema, we decided to check the shows and times for the heck of it.  Scanning the board, we were un-enthused by our options (Bedtime Stories or The Spirit, anyone?  I didn't think so).  But then, it hit us -- a showing of Twilight was starting at that moment!  This would be an opportunity to check out a pop culture phenomenon -- and if the Kiddo were to wake up, it would be no big loss to leave.

Well, despite our less-than hopeful expectations, we loved it!  The Kiddo slept soundly through the whole thing, the first time that has happened since he was like, three months old (granted, I had to stand in the back isle and bounce the whole time, but whatevs!).

We enjoyed every cheesy-romantic-fun-creepy-over-the-top moment of the movie.  I almost want to see it again, like all the twelve-year-olds are doing!