The Mamahood

Hot Spot

Last weekend we celebrated our older daughter's 4th birthday two weeks early, in anticipation of possibly quick travel to adopt our younger daughter (HA!). It was our first foray into the whole "book a place, have a party" realm, and let's just say, I'm now a believer.

We hosted our party in StudioKids Art, a cute little studio behind one of the grand old homes in neighboring Glen Ridge...it still felt homey and cozy, but without it being my home that needs to be cozy. The owner, Suzanne, did a great job engaging the kids in a few cool, frog-related crafts. (I heart my daughter for choosing cool, non-commerical themes like frogs and cats for her parties, instead of Diego and Disney Princess.) The kids put on an art show, and everyone applauded as they showed off their collages and clay frogs.

Then we chowed down on pizza, did an ice cream cake, and everyone headed off into the sunset (okay, the midday sun) with their creations, some lollipops and balloons. Including us...no cleanup required.

You best believe we'll be booking another birthday party there sometime in the future (perhaps for younger daughter, once she's old enough to wield a glue stick).

Nursery Eye Candy

Here's a long promised image of our soon-to-be daughter's nursery...we still need curtains, but we're pretty excited about how it turned out. It was a family affair...my dad painted the blue, my daughter and I teamed up on the clouds. The tree, as mentioned before, is actually a collection of stickers from Land of Nod. My mom painted the beautiful birdhouses on the wall, and made the baby blanket hanging on the crib. The desk is an antique that we had custom finished for us, the crib a lovely loaner from a friend (our original crib bit the dust).

The green rug here is a Target special (which one of our cats thought was so grasslike it was like peeing outside...YIKES). And the bookshelf is a nice, solid piece from Land of Nod.

I really love our other daughter's nursery/room, but I think we outdid ourselves on this one.

Being Creative

If you want to know who comes up with creative how-to projects for sites like Kodak Gallery's Idea Center, you've come to the right place. I love coming up with creative projects—even if I never make a single one. I can't lay claim to all of the ideas here, but quite a few of them are mine.

Almost Ready...

Our new daughter will have a cozy place to rest her head...we're just about done putting together the nursery! We'll post a picture later today, but here's one of my favorite details—we made a giant tree for our little one with this cool kit from Land of Nod. We'll be decking it out today with little birdhouses my mom painted, to give it a more three-dimensional look.

Birthday Party Hypocrite

When I first became a mom, I vowed I would never host a party for my daughter anywhere but home: With her summer birthday and our pool-and-patio backyard, it seemed silly to pay a few hundred bucks to have the party elsewhere...plus, I liked putting a personal touch into the party. I thought a Mickey D's or Gymboree party was too cookie cutter for my precious daughter.

Until now...we're now planning to host our daughter's party at an art studio, where all I have to do is address invitations and bring in a cake. Planning my daughter's last two birthday parties was exhausting...and when I factored in the amount of time I'd need to put it together, the costs for the elaborate menu...and calculated the hours obsessing at my per-hour rate, the outside party was a better bargain. And so now I have time to surf the web over and over  to find the best way to make a froggy cake for her.

For the Birds

Our latest arrival is impending, so our family has kicked the house revival into high gear (since you know I won't have time to go through a mountain of paperwork with a toddler and preschooler underfoot). And of course, we have to create a nest where our little one can get cozy. After much internal debate (including our older daughter's insistence that we should decorate the younger daughter's room with her crush's photos), we're going for a bird theme. The room will be sky blue with clouds painted on it, and we're decking the walls with a big tree decal and painted birdhouses. Originally, I had planned to lovingly make a quilt for her bed, but reality has sunk in...since I managed to create one single square in the past six months, I think we're purchasing the cute (and yes, probably vastly overpriced) bird bedding from Pottery Barn Kids (so far, we've picked up the crib sheet and blanket, but still need the quilt and the pillowcase). Beyond the crib, we're getting a storage desk that can double as a changing table for now, and a tall dresser. I hope she'll like it!

Consumers of the World, Unite and Take Over!

During my big battle with Sears over their shoddy service, I developed a new obsession: The Consumerist, a blog all about shopping victoriously (and stopping bad companies from walking all over you). Their best service is their listing of executive customer service numbers and e-mail addresses, which you can use to skip those useless customer service reps and "supervisors" and go straight to the A-list.

Through them, I was able to find the Home Depot CEO's e-mail address, to drop him a line about an issue I've been having with a rebate. (Despite the fact that I've sent them all the information they needed time and time again, they kept saying we were "missing info.") Within minutes, I received a response that I would hear from his office; within 48 hours, I had a phone call from Tori, who said not only would I have my $100 rebate check by the end of this week, but she was sending out an additional $100 gift card to compensate for my troubles. It's nice to see a company actually apologize and try to make amends. Go DEPOT!

Another Thing I Have In Common with Angelina Jolie

Take the Quiz

Apparently, in addition to our shared passion for social issues and international adoption, Angelina and I share a celebrity soulmate. Does that mean that my dear husband could be Angelina's dream date? (I'm sure he wouldn't mind.)

Sex and the City, Redux (Times Two)

The writers' strike left us with slim pickings as far as nonreality TV shows to watch (and there are limits to the number of times I can watch a Grey's Anatomy rerun). So I started checking out the new stuff the networks started trotting out: In particular, I was interested in two virtually identical shows, Lipstick Jungle and Cashmere Mafia. Both were helmed by Sex and the City vets (LJ got the writer, CM got the producer) and featured remarkably similar concepts--longtime friends who just happen to be ultra successful and for the most part, married. Consider them, Sex and the City, 5 years later.

The plot points are so identical, they border on plagiarism: One married pal considers cheating (or does the deed); the working mom has a hard time juggling career and family; someone gets courted by a billionaire. And per usual, one works in fashion/beauty and one in the oh-so-glamorous magazine industry. (Which, I can assure you, is not as glamorous as it's portrayed on TV.) And both star one big, fancy movie star.

So which one got my vote? (And the almost thumbs-up from my husband, who calls them both, "Sucks in the City"...clever, that boy!) Quite clearly, it's smarter to reuse the writer from a hit show than the producer: Lipstick Jungle has the snappy repartee, the smart characters who are powerful (but ultimately, very likeable). Even after the first episode, I could relate. Cashmere Mafia just left me feeling flat...bland and boring dialogue, and cardboard characters who I couldn't care less about.

So if you're looking for something entertaining to while away the hours until the TV folks cobble together brand new episodes of your favorites, Lipstick Jungle is worth an hour investment.

Going "Old School"

Sure, we watch our fair share of Pixar movies and Ni Hao, Kai-Lans...but nothing's more fun than sharing some of my childhood favorites with my daughter. We've just introduced her to the joys of Scooby Doo (or "Scoobs," as she likes to call him), and I love watching her giggle and want to act out scenes from the shows (and unlike her mom, my wise-beyond-her-years baby chooses brains over beauty, and wants to be Velma instead of Daphne).

Our bookshelves are stocked with Beatrix Potter (for now) and Beverly Cleary and Nancy Drew (for later). And watching the Wizard of Oz is a special event in our house, as it was when I was growing up.

So, what "classics" from your youth have you passed on to your little ones?