Archive for February, 2011
Keeping your relationship sparkly after baby
I must be more sleep-deprived than I thought. And that’s just with one child. I dread the kind of stuff I’ll forget when our second arrives. I sort of get that whole “I’m more proud of the Oscar my kid earned in Little Gym class than my own achievements” parenting symptom – but I never really wanted to be that selfless.
I was so excited when this happened. So proud. So amused at what my writing looks like in the UK! (Guy became bloke, mom became mum – things just started looking cleverer.) And then I forgot to share it.So, with a typical two-month mom-delay, I present a link to my spice-up-your-relationship-post-baby advice on Glamour.co.uk’s G-Spot (haha! who thought that anatomical wonder would make it to this G-rated site ;).
Anyway, enough of my rambling. Check out Romantic Mum & Dad here!
Little Oscars for little stars at the Little Gym
We just got back from our last class at The Lyttle Gym of Harlem. On the way home, Oliver passed out with his face smushed against the stroller bar. That’s never happened before – and it’s a testament to what a great morning it was. The gym organized “Show Day” to celebrate everything the kids had learned, set up an obstacle course for the “Little Beasts” to show off their skills – and actually awarded golden “Oscars” with the kids’ names on them. (I want an Oscar for hauling the stroller through feet of snow for months on end to get to class, but that’s another story.)
I’ll be the first to admit that, like with most mommy and me classes I’ve taken, I was initially skeptical about The Little Gym. I’m just not so into the cheesy stuff and baby voices. I snarkily laughed as I told my husband about the song (hum to London Bridge tune) “It’s time to put the balls [or other object to be cleaned up] away, the balls away, the balls away! It’s time to put the balls away at The Little Gym.” “Cheesy, much?” thought I.
But now we both sing it regularly because nothing else is as effective in getting even an opinionated 19-month-old with his own thoughts on how to spend his time to clean stuff up.
And then there are the after-class stamps on the hands and feet Oliver proudly shows us for days after the class. And his new ability to walk across a beam, do somersaults, flip over a bar…the list goes on. When he cries in the morning and we tell him we’re going to get stamps at the Little Gym, his mood instantly flips. It’s uncanny. And, I think, totally worth the price of the classes.
So despite my initial eye rolls at the music, the times I thought the activities were too scary (self-inflating, huge mat so loud it honestly frightens me a little), I’d stay it’s been a pretty developmentally cool experience.
And then there’s the fact that Oliver’s first word, bubbles, was said at the Little Gym as the teacher blew thousands of tiny little bubbles at him.
After that, I’d have to say that this Little Gym concept is pretty great. Dare I say I’ll actually miss the weekend morning trek? I dare. Fortunately, I’m pretty sure you can find a Little Gym just about everywhere, even in our soon-to-be-new-home of Boston. Hooray for that.
Cool, whimsical and original kid room art
Last year, as I made my way through the chaos that is Manhattan’s Union Square, I had to stop when I saw a stand with what I think is some of the sweetest, coolest and kid-friendliest art out there. Seeing my reaction, my best friend bought me a print of this giraffe:
It now hangs above my son’s crib and – I don’t exaggerate – instills a surprising sense of calm and well-being despite it’s letter-sized dimensions.
The other day, my love for Kristiana Parn’s art (which, it turns out, you don’t have to go to Union Square to find, but can simply get on the fabulous Etsy.com) was rekindled when, much to my amazement, I found her prints are now for sale at my favorite local children’s bookstore, Book Culture‘s Children’s Room (downstairs).
Who else can come up with marshmallow-eating giraffes and hide-and-seek foxes?? So fun.
I’m waiting ’til we move to our new place and can finally design a proper children’s room to choose the next additions to our Parn collection – but in the meantime had to share this gem of an artist with others. It can be tough to buy art on line, but I can promise that you’ll be thrilled with what comes in that Etsy package. And at 20 bucks a pop, it’s probably the most affordable cool art (other than the stuff they bring from pre-school) you’ll find for your kids.
Baby rocker with heirloom potential!
My favorite part of pregnancy is fantasy shopping. I do this by scanning magazines and cool sites for baby objects that are well out of my league but well within my style parameters, and imagine that they might one day be mine.
So tonight, while perusing an older issue of Pregnancy, I came across NurseryWorks.net and am still sort of swooning. Because have you ever tried plugging “modern glider” or “modern baby rocker” into Google and seeing what pops out? The same one or two decent pieces, and a half dozen things that you’d be embarrased to keep past the nursing phase.
Is it so hard to design a rocking chair that has the potential to become a family heirloom? Something you might want to look at without feeling like you settled on the biggest minivan eyesore in town?
Few companies seem to do it, but I think NurseryWorks has hit the nail on the head with their Sleepytime Rocker. At $700-$1250, you’d have no choice but to declare it a family heirloom. But maybe it’s worth it…
Big World, Little People 