A Girl Raising a Boy: What I Want for My Son
I’m a girl whose raising a boy. He’s six now; I’m 34. How can I control the programming for a gender for which I hold no code? I want to sculpt him into a good man. I want to make him tough enough to take the punches and emotional enough to cry when they hurt. I want him to be aware of his happiness first … Continue reading A Girl Raising a Boy: What I Want for My Son
Super Bowl Sunday Pillow Fight
This morning, my two kiddos decided to have a pillow fight. OK, one of them decided and truthfully it was kind of one-sided. In fact, baby’s dad wasn’t really on her side, as you can see in the video below. This lasted for over 10 minutes, but I figure these 40-seconds were enough to get a smile on anyone’s face. The best part is that … Continue reading Super Bowl Sunday Pillow Fight
Bringing Back the Hearts
The blog is called Hearts Everywhere but it had been a while since I had posted anything heart-related. I was having a crisis of blog identity; I wondered if my blog title no longer fit my blog. As a band-aid for my doubt/guilt, my boyfriend suggested I take one day a week and post something heart-related. (If you want to read why I started my … Continue reading Bringing Back the Hearts
Blog-Worthy Dessert
Growing up in a donut shop – and in a family where both my grandmothers were bakers, dessert has always had a leading role in my life. I love baking, but ironically don’t enjoy many baked goods. My favorite dessert – or food for that matter – is ice cream. I eat ice cream on most nights – and often add embellishments. On this particular … Continue reading Blog-Worthy Dessert
I Will Remember this January
I will remember this January as the one with all the snowstorms that didn’t really affect me much. (I had to drive in it once – but somehow didn’t mind; I grabbed my camera and got some good photos on the way.) I felt terrible for the rest of the country, but got annoyed at all the Facebook weather updates and the photos of the … Continue reading I Will Remember this January
The 6-Hour Date Night and the Screenplay that Wasn’t
My boyfriend and I are the type of couple, which up until our daughter was born 7 months ago, would be out at least 4 nights a week. (Not necessarily partying, but always out soaking up the greatest city in the world.) However, since her birth in June, we have been out alone on only 3 separate occasions. Once when we went to see the … Continue reading The 6-Hour Date Night and the Screenplay that Wasn’t
Taking the NaBloPoMo Pledge – One More Time
Two years ago in February 2009, I participated in NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) where I made a blog post everyday. Since then, they send me monthly emails suggesting I try it again. I did it successfully once before (although I was one child fewer last time around) – and have been tempted to try it again. I figured a non-leap-year February is a … Continue reading Taking the NaBloPoMo Pledge – One More Time
Remembering 29-36
This past summer, my new 4-person-family went on a road-trip through New Hampshire and Maine. We spent 5 days in Bar Harbor, home to Acadia National Park. It was beautiful (although not as amazing as Yellowstone National Park, a road trip we did two summers ago and I still haven’t posted pictures.) Nonetheless, the cottage we rented was adorable and it didn’t have a … Continue reading Remembering 29-36
My Sister’s Surprise Party & The Year of the Family
We threw a surprise party for my sister this weekend. It was the second time we were able to do this; the last time being 18 years ago. My goal, on her 30th birthday, was to make sure she realized she was not # 2. She has gone through life doing everything after me – and with a big mouth, a matching personality, and a … Continue reading My Sister’s Surprise Party & The Year of the Family
Finding Bliss in Driving
Driving is fun – when you live in the city and don’t get ample opportunity to hit the open road. Driving is not fun when you have to drive your 8-year-old son to school and back – through Manhattan traffic – three times a week. If it was just in one direction – it would be tolerable. But on Mondays and Tuesdays, I have to … Continue reading Finding Bliss in Driving
Stream of Consciousness Blogging: Can I Do It?
I’m not one of those bloggers that publishes stream of consciousness writing. You know what I mean … more like journal writing or ranting. Not much for sentence structure or even direction. Just trying to type fast enough to keep up with the words my brain is spitting out. In theory, it could go something like this: I woke up this morning and my eyelids … Continue reading Stream of Consciousness Blogging: Can I Do It?
Joining the Divorce Club
For those of us who have been divorced, indubitably at one time or another, we turn the magnifying glass on ourselves and question our judgment. We scrutinize every move, every red flag missed, every sign we ignored. I [thought I] wanted something, I tried it, I gave it my best, and it didn’t work out [according to original plan]. It doesn’t really matter the reason – … Continue reading Joining the Divorce Club
Snow Day Photo Shoot, Hold the Snow
While the rest of the country was shoveling or digging, we were quite warm on our cozy rug. We did an impromptu mini photo shoot to commemorate the happy moment. Then we made a photobook on Shutterfly. Voila. (You don’t need to be a member of Shutterfly to view this; you can just click View photo book on the bottom left.) http://images-community.shutterfly.com/flashapps/flashslideshowphotobook/slideshow_pb.swf Click here to … Continue reading Snow Day Photo Shoot, Hold the Snow
One Order of Happily Ever After, Hold the Marriage
As long as he’s been able to speak, my 8-year-old has been philosophizing, rationalizing and challenging me. He’s not just precocious – he’s insightful, kind and caring. I knew it was just a matter of time before he said something that completely paralyzed my normally loquacious tongue. We were passively watching David Turtera’s “My Fair Wedding,” and the boy asks me, “If you had a … Continue reading One Order of Happily Ever After, Hold the Marriage
Don’t Jinx It:Russian Style
On a recent morning as I was driving my 8-year-old to school, I noted that the usually congested West Side Highway was rather empty. “Look how good the traffic is today,” I said excitedly. Without missing a beat, he comes back with, “Hey, don’t jinx it!” I noticed this had become a trend and I wondered if I was partially to blame. How often … Continue reading Don’t Jinx It:Russian Style
A Piece of Plastic Makes Injections Easier & Less Painful
“You’ll remember this day forever and yet he’ll forget it right away,” the pediatrician told me right before she stabbed my two-month old’s beautiful chubby thighs with the dagger – three times! A mother never forgets her baby’s first set of shots. But this was 8 years later. I felt more ready; I had done my mental preparation exercises. So we get there for her … Continue reading A Piece of Plastic Makes Injections Easier & Less Painful
On the Edge of 2011
The boyfriend is sick with the stomach virus and sleeping in bed. The baby naps in a room down the hall. The older boy is at his father’s house. The house is still and eerily dark. It could be the middle of the night, but it is just shy of 2pm. It is silent except for my nails clicking of the keyboard and the white … Continue reading On the Edge of 2011
The Last Blizzard of 2010: The Wall Street Perspective
The last blizzard of 2010. New York Stock Exchange on Broad Street. NYC. Jake in the snow in front of our building. Stomping through the evenly plowed masses of snow near the stock exchange; Wall Street kept the streets clear for business. In front of the New York Stock Exchange with the Christmas Tree. Pretty crazy that this is our neighborhood. Jake is playing dead … Continue reading The Last Blizzard of 2010: The Wall Street Perspective
Merry Christmas from Wall Street
Are You Mensa Smart?
I always thought I was smart. I always scored in the 99th percentile on all the standardized tests and such. (Although the SATs were a bit more challenging, but I still scored up there.) But the other day there was a short lifestyle segment on the local news about Mensa, the International High IQ Society. To join Mensa, you must have attained a score within … Continue reading Are You Mensa Smart?
And So the Days Go By …
I wrote this over 6 weeks ago and rereading it, so much has changed – especially the ROCKING, which is gone, gone, GONE! Sleep training is a tremendous gift parents can give their children and themselves. I cannot say enough about it – and because it’s such a personal issue, I won’t. I’ll just say that it has revolutionized our baby-centered lives. I am preempting … Continue reading And So the Days Go By …
A New Look, An Old (Refreshed) Commitment
So it all started when I got fired and I realized I didn’t want to just another rebound job, falsely following another golden paycheck. Truth is money never turned me on; all I really wanted to do was write, travel and take photos along the way. This was, as my boyfriend clarified, called “my dream.” (He is a role model for anyone who doubts they … Continue reading A New Look, An Old (Refreshed) Commitment
Watching My Sister at the Restaurant
“It’s a Bailey’s with three ice cubes,” she tells me as she inserts a red plastic swivel stick into the short glass and whisks it away on a small silvery drink tray. “Three ice cubes,” I reiterate, a strain on the three. She gives me a look back as if to say, “You think this request is something? You have no idea!” My immediate instinct … Continue reading Watching My Sister at the Restaurant
Happy Birthday Daddy
To my daddy – on his birthday. I don’t remember every day and neither do you, but between the two of us, we have 36 years of moments. We have memories, anecdotes, stories. I’ve enjoyed the ride of life with a dad who did his share of driving me around when I needed it – and now is happy to sit in the car next … Continue reading Happy Birthday Daddy
Summer Vacation: Week 2 – MAINE
From Hearts Everywhere Week 2 was easier since we were based in one place (Bar Harbor cottage). I highly recommend staying in a rental rather than a hotel when traveling with children. A separate bedroom for parents and children and a kitchen go a long way towards maintaining sanity and recreating any semblance of the much-needed routine they crave. Reading back on my notes in … Continue reading Summer Vacation: Week 2 – MAINE
Summer Vacation – Week 1: NEW HAMPSHIRE
So it took me two weeks of detox to finally go through pictures and find the strength to post notes from our vacation. [Note – that if 2 weeks seems long, I still have not posted notes or photos from last year’s 10-state in 10-day road trip. That trip was sans children and had 5 times the amount of photos. I still haven’t given up … Continue reading Summer Vacation – Week 1: NEW HAMPSHIRE
We’re Back
Here’s what the cart looked like when we unloaded the car. (Car seat and baby not included.) I have notes on our whole trip (and lots of photos to sort through). Will post details of the trip here shortly. Today is devoted to trying to unpack and laundry, laundry, laundry. Overall – no major injuries and we all survived and made lifetime memories. Love my … Continue reading We’re Back
Getting Ready for the 2-Week Road Trip
So it’s my birthday and we spent the day packing for our two-week road trip through New Hampshire and Maine. It will be mommy, daddy, 8-year-old boy and 2-month-old baby girl. On the road. Together. 2 weeks. I feel brave, excited, nervous and slightly crazy all in one. Here’s the plan – and what will happen is yet to be determined: Rent car in Jersey … Continue reading Getting Ready for the 2-Week Road Trip
Baby Goes to an Off-Off Broadway Play
Nobody puts baby in the corner – or as it was in this case – nobody puts baby in the back row, middle seat of an Off-Off-Broadway show. Our 7-week New York City babe has been schlepped all over the city, behaving like a quintessential sweet angel and receiving rave reviews (mostly by us). In her 7 short weeks, she has behaved perfectly through both … Continue reading Baby Goes to an Off-Off Broadway Play
My Inflatable Brest Friend
Picture this scene. Mommy, daddy, and 7-week old baby are taking a lovely walk up Manhattan’s west side on a quintessential summer Saturday. Many of the locals retreat to their summer palaces and so the remaining stragglers are either poorer or tourists. My boyfriend and I set out to explore the newly opened expanded section of Hudson River Park, just north of Chelsea Piers. This … Continue reading My Inflatable Brest Friend
My Sister’s Keeper
“What did it feel like when she died?” Abigail Bresner’s character asks the judge character in the movie, My Sister’s Keeper. The judge, played by Joan Cusack starts to cry and I hit pause on the movie to wipe the tears out of my eyes. I am holding my 7-week-old baby girl and the thought of losing her when she was just 12 years old … Continue reading My Sister’s Keeper
3 Addresses and the Year That Was
The other day I got a piece of mail that had 3 addresses on it for me; two of which were printed on the yellow post office new address stickers. I was dually impressed – both with the post office for keeping up with the mail, and with myself for managing 3 addresses in one year. It led me to reflect on the year during … Continue reading 3 Addresses and the Year That Was
After 8 weeks …
They said not to judge the character of the baby until much later. “She will change – just you wait.” (Winner of the most obvious comment award.) Certainly my daughter will change like we all will change – but her character, an inkling of personality, the crux of what her soul is really all about – won’t. Her character was born along side of her … Continue reading After 8 weeks …
A Girl’s Diaper Change
I’m a girl with girl parts that I’ve had for 35 years and am very familiar with their operation and maintenance. When I had my baby boy 8 years ago, he came with a whole new set of parts – externally hanging ones. I could not relate to these parts, but quickly became a diaper-changer extraordinaire – the baby penis and the balls were easy … Continue reading A Girl’s Diaper Change
I was a Witness?
Two years ago I played the role of a good Samaritan and now I got a subpoena delivered to my home. (Two weeks after having a newborn.) Delivered to my doorman (not in my hands). Without an envelope and left for me to pick up at my leisure. It all began on an August afternoon two years ago when after taking my grandmother to the … Continue reading I was a Witness?
Month One: Check
Throughout life, we’re behaviorally trained to rely on somebody else to tell us that we’re doing a good job. We perpetually seek validation (and reward?) for our actions. First our parents chant “good job” as we learn life’s basics. Then throughout our childhood and our educational careers, we count on teachers, tests and grades to present us with the grand check mark that we are … Continue reading Month One: Check
3 Weeks of Mommyhood-squared
I made it through the first 3 weeks without breaking baby # 2. This second rendition of Mommyhood is entirely different from the first installment, when I was given the title 8 years ago. Gone are the moments (OK, fewer are the moments) when you check on your perfectly angelic sleeping newborn just to see if she’s alive. Gone are the sleepless moments while she … Continue reading 3 Weeks of Mommyhood-squared
Motherhood: Take 2
Every baby comes with its own birth story, and the journey it took to bring it to life. Mackenzie Riley came into this world on a Tuesday morning via emergency cesarean section after almost 24 hours of trying to be induced. She is perfect. For every hardship pregnancy gave me for 41 weeks, she is taking it away by the minute. It only took me … Continue reading Motherhood: Take 2
Flowers, Flowers and More Flowers
Each spring … and every season, actually, I become obsessed with taking photos of flowers. The colors, the intricacies, the secret details. I’ve been doing it for years and never get bored. Here are just some (oh yes, there are many more) snapshots of flowers from New York City this spring. Continue reading Flowers, Flowers and More Flowers
Snapshots in Sepia
I’ve always loved capturing images in sepia. It’s nostalgic, classic – almost like a little black dress. Whenever my pictures don’t seem to convey what I’m truly seeing with my eye, I switch to sepia and it transports it to a peaceful interpretation. Central Park, NYC Same Bench – Central Park, NYC Flower in Central Park, NYC Belvedere Castle, Central Park, NYC Central Park, NYC … Continue reading Snapshots in Sepia
41 Weeks – Seriously?
My first baby (8 years ago) came 3 days early, which duplicitously led met to believe that this one would also arrive a few days before the June 1st day circled red on the calendar. However, here I sit 2 days away from hitting the 41-week pregnant mark and I’m not smiling too broadly. I’m thankful for the little things that could make it much … Continue reading 41 Weeks – Seriously?
39 weeks Pregnant
“Sick” has always been one of my favorite Shel Silverstein poems and I’ve always read it in a whiny complaining voice, which explains why it comes to mind now that I’m 39 weeks pregnant. Everything I say now feels like I’m uttering words to my own version of the poem. I have never been one to wallow in the sickly mindset. Luckily my A+ immune … Continue reading 39 weeks Pregnant
‘Babies’ Trailer
Maybe it’s being 39 weeks pregnant, but I don’t think so … this is human nature at its very core. So amazing. This is a wonderful documentary; highly recommend it – for those expecting – and for those that aren’t. It’s also fantastic to see how the core of what all babies need is food and LOVE. Kudos to mothers around the world for being … Continue reading ‘Babies’ Trailer
King-Sized Bed
NOTE TO READERS: Normally this blog is reserved for transcriptions of my life. However, in the slow, yet determined pursuit of my writing career, sometimes I’m inspired to write outside my box. The below piece, King-Sized Bed is a piece of adult fiction. (I’m not sure if that’s a real genre, but the piece contains adults, adult topics, and adult words such as sex & … Continue reading King-Sized Bed
Finding the Courage to Make Your Dreams Come True
Sometimes I wonder why some people were given the instinctual desire to question authority, culture, rules, society, defaults, the ‘norm’ – and other people were just given the peace to live with complacency of assumed truths. I struggle accepting things like God and regulations without scientific proof or logical explanation. Maybe it’s the journalist in me, or the skeptic or just the Russian genetics. People … Continue reading Finding the Courage to Make Your Dreams Come True
Key to Happiness: Daily Kabbalah
I’m not a big follower of Kabbalah, but appreciate the wisdom I get from my Daily Kabbalah Tune-ups (and yes I wear a red bracelet). Here is one I got recently that really resonated with one of my ongoing preachy mantras: be accountable for your actions! At the end of the day, the key to happiness is taking ultimate responsibility for your reactions to all … Continue reading Key to Happiness: Daily Kabbalah
Twitter: From There to Here
Twitter started as a place to connect. “Real-time information network powered by people that lets you share and discovering WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW?” (And as the seconds go by … now … no, now …) Originally piggybacking on Facebook’s explosively successful Status Updates, Twitter has become entangled into our cultural and pop lexicon. Characters on TV shows are tweeting; talk-show hosts are tweeting; music stars are … Continue reading Twitter: From There to Here
Me as the Crimson Dynamo
> The last thing you’re feeling when you’re 35 weeks pregnant is sexy or cool. However, my good friend David, comic writer extraordinaire, made me feel a little better about myself late last year when he named a character after me in his latest Marvel comic, HULK: WINTER GUARD. In this story, Crimson Dynamo, aka the Russian Iron Man, unveiled his mask to reveal that … Continue reading Me as the Crimson Dynamo
My Second Child
“I worry if I will have enough love in my heart for two,” a friend of mine recently admitted when I asked her if she ever wanted a second child. For those who have had the luxury of more than one child, it must seem like a ridiculous statement – but for those that have been the mommy of one (for 8 + years), it … Continue reading My Second Child
To Breastfeed or not to Breastfeed – That is the Question
I Hated Breastfeeding. There I said it. Go ahead and judge me, critique me, criticize me. It won’t be anything I haven’t already berated myself about – over and over again for almost 8 years. Before my son was born just over 8 years ago I had no question about whether or not I would breastfeed. I wasn’t Earth Mother Extraordinaire nor some would-be Granola … Continue reading To Breastfeed or not to Breastfeed – That is the Question
HeartsEverywhere 