Never Too Early to Start Loving Reading

Being an actor has its perks.  Through the SAG Foundation, for the past few years, I've volunteered as a BookPAL and a PencilPAL.  These programs promote literacy at needy schools and it is one of the most rewarding things I do.  As a BookPAL, I had two third-grade classes that I read to weekly and as a PencilPAL, I'm paired with a fifth-grader as a penpal for the school year.  This year, I was only able to be a BookPAL until the winter break since I was super pregnant with Owen by then.  But being a PencilPAL is a little more flexible, since it's writing letters, and I was able to keep up with it through the end of the school year.  And yesterday I finally got to meet my PencilPAL! 

She's a great kid who loves to ballroom dance, specializing in the quickstep, which is awesome.  We share an appreciation for "So You Think You Can Dance" and we both are dying to visit Hawaii one day.  The school and PencilPALs had a reception for us all to meet and hang out with our pals and Owen got to come along. There was pizza and cookies and sing-alongs and, yes, ballroom dancing.  Turns out the entire fifth grade class has learned ballroom dancing and they taught us all a few moves!  I feel so fortunate to be able to be a part of this program.  This year is its 20th anniversary and I can only imagine all the lives that have been influenced - both the volunteers' lives AND the students' - during that time.

When Owen was born, the BookPALs coordinator sent him a gift of Dr. Seuss's "One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish" and, I kid you not, he loves it. He'll sit and listen to the rhythm of the words and look at the brightly colored drawings.  Because he liked it so much, we gave a copy of it to our friends who have a daughter two weeks younger than Owen.  They came over for a "baby date" this week and told me that she loves listening to the book.  That she giggles along and sits through the entire thing.  Dr. Seuss is powerful stuff, people.  

Owen is about a month old here. We started literacy-appreciation early!
Also this picture really makes me laugh.  He looks like such a little old man.

And, because it's adorable, here's a picture of Owen with his fellow Dr. Seuss-lover.  Happy Friday, everyone!

One Baby Two Baby Pink Baby Blue Baby

An 8-year-old's Tip to Making Friends

At the wedding last weekend, there were two little boys, about eight years old.  They were meeting each other for the first time. Their dads were like, "Hey, have you guys met?  This is Jack*."  And, "This is Charlie*."  The boys shouted their "Hi's"and then one asked the other, "Do you like trucks??"  "Yeah!"  "Do you like monster trucks??"  "Yeah!"  And that was it.  They were friends.  Later seen boogying on the dance floor.

Don't you miss that simplicity??  I think from now on when I meet new people I'll start with, "Do you like wine?  Me too!"  And that will be it.  New friends, destined to tear up a dance floor.

(*not their real names. Because I can't remember them.)

Happy Friday, Everyone!  Enjoy the long weekend!  Any fun plans??  We're headed for a hike later this afternoon to kick things off.  There's talk about going to the beach and maybe even hitting up the museum.  And, of course, throwing some things on the grill.  Hope you all have a great one...and maybe even make a new friend or two!

Three Months Old yesterday!  Time is flying!

Tips for Flying with an Infant: Owen's First Flight!

I've been radio silent this past week - on the blog and in the social media world - because I was afraid I might slip and tip off my nieces on a surprise...

Surprise!

We were coming for a visit!  They weren't expecting to see us - or the real delight - meet Owen until we came for a vacation in July and they've been counting the days.  So when a friend's wedding invite came in the mail for a May wedding, we thought it'd be the perfect chance to sneak into town for a quick weekend and surprise the girls.  There were screams and squeals and all around happy faces when the girls came over for the big reveal.

Getting to know each other

Of course, making all this happen meant Owen's first plane ride!

I was a nervous wreck leading up to the flight.  Would we remember everything?  Would we have enough diapers/clothes/wipes/bottles/formula for the five hour flight?  Would we be able to transport everything easily?  Would his little ears hurt??

All smiles when we landed

Turns out, my baby boy is a flying champ.  Maybe he'll be a pilot.  Although I hear flying with him now, at almost three months old, is the ideal time to do so.  It's a whole different experience when he can crawl/talk/need to be entertained.  So we'll cross that bridge (or sky - har har) when we get there.

In the meantime, here are a few things that helped make flying with an infant manageable!

1.  "Flying With Baby" eBook by Meg Collins
Best three bucks I've spent in a long time.  Meg Collins is the brains behind LuciesList.com, which has the best email subscription ever for expecting and new moms.  I love the info she gives and the way she gives it so when I saw that she wrote an eBook about the ins and outs of flying with baby, I knew it'd be worth a gander.  I felt so much more at ease and prepared after reading her book (which I did in about 20 minutes while the bean napped) and can't recommend it enough if you're flying with a baby anytime soon.

2.  Travel Boppy
This thing is ingeniously made.  The way it zips up and is able to be thrown over your shoulder is awesome.  And the velcro flap that allows you to either wear the boppy on your lap or make a little bed for your baby is especially clutch.  We ended up being able to make a little bed for Owen and he napped soundly until the little girl behind us let out an ear-piercing scream.

3.  Extra Seat
Ok, fine.  This is a luxury.  But if you get lucky enough to be on flight that isn't full, you can ask the flight attendant at the counter if some rearranging can be done. We wouldn't have been able to make a bed for him unless we had an extra seat.  And on the way there, we did.  Some poor couple missed their flight and we reaped the rewards.  A kind fellow passenger switched rows with us when her seatmates didn't show up and we were able to spread out.  On the way back, no such luck.  The flight was overbooked.  But we did luck out and had a very nice and understanding seatmate which made things a little easier.  She volunteered to hold the boppy so I could get up easier and didn't mind when we had to change his diaper (more on that soon).  Also, Owen had a crush on her and would not stop smiling and flirting when he was awake.  Mini-Casanova, this one.

4.  Pre-Portioned Formula
They say to try to feed your baby at take off and landing to help alleviate the pain from their ears popping with the pressure change.  I wanted to make sure that we were prepared so instead of needing to measure out the formula mid-flight, I went ahead and made up baggies of formula and labeled them.  He's doing about a 5 oz bottle every time now but occasionally just wants a snack so I made both 5 oz baggies and 2 oz baggies.  I even color-coded them with the marker I used to label them.  One adjustment I would make next time is to bring a small pair of scissors .  You are allowed to bring scissors with blades shorter than 4 inches in your carry-on, according to the TSA website.  This way I could have cut off the tip of the bottom of the baggie and been able to pour the formula into the bottles more effectively.  Pouring through the ziploc part was more difficult than expected!  I tried it at home with snipping off the edge and it worked like a charm.

5.  Changing Mat
Ugh.  Our planes did not have changing tables in their lavatories.  And Owen made a mess on the flight there.  Baby Boy's poos are not for the faint-hearted and I worried that the fumes would make people want to parachute out if I changed his poopy diaper in the cabin.  So to the bathroom I went.  The flight attendant gave me a large plastic bag to place over the closed toilet seat lid.  I had my changing mat with us to lay on top of that.  It still was one of the more harrowing experiences I've had yet with baby.  He was slipping and sliding in there and I was scared to death he was going to fall on the ground.  He could tell I was stressed and started crying.  But we got it done.  Luckily on the way back he pooed right before we boarded and I was able to change him at the airport!  Pee diapers though?  Watch out fellow passengers, I'm laying this changing pad on the seat and I don't care what you think.  I'm not reliving the plastic-on-toilet-seat-slip-and-slide experience again if I can help it.

6.  Extra Outfits
Houdini-Pee struck again and we had to do a costume change mid-flight.  But even if he didn't pee through his sleeper, you never know when a massive spit-up attack or poo-explosion could happen.  So I had an extra sleeper, an extra onesie, pants and socks packed in our diaper bag...just in case.  And it's a good thing I did!  I also had an extra shirt for myself in case any of the aforementioned bodily fluids got on me.

7.  Snap & Go Stroller
This was a last minute purchase.  I read Meg Collins' eBook and she mentioned that her stroller got broken twice due to gate checks and there is nothing you can do about it.  The airline isn't responsible.  She recommended leaving your fancy/jogger/bulky/expensive stroller at home.  I'm glad I listened!  Having a lighter-weight, simple stroller made a huge difference.  It's definitely going to get its use and then some, on subsequent trips and even on trips to Target, I'm sure!

8.  Baby Carrier
Owen slept through security strapped onto me.  I was able to walk through, hands-free, and they just do a hand swipe to check for explosive residue.  Plus, while he was awake, he loved looking around and checking out all of the new sights.








And those were the key things!  Big thanks to my friends Michaela and Jes, who have both flown with their infants recently and gave advice that eased my mind.  They both agreed that flying with baby was relatively easy and now I agree with them too!  Now, we'll see how it goes in July when Baby Boy may be mobile.  He started turning over on this trip - both from back to belly and belly to back.  And when I told my mom this news, she sent me a page from MY baby book.  Turns out I mastered crawling at five months old...looks like Owen might take after his mama!  Should make for an interesting flight in two months...

Happy Mother's Day!

The mail came yesterday and there was a card for me from my husband's aunt.  My first thought was, "Fun!" Who doesn't like getting a card in the mail?  Then I thought, "But why?" It's addressed only to me and my birthday isn't until next month.  My friend was visiting so this wasn't going on just in my head.  I'm saying all this aloud.  And she's looking at me like I'm crazy.  Because when I opened it, it was a Mother's Day card.  My first one ever.  And I burst into tears.  It didn't even cross my mind that it was a MD card!  My friend, of course, realized what it was immediately.  Oh, Meagan.  Duh!  Later in the afternoon I got a package from my cousin with a little present and Mother's Day cards for me, my mom and my grandma...because they are all here for a visit this weekend!

Owen meeting is great-grandma!

Very excited to be spending my first Mother's Day with my parents and grandmother.  My dad and my hubby are going to make us a big breakfast on Sunday morning and I'm already hungry for it.  But tomorrow is my big gift from my husband.  The grandparents are going to babysit while he and I go to get massages at my favorite spa.  Needless to say, I'm a wee bit excited.

Hope you all have wonderful weekends celebrating the moms in your life.  And if you're a first-time mom, don't be like me and be confused as to why you're receiving a little extra attention this weekend.  Even the FedEx guy spent an extra moment today when he delivered a package.  He asked, "Are you a mom?"  I said, "Yes?" (again confused) and he smiled big, "Well then, Happy Mother's Day!"  Delivering packages AND smiles, that guy.

One last thing before I sign off.  Wanted to share with you a post that has been going around on Facebook. It really touched me and even though I've only been a mom for 11 weeks, I identified with the sentiment.  So for all of you moms out there - new, experienced and expecting - I hope you enjoy it too...

"We are sitting at lunch one day when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of "starting a family." "We're taking a survey," she says half-joking. "Do you think I should have a baby?"

"It will change your life," I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral.

"I know," she says, "no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations."

But that is not what I meant at all. I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes.

I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing will heal, but becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable.

I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without asking, "What if that had been MY child?" That every plane crash, every house fire will haunt her.

That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die.

I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of "Mom!" will cause her to drop a soufflé or her best crystal without a moments hesitation.

I feel that I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might arrange for childcare, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think of her
baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her baby is all right.

I want my daughter to know that every day decisions will no longer be routine. That a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at McDonald's will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming
children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that restroom.

However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother.

Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself.

That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. That she would give herself up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years, not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs.

I want her to know that a cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor.

My daughter's relationship with her husband will change, but not in the way she thinks.

I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with his child.

I think she should know that she will fall in love with him again for reasons she would now find very unromantic.

I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel with women throughout history who have tried to stop war, prejudice and drunk driving.

I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike.

I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or cat for the first time.

I want her to taste the joy that is so real it actually hurts.

My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. "You'll never regret it," I finally say. Then I reached across the table, squeezed my daughter's hand and offered a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings.
Please share this with a Mom that you know or all of your girlfriends who may someday be Moms. May you always have in your arms the one who is in your heart."

~Author unknown

Happy Mother's Day!

A Few Highlights: FREE Museum Pass, Family Visits and Date Night

Long time, no blog!  This past week my computer was having some technical difficulties (it wouldn't connect to the internet) so I had a little vacation from technology.  Which actually worked out well because it coincided with my brother and sister-in-law's visit to LA!  It was their first trip out here and it was a great one.

Proud Aunt and Uncle

Owen is the first nephew for both of them and they reveled in the role.  In addition to hanging out and watching Owen do his baby thing, we went to the Santa Monica Pier, several museums, out to eat, shopping and did a lot of walking.  Whoever said no one walks in LA never met us.  

One of the highlights was going to LACMA (The Los Angeles County Museum of Art).  We had plans to go and check out the art work anyway and we found out an additional perk:

Cultured Baby

The  NexGen Program!  LACMA is the only museum in the country to offer a FREE youth membership to it's young members.  Which means for the next 18 years, Owen gets to go to the museum for FREE and the adult accompanying him also gets in FREE.  Which means both of us get a FREE trip to the museum, any time we go together. I keep capitalizing the word FREE because it was so exciting for me to find out.  This is a museum with works from Picasso, Dali, Matisse, Warhol and Van Gogh, to name a few.  They have an Egyptian exhibit and a pavilion for Japanese art.  It is world class and huge.  I've always said it would take much longer than a day visit to take it all in.  And now we have eighteen years to soak it up.  If you're in LA and you have children, you HAVE to take advantage of this program.   I'm so excited to expose Owen to some of the greatest art in the world.  I know it seems early to get this excited but he actually does love to look at art.  Bright colors and patterns capture his attention.  I'm not joking when I say I'm going to try to make a weekly trip there.  It's never too early to start art appreciation!  Any LA mamas want to join me??

Another exciting part of last week?  

Our first date night!  Uncle Greg and Aunt Steph offered to babysit so we could go out to dinner, just the two of us, for the first time since Owen was born.  We were nervous about going somewhere without him (typical first-time parents) but we got over it and went to one of our favorite spots nearby.  We pretty much talked about Owen and parenthood the whole time we were out (typical first-time parents) but we enjoyed reconnecting over some pasta and wine.

The enforced technology break was full of family and connection and I loved it.  But now that the visitors are gone and the rain falls outside and baby sleeps...I'm glad to be back posting!  Happy Seis de Mayo, everyone!