Wednesday, February 27, 2008

The Children Issue

It's here!
It's here!
It's here.

Check out March's The Children Issue for:
THE BEST TOYS
IT'S A JUNGLE IN THESE COOL KIDDIE SPACES
COOL KIDS' PARTY IDEAS
ONE MOTHER'S TALE OF HER FIRST TIME
VANESSA MATHISON TALKS PEACE OF MIND AND HER NEW CLOTHING LINE
SPRING INTO THESE LOOKS
THE BEST BATH AND BODY PRODUCTS FOR YOUR BROOD
THAT'S A DIAPER BAG?
SAVE THEIR LIVES: GET YOUR KIDS INTO FITNESS NOW
THE LATEST PARENTING TRENDS
EAT MORE VEGETABLES—HERE'S HOW
WHAT'S IN A BABY NAME?
GREAT GREEN KIDDIE GEAR
PRETTY SPRING MATERNITY WEAR
FIVE FAB PIECES
WHAT HAS YOUR CHILD TAUGHT YOU?
DO SOMETHING IMPORTANT: SUPPORT MY STUFF BAGS
There's so much good information and so many truly fantastic articles.

Get reading, folks!

Monday, February 25, 2008

D.A.E.D.—Daughters Against Emailing Drunk

Good daughters shouldn't let their mothers email drunk:

"Okay, so there is snow on the ground and I am home with Auggie!
After 2 homemade margaritas, it has occurred to me that it is A LOT of pressure being our age! Ex: don't eat fat, bologna, salami, pastrami,potato chips, salt, sugar, carbs! No flour, no alcohol, no alcohol, no alcohol, no nothing! And of course, no drugs! Nothing but exercise, yoga, clean eating and getting in touch with your inner Oprah! So what's left?

Well, there's the responsibility of your elderly parents who are soon to die or have already; worrying about the fact that the stock market is down......and you are, too; worrying that 1 out of 10 peeps who are upside down on their mortgages. You have to remember not to go out in the sun, wear sunblock with titanium oxide etc., and forget the fact that your waist is expanding, your mind is retreating,and your business is so off! Oh, your hair is thinning, your beard is growing, your feet are twisting, and your sex life is less thrilling than an ice cream sundae (or 3 glasses of wine, 2 Long Island Iced Teas). And I almost forgot that you have to sit back while you watch your adult kids make their mistakes.
And then there's the big decision of which antidepressants to take. How the F *&# do you honor your soul and go after your life's purpose with all that swirling about?

My generation, the "Me" generation, has been duped! Where do we go from here?


Kisses, Your old friend, sister, mother, niece, business associate and bon vivant."

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

It is impressive that all that was done from her BlackBerry.
She's on it more than I am. Oh, dear Baby Boomers, where did your fight go?


Sunday, February 24, 2008

True Colors

I've streamlined my life greatly over the past four or so years. I've had to. Between marriage, moving to the suburbs, divorce, marriage-ish, three start-ups, two mortgages, one child and one on the way and one cold, hard foray into adulthood (of which I went kicking and screaming—on the inside), I realized there's no time to sugar coat, no time to twist the truth for what I perceived as the sake of sparing others (who do I think I am to spare others? why did I think they needed sparing?), no time to be anything but who I am.

For a while, I had to fight my instinct to not tell the truth—be it about myself, my life or some rather insignificant situation. It astounded me that truth telling wasn't always my knee-jerk reaction. My man was the one who would point out that the truth is the way to go. Forget white lies to spare people's feelings or obvious omissions to avoid consequences; just tell the truth. Simple. Easy. He'd remind me that if your life is governed by honorable actions and honest intent, then there's never a reason to feel like your truth is not okay. If someone can't handle your truth, that's their problem. If you act from kindness, consideration, grace and empathy, then you can rest assured knowing that your intentions are pure and it's not your lot in life to make others understand from where you are coming. All you have to do is honor your word—to yourself and others—and you'll never have to slide around the truth or overcompensate with some gratuitous excuse again.

For a good three or so years, I have been living in truth—to myself and to others—for the very most part. I cannot begin to tell you how much more time and energy (actual physical and mental energy) I have regained. Just following through on my word, not being afraid to show who I am and dealing from my own truth have given me wings to soar and a real happiness that I had not previously known.

So, next time you go to fudge an excuse or hold back on expressing yourself or mask your inner thoughts and desires, remember: the truth shall set you free.

From today's Daily Conscious Tune Up:

Most of us aren’t 100% real. We are too afraid to show our true colors, to unfurl the flag of our true thoughts and emotions. We think people would run away screaming if they saw what we really looked like. Or we think they would fire us, drop us, hate us, judge us, tell others, or worse if we spoke from the heart.

Life is too short to waste it being fake.

Today, find the true grit needed to be who you are. Say what’s on your mind. Let your true face speak. The more you accept who you are – and share it with others – the less energy you will need to spend on hiding.

Friday, February 15, 2008

I've Been Locked Inside Your Heart Shaped Box

Ba-humbug!

I was never into Valentine's Day.

If there's any holiday that epitomizes the height of capitalism and modern-day marketing, V Day is it. And despite my reverence for both juggernauts, I detested the manufactured holiday on sheer contrarian principle.

How typical of our Puritanical society to reserve passion and love for one measly day!

How lame of people to fall for it, buying over priced roses, all-too-sweet chocolates in heart shaped boxes and being forced to go out for a "romantic" dinner!

What the hell are these people doing the rest of the year? Do they really need an excuse to give flowers, gorge on chocolate and spend quality time with their mates?

What's wrong with people who aren't romantic all the time? What's wrong with people for whom love and lust and passion and fabulous Godiva open oysters (at lord knows what price per pound) isn't a part of their daily routine?

And then I had a kid.

Oh.

Oooooooooooooooh.

I get it.

Why, if there were a prize for queen of V Day, I'd a been a contender. My daughter, who is just about three, fell for the charade hook, line and sinker. And just who propagated the charade, you ask?

Moi.

From letting her stay up late to watch Charlie Brown's something or other Valentine's Day thingie thing to the two heart-shaped cakes we baked to the ceremonial making of the valentines for her school mates, I helmed the evil empire of Hallmark, marching it right into my house to the complete and total delight of my impressionable toddler.

And then there was all the brouhaha that her school made over the day, in conjunction with the hullabaloo that everyone, from servers to check out girls to bank tellers, incited, the perfect red tea roses my dad sent her and the sweet cards her dad gave her.

There was no escaping the love.

And so, as I sit here, hungover from all the sugar of yesterday's antics, tired from a late "romantic" dinner with my man (note: I cannot remember the last time that we were alone together out of the house) and reflecting on the fun I, on behalf of our Puritanical, brain-washing society, fostered for my wide-eyed little girl, I can't help but feel good about it.

My daughter had a damn good day...and, actually, so did I.

Friday, February 08, 2008

I Want to Be the Girl With the Most Cake



The mom chatter of late has centered around the rising and ridiculous cost of and effort behind kids' birthday parties. First of all, like I said, there's the cost, which is astronomical. Second, there's the guilt over being a good greeny liberal and still giving into the excess that is the kiddie party. And last, there is the fear that these little ones will be as spoiled and, subsequently, f-ed up as we all are.

What to do?

My girlfriend, Nicole, who lives out in LA, just threw her daughter a first birthday party to beat the band. Every detail from the return address labels in just the right font to the personal and funny thank you notes, the Photoshopped party favors (a post-mod compilation of her daughter's fav adult songs done tot-style) to the cake (which should have it's own TV show, it's so stunning) popped—but not in that terrible keeping-up-with-the-Joneses way. Not at all.

From A to Z, the elements of the party had style and flair and self-aware over-the-topness that rendered them hip and fresh sans the creepy. Nicole is a punk rock Martha who wholly understands a good through line and she feted her daughter the only way she knew how: fabulously. Is this so wrong?

What ever happened to the motto, if you're going to do something, do it right?

And anyway, it's really not our faults. Years of reading In Style and Vogue, seeing Colin Cowie specials and watching MTV have honed our aesthetics and raised our expectations. So, it follows that our kids' parties are going to be choreographed better than an Vincent Minelli musical. For Nicole, her daughter's first had nothing to do with filling a void or being a show-off; it was the natural and obvious way she chose to celebrate.

So lay off, all you nay-sayer moms who poo-poo the big parties and the hullabaloo required to pull them off. It's our party—well, it's their party—and we'll do it up if we want to.

Or at least make a slight attempt to join us in our detail-oriented, pop culture-pastiching, everything-has-to-be-juuuuuust-right brigade—so we can feel a little better about the pony rental and the extra cost for the personalized stamps.

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Love, Parenthood Style

V Day is almost here.

Check out these cool lovey-dovey things.

From the romance kits to the champagne, the sexy bra and the cake to the pills and book, you've got insta-Valentine's Day.

Is it a totally corny holiday? Yes. Should you do it up big time anyway. Yes.