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Parenthood: Early Days
Leaving the house for the first time after giving birth was like slipping into another dimension. I went out of the house for the first time five days after my daughter was born to buy a few button-down tops in hopes of making nursing a little bit easier. My lower back ached and my legs felt cartoonishly heavy. I trudged the streets slowly, bleary eyed and disoriented. I have walked these streets to do my…
Testing 1, 2, 3
Near the end of September I had scheduled Sean to have a psychological evaluation. It was part of criteria the county was requesting. As Sean gets older, I’ve come to realize that I need to have steps and measures in place to help him navigate and be as successful as he can be in society. Any type of evaluation with Sean can be difficult at best. Saying that, I must let you know how well he…
Something of Her Own: Dance Class for Daughter
Before I became a mother, I travelled, performed, wrote, and photographed to my heart’s content. In my first year of motherhood, I struggled to keep momentum with any project. I couldn’t seem to get anything off the ground. Not just creative projects, but also generating any income for myself. I didn’t have the time and I didn’t have the childcare. I write a lot about this time because I remember being so disoriented. I couldn’t…
Preschool Preparation
In the past couple of months, I’ve blogged about adopting our son, being a new mom and the mom of a toddler, as well as blogging about firsts that have come my way. This blog deals with preschool. Since the Littlest E starts preschool this week, it’s only fitting to write about practical and emotional preparation. I heard or read somewhere that it’s best if your toddler is familiar with the preschool surroundings prior to…
The Only Child…How Others Shame or Scare Us Into Getting Knocked Up
It, apparently, never fails. Your first child (with whom you remember staying up many nights, pumping pumping pumping, nursing, pumping, nursing, being terrified of everything, etc like it was yesterday) hits the age of two and your relatives begin to look at you with meaning in their eyes. Sometimes they nudge you and say things like “Look at how CUTE girls clothes are. Boys’ clothes just aren’t exciting. Don’t you hope the next one is…
Sometimes “Mom” Isn’t Enough
In my last blog, I wrote about the loneliness that came with being a new mom. In this blog I’d like to focus on the massive transition it was to go from being in the work force for nearly 30 years, to becoming a stay-at-home mom at the age of 45, and what helped me through the transition. Over the years when I was working, I had several jobs: waitress, comedy traffic school instructor, event…
Moving Beyond The “New Mom Lonelies”
In my first two blogs, I wrote about our journey to becoming parents, and our decision to do international adoption. When we brought our son home from Ethiopia, my husband and I didn’t want to do too much those first couple of months. We wanted to make sure The Littlest E (for Elliott) knew we were his parents, his “go to” people. We took the necessary time to nest, nurture and let our son get…
I Am A Stay At Home Dad
I am a stay at home dad. That simple statement is the answer I give when someone inquires into what I do. Ninety-five percent of the time the reaction uttered is one of surprise. Since being the at home parent since 2008 I thought by now I would get use to that reaction. It’s not a new phenomenon. I assume those that have asked are familiar with the term stay at home dad. I guess…
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