'Til There Was You

Virginia quotes

tiltherewasyou — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:56:50 +0000

Joanie texted me last week to tell me the following quote from V:
“I dropped my lollipop! Oh well.. maybe a rat will eat it. He’ll probably hold it with his foot.”

To me last night:

“I don’t care about babies.”

me: Oh? Why not?

“Because … they’re flat!”

To Joanie today:

“I want to punch all the time.”

Happy New Year!

tiltherewasyou — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 20:41:47 +0000

Hi all!

We’re back from the Dominican Republic, all in various states of nutbrown, pink or peeling. More on that later!

I realized I never posted the follow-up to the terrible uptown Santa’sperience and that was the pictures Joanie had done at the Queens Center Mall where the nug looks just as cute as can be, and Santa looks like he might actually be old, legitimately bearded and in charge of a group of flying reindeer.

And not to leave anyone out, here is a recent picture of our son!

I hope you all are enjoying 2012 so far!

Wishing you a very merry Christmas!

tiltherewasyou — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 16:35:08 +0000

Hellllllooo, nurse!

tiltherewasyou — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 16:02:28 +0000

As you all know, nursing is one of the most important things a woman can do to nourish and bond with her newborn child. It’s also a time where your boobs swell, your nips want to commit suicide, and the inside of your bra is usually damp and smells like cheese.

If you’re clever like me, you plan to do the bulk of your nursing in the spring/summer to avoid the annoying multi-layered strip-down to get at your gourds. Easy-access is key!

While I think it’s perfectly acceptable to yank your whole shirt up wherever you damn please – be it on line at the DMV or aboard a cruddy Southwest Airlines aircraft – you might desire to pull off feeding time with a bit more style and panache. One of *my* New Year’s resolutions this year is to add 35% more panache to my life by the second quarter.

Here are some outfitting options for those who are nursing, or anyone who wants to be able to easy whip out their boobs (I’m lookin’ at you, South Padre Island! SPRING BREAK!!!)

Wrap Nursing Sleep Bra - $16.98

First of all, get a bunch of these. They are comfy, not constrictive and you’ll find you’ll wear them for way more than just sleeping. At least I did. I don’t think I went back to “hard bras” until I returned to work (with a few exceptions).

Now, if you are going to be wearing any solid colors, or silk, or going to business meetings, or chaperoning any cotillion dances or really anything where you’d rather not have big wet blotches on your chest, get your self some of these. Sure, in a pinch, a wad of tissues or a paper towel will do – but then you have the aggravating and painful task of trying to de-fuzz your nips which is an activity to be approached delicately and with as little friction as possible, much like defusing a roadside bomb.

Nursing pad set - $25.50

These made-to-order pads consist of three pieces of fabric for ultimate nursing comfort: an outer layer of recycled wool (lambswool or merino), an inner layer of cotton fleece, and a layer against the skin of organic bamboo and organic cotton velour.

Donna Morgan Belted Surplice Jersey Dress - $118

I think orange is just fantastic and this dress looks perfectly comfortable without being “pure hobo” – my mom’s (admitted) signature style. The gold belt is a nice touch and could probably almost make up for pumping-at-work (world’s most depressing task).

Stiped Intersection Top - $98 at Anthropologie

I like how this one has stripes moving in all directions as well as a bandage-y effect around the midsection – both will help to camo the lingering “sad bag” where your abs used to be. (Don’t worry! You can TOTALLY get them back. Like, 90% anyway. I’ve seen it in real life! Not MY real life, but someone’s!)

Handmade fleece maternity/ baby-wearing coat - $153

How cool is this? It’s cozy, it expands to fit pregnancy belly,eventual baby, AND those front flaps can shield feeding time.

Tinley Road Long Sleeve Stripe Wrap Dress - $49

It doesn’t get much better than a cheerful basic (faux) wrap dress for 50 bucks, does it?

Santa can’t be bought!

tiltherewasyou — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 21:59:33 +0000

Please remind me next year when I think it’s a super quaint idea to schlep my daughter to the Upper East Side for the ‘Annual Alumnae Santa Picture Day’ at Convent of the Sacred Heart that this is a horrible idea.

First of all – a little clarity – this event is NOT reserved solely for the children of alums, but for CURRENT student/parents as well. Misrepresentation! The line? Approximately as long as 1200 Birkin bags laid end to end. That is a long line, y’all! In addition, the new trend uptown is having a positively 1890s idea about family planning. This means you are waiting for three or four kids in coordinating Bonpoint outfits to assemble themselves around the most anesthetized Santa ever, instead of just one or two. Add to that the Pro-Am DSLR set-ups their screeching mothers bring with them to capture the moment in 18000 Megapixels, and you’re talking some serious chaos.

Some alum coordinator chit-chatted with me briefly while I was waiting in line (45 minutes in… almost halfway there!) and when I suggested they spread the event across TWO days she emitted a light-hearted laugh and said, “Oh that will never happen!” Oh, I forgot “event planning” is not the Catholics’ strong suit. Papal Mass 1997? Probably had the worst hors d’oeuvres in history!

Anyhoo- here are the totally bogus pictures of Virginia scratching a scab while Santa alternately looks out the window/ resembles a convict. Oh and that last one manages to eliminate half of her right leg as well. Great job, guys.

Oh yeah. Polaroids. Thanks.

It’s a Boy!!!

tiltherewasyou — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:05:22 +0000

The new baby will be a boy. My body decided.

Mike and I have been working on our name list and weighing the pros and cons of circumcision. Cons = owee? Pros = conforming, “good enough for the Chosen People!”, teenage girls of the future not going “ewwwwww” when he takes off his pants, no weird flaps I have to lift and clean under / reduction of possible Oedipal complex situation, less dog-like.

What else?! It’s been so long!

family pic at Thanksgiving (Pardon my cowgirl stance?)

V at one of her new fave playgrounds - "Space Park"

I dyed my hair a ridiculous shade of orange-red that is finally growing on me, Virginia helped me bake and decorate some Christmas cookies while being extremely cute about it.
“We can do team work, Mommy! Like Yo Gabba Gabba.” “We’re doing TEAMWORK! I’m helping!”

We also got a tree. Everyday she admires it and says “so beautiful” and points it out to me, Mike, Joanie, and asks if we like it. She likes to talk to the ornaments and re-arrange them and steals the candy canes and try to eat them through the plastic. Tonight Grammy is coming over “to see my tree???!!!” and put the nug to bed as Mike and I will be at my company’s holiday party at Ai Fiori – a restaurant I’ve been eager to gorge at!

Other funny things:

V says ‘hostiple’ for hospital, talks constantly about going to “her office” to “see her boss” and answers questions with “Fer sure” now but then immediately says “Why I say fer sure!?” which makes it even more cute and hilarious.

Nice Print!

tiltherewasyou — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:58:10 +0000

Frost Mountain Picnic Massacre - $60

Not too morbid for a kid’s room, right?

Winter Babies…

tiltherewasyou — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:51:15 +0000

Here are some adorbs holiday goods I have found in my online travels (which are chronic and unstoppable) …

Everyone knows babies don’t have thumbs.

So cute! So nordic!

So scando! So sixteen dollars!

I’m not religious so I’m not entirely sure what advent means from a Christian perspective but I think it means there are 25 days of pre-Christmas leading up to the 12 days of Christmas, making a grand total of 37 Christmas days. Take that, Hanukkah!

Fire is dangerous… pillows are not!

Every little girl needs to feel like a princess at Christmas right? Miss Virginia took this beauty home on Saturday. In this dress she can look forward to being photographed extensively, prevented from eating and drinking liquids of any kind, playing, and probably going outdoors. Fun!

High Tech & Two

tiltherewasyou — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 19:30:42 +0000

Virginia Grey’s Kindle Fire is on the way. Now she can back up off my iPad so I can look at my “recipes.”

Baby on Board!

tiltherewasyou — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 14:54:47 +0000

Well now that the first trimester is over… meet my fetus, y’all!

Due date: April 30, 2012

There were posts I wanted to make during those tiring early weeks but an uncharacteristic need for privacy (not superstition) reigned. So here is some stuff about that time, below…

Earliest I had gone to bed: 7:00pm

Things I craved:

-fondue
-cotton candy
-sour straws
-yogurt
-ramen noodles
-grape juice
-black and white milkshakes

(I still have yet to get my fondue or grape juice but managed to hit everything else on that list.)

Weight gained: Like a pound, I think?

Virginia has heard about the baby and seems unmoved. She talks frequently of “sisters” and of her general dislike of boys and babies, so hopefully I’ll give birth to a 4 yr old girl.