Make It Work, baby!

November was a difficult month. I had my large Annual Conference at work - the culmination of a year's worth of preparation, immediately preceeded by a few frantic weeks of "Did we remember this?" and " When will those be shipping?" and "Did you get all the presentations in?"  Yeah,  fun times. So glad it's all over. We traveled to San Antonio and I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't get any pictures of my DS, who came along with my mother. Many thanks to her for coming with. People seemed shocked that I would bring my mom and son, but when you're nursing an infant, it's very difficult (on the mind and the body) to be away for an extended period of time. The four days away would have been four days too many. It always amazes me how so many parents want to "get away" from their babies. For parents of multiples, colicky babies, and those with older children - it's certainly understandable. But a normal infant? I do...

I've been using cloth diapers on my son since he was born. It was an easy decision for me - I have substantially younger brother for whom I changed many, many diapers, and my mother mostly used cloth. Cloth diapers have come a long way in the decade and a half since my brother was born.  There are countless types, some extremely easy for the novice user, and some more complicated; some plain white (or undyed) and some with the cutest prints you can imagine. I could go on for ages. Today, while hanging out in my newest forum addiction, Diaperswappers , I stumbled upon a link to an awesome tutorial for turning a t-shirt into a diaper - without sewing a stitch. This is extremely intriguing to me, because I don't have a sewing machine right now but am interested in having my own stash. I've been using a diaper service mostly (apartment laundry rooms are no fun), but the allure of the cute diaper is always there. Check out the tutorial for yourself . I will probably try this o...

This is (sort of) older news, but still important for me to post here. As I mentioned, I'm a fan/growing advocate of babywearing. But, babywearing can be dangerous - even deadly - if you're not using the proper equipment with the proper instruction. Infantino Slingriders are one of the most popular baby carriers on the broader market, and they are hands-down the most dangerous. Read the consumer report blog post here . I would go into more depth, but instead I'll link to a great blog post from a fellow babywearer . And here is an excellent, scientific explanation with pictures as to why these slings are dangerous and deadly. If you know someone who uses one, please let them know it's not safe. There are many affordable alternatives that are MUCH more comfortable.

I have a full-time job away from home. I also have a part-time job in my home. But on Wednesdays, those two worlds collide just a bit and I get to telecommute from home for my full-time job. Telecommuting is a fabulous thing. I can sit at my computer in a tank top, sweats and slippers, sipping tea from my favorite mug, and working on as many projects as I can handle. More employers should get with the program and let their employees work from home at least once a week. For me, I'm even more productive on my telecommuting days than otherwise. Instead of lollygagging, I'm focused with a set of tasks to complete for the day. Partially I think it's that accountability factor. If I can't show that I'm getting work done at home, I won't be able to keep this gig. So I get more done on Wednesdays than any other day of the week, without leaving the comforts of my own home. It's a pretty sweet deal.  My husband's cousin is our babysitter, and she comes up by tra...

It's raining outside and I can't go out to play. Why do we need the rain, anyway? I hope the rain clears up by Saturday. This will be my first Halloween as a mommy, and I bought Adrian a super-cute monkey costume. I justified it to myself by forming some vague plans about taking pictures with pumpkins and using those for our 2010 calendars (Christmas gifts for the Greats). I still have no concrete plans, other than a chancy babywearing get-together that may be canceled/postponed due to weather. Speaking of Babywearing , allow me to educate the uninformed. I'm a novice babywearer at best, but essentially it's as simple as it sounds - wearing your baby in a carrier of some type on your body. Most people that you see babywearing are sporting the ever-present Baby Bjorn or something similar. There's been a lot of debate and some research over the safety of these that I won't rehash here, but I will admit that a Bjorn was my first carrier. It was a hand-me-dow...

I've finally decided to (re)join the blogosphere. I started out with blogger back in the day, taking my diary online with plenty of teenage musings and angst. I posted about my daily trials and travails (homework and boyfriends and college Oh My!) for years, fading out slowly as I completed college, joined the "real world," and got married. I've been toying with the idea of writing again for many moons, but a quick glance over my old blogs made me realize it was time to strike out for new land. This blog will focus on my new life as a mother, wife, and worker bee in our nation's capital. I'm always striving to find and maintain a balance between life's Wants and Needs, which change drastically once you add children into the mix. It's a perilous path that parents tread, and this is where I'll be hashing out which steps to take and which ones to skip. "Make it work" is a ubiquitous phrase in our culture, especially for fans of Tim Gu...