Lawyer Mama

Strange Coincidence

I have a new review up for Hanes Comfort-Fit underwear for kids on Lawyer Mama Reviews.  I know you're just dying to hear about my little nudist (Hollis) and whether he actually kept the underwear on!

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I also have a new post up on D.C. Metro Moms, detailing the rules of the world according to Holden, my two year old.  He's quite a dictatorial ruler.

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The strangest thing just happened to me as I was pulling up Typepad to write a new post.

My cell phone rang and I answered it without checking the number.  The woman's voice on the other end said "This is your Aunt Lisa!  Ryan wanted me to call and let you know that Peyton Matthew was born 33 minutes ago.  He was 7 pounds and 5 ounces!"

My cousin Ryan is in the Air Force and currently stationed in the Azores, where he's living with his wife.  I found out they were expecting their first child at my grandmother's funeral in March.  It actually helped a bit, knowing that my grandmother had heard the news before she died.

I was so excited for Lisa and congratulated her and asked how she was doing and if she was excited about being a grandmother.  We chatted for awhile and she sounded a bit hoarse, as if she'd been screaming all day.  I asked her if she'd been sick and she said "No" and sounded a bit puzzled.  Then I asked her if Ryan was back from the Azores for the birth or if he would be back in the U.S. soon.

Puzzled silence.

Then Lisa asked, "Why would he be where?  What is Azores?"  "Hold it.  Who is this?"

Me: "Umm...this is Stephanie.  Is this Lisa L___?"

Lisa: "No. You aren't my niece, Shannon. I must have dialed a wrong number!"

Then we laughed at the incredible coincidence that this "Lisa" called me, with a phone number ending in a 2 instead of a 6, and a cousin named Ryan expecting a baby very soon.

I congratulated her again on her new grandchild, and she congratulated me for my new cousin-to-be, and we hung up with smiles in our voices.  I could hear someone howling with laughter in the background.  It just reminded me how much we all have in common on this third rock from the sun.  Despite differences in background, politics, or culture, the human experience is universal.  The joy we feel in new life always amazes.

LeapFrog TAG: A Must Have!

I have a review of the new LeapFrog TAG, and the Savvy Source Quiz you see over there on the sidebar, up on Lawyer Mama Review.

Go check it out!

SEX

The D.C. Metro Moms are talking about sex today. In fact, allllll of the Silicon Valley Mom sites are discussing sex. Nothing but sex, sex, and more sex all day long.

If that doesn't intrigue you, I give up!

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I also have a review of a new Discovery Channel Store game, Rapido, up on the new and improved Law(yer Mama) Review. Well, it's almost new and improved. I got it up and running but none of my bells and whistles and shiny badges are there yet.

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I have one more action item, due to my airheadedness.  (Like how I made up a word.)  I listed the URL for the New and Improved Lawyer Mama Dabbles incorrectly a few days ago.  Oops.

I have new pics up if you'd like to check it out in the CORRECT location!

Rockabye by Rebecca Woolf

It's always exciting when a blogger publishes a book. But Rebecca Woolf's new book, Rockabye: From Wild to Child, was even more exciting to me. Rebecca writes the wildly popular blog Girls Gone Child. I have to admit that I am not a devoted Girls Gone Child follower. I read Rebecca's blog occasionally. She always makes me feel something and I've been struck many times by what an outstanding writer she is.

No, I've been dying to read Rebecca's book ever since an encounter I had with her last year at BlogHer. Joanne, Pundit Mom, introduced us and I immediately moved into blogger small talk mode and started talking about her blog. But unlike 90% of the population, I could tell that Rebecca was uncomfortable talking about herself, uncomfortable at the BlogHer cocktail party, and even more uncomfortable with the idea of being a Rock Star Blogger. As an introvert myself, I immediately understood Rebecca's discomfort and wanted to put her at ease.

I liked Rebecca even more that night when I somehow ended up in a conversation with her and Bite My Cookie about plastic surgery. I was thrilled that both of them were willing to talk to me about it candidly. But if you want to know Rebecca's position on that, you're going to have to read her book!

To get to the point, when PBN gave me the chance to review Rockabye, I was thrilled.

Rockabye is Rebecca's story of becoming a mother. She writes honestly about her unexpected pregnancy, her wonder over her son Archer, and her ambivalence about her new role as a "Mommy." One thing I love about the book, and about Rebecca, is her complete indifference to what everyone else is doing. She forges her own path, and that comes through in her book.

But the most compelling thing about the book is, of course, Rebecca's writing. She has a gift with word pictures. She brought me into her life and, even though we have very little in common on the surface, I found myself strongly identifying with her turbulent emotions as she passed through early motherhood. A scene you absolutely can't miss is Rebecca's description of child birth and seeing her son Asher for the first time. It's an amazing piece of writing and a powerful passage. I find myself thinking about it from time to time and I've had to go back and read it again.

So if you haven't gotten the jist of this review yet, GO BUY ROCKABYE. I want Rebecca to keep putting out books, so buy a few copies for friends too!

Keep Climbing

I have new reviews up on Lawyer Mama Review. Remember Highlights magazine from when we were kids? Well it's still around and I'm reviewing High Five, a Highlights magazine for the preschool set. To go along with that, PBN is having a Blog Blast TOMORROW where you can win a free year's subscription to High Five or Highlights magazine. Go check out how you can play.

I also have a review up for a new book with a mystery and a twist at the end. If you like psychological drama, you'll love the Liar's Diary. Of course, the title intrigued me because I'm a blogger, but this writer also has a blog that you'll love.

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Later on you'll ask me, "Why all the feet, Mom?"

I have an answer. You see, I blinked and suddenly you weren't a baby anymore. I can see it in your long, lanky boy legs, your face, your once round tummy, the way you run, and your feet.

You no longer have the chubby little feet of a baby. You have the feet of a boy; made to run, to climb, to walk away.

I want to remember them always, just as they are now.

Who Knew Bob The Builder Could Be So Fascinating?

My three year old is obsessed with construction and all things construction related. Every morning we drive by a construction site near our house and Hollis comments on the progress. Heaven help them if the workers aren't there (even on a Sunday). Hell hath no fury like a three year old who can't get his crane fix.

"Where are the guys, Mommy? WHERE ARE THE GUYS!?"

I can't even tell you the raptures Hollis went into when T rented a backhoe for a weekend to work on a drainage issue in our yard more than a year ago. To this day he still tells us that we need to go to the tractor store and get him another tractor.

If you'd like to continue reading about the coolest Bob the Builder video evah, click on over to Lawyer Mama Review.

When Did I Become The Adult?

I have a new review of The Ultimate Tea Diet up on Lawyer Mama Review. I was skeptical going in, but it really works. Go check it out.

I also have new photos up on Lawyer Mama Dabbles. Well, they're not exactly new, but what I did to them is! Want to see a vintage Holden? How about a chocolate and lilac Hollis?

Finally, I have to thank everyone for your emails, comments, and hugs since Pandy got sick. Hell, I have to thank all y'all for your unflagging support all the time. I neglect your blogs for weeks at a time. I post sporadically or post only nonsense and you keep coming back just to let me know you're listening. You open up your homes to me (yeah, I'm looking at you, Joanne and Heather!). You call me and send me your phone numbers. Or you just let me know that you're there.

You have no idea how much all of this means to me. Or maybe you do. Either way, there's a house next door to me for sale if anyone wants to buy it. I'd be thrilled to have any of you as neighbors. And for me, that says a lot!

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Last night was the culmination of weeks of dread. Ever since we got that little slip of paper from Hollis's preschool, I've been nervous as hell. The reason for my anxiety?

Parent Teacher Conferences

That's right. For 3 year olds.

As a child, I was never worried about conferences. I was a nerd model student. Even if I hadn't been, I can usually handle criticism. (Cognitive dissonance works great. You should try it.) But the thought of listening to someone tell me what my baby is doing wrong makes my heart race and my brow break out in a sweat.

It's not that I think Hollis is perfect. To the contrary, I know he's not. I know he's the youngest in his class and that he's probably behind most of them. I know that he's an introvert but he tends to get pumped up and rowdy (and stop listening) when he's in a comfortable environment. I don't know which option frightened me more, hearing that he was completely comfortable to the point of disobedience and insolence or hearing that he was too shy to fully participate.

Well, having actually been in his classroom and witnessed The Toddler in his native habitat, I knew it was more likely we'd be hearing about behavior techniques to get him to listen. I just don't want to be the mom to "That Child." Not that I think we couldn't handle it, but knowing that Holden is far, far worse than his brother, I would be completely freaked out to discover that Hollis is a behavior problem in school!

Plus, every time I go into school as Hollis's "mother" I feel like a teenager masquerading as a parent. Does anyone else feel like this or is this some bizarre personal psychological reaction to schools and bulletin boards?

Hollis's teacher also keeps asking me to call her by her first name and I, stupidly, keep calling her Mrs. N and writing "Mrs. N" on notes to her. I probably make her feel like a grandmother masquerading as a teacher, but really, when did I become the adult? I still feel like I'm not allowed to call a teacher by her first name!

Anyway, it turns out that my fears were groundless. Hollis's teacher told us that, yes, he is young and has a few problems with things a few of the kids have mastered, but he's constantly showing improvement. Hollis is happy and cheerful and obedient (for the most part) and plays well with the other kids. Whew! I mean, we knew Hollis was happy, but it's nice to hear confirmation from his teacher. And to hear that she likes him. We all want our children to be liked, don't we?

At the end of the conference, Mrs. N shared something with us that she calls the "Tell Me" sheet. It's a list of questions she asks the kids and then she records the answers. It starts with basic things like name, age, favorite color, etc.... (By the way, Hollis is still insisting that he's 5. At least he's consistent.) Then she asked him things like, "What makes you happy or sad?" and, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

Hollis, to his credit, didn't answer the, "What do you want to be?" question. Honestly, I wouldn't know how to answer if you asked me and I'm 35. How do you answer a question like that? "I want to be happy/thin/tall/a princess/a fireman?" I don't know. On the way home, I decided to ask Hollis the question again, worded a bit differently. Being a creative genius, I asked Hollis, "What do you want to do when you grow up?" My literal-minded toddler answered without missing a beat, "Drink coffee and soda."

That's my boy!

There were a few answers on Hollis's "Tell Me" sheet that cracked us up. For the question, "What do daddies do?" Hollis answered, "Go to work and eat chocolate. I went to Daddy's office and he gave me some chocolate and it was yummy and crunchy." Clearly the kitchen in T's office has made an impression.

In response to, "What do Mommies do," Hollis replied, "Take baths and eat popsicles." Oy. It's time to start indoctrinating the toddler. Does anyone have a copy of The Feminine Mystique that I could borrow? Or maybe I should start out with some Wollstonecraft? Do they publish A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in a picture book?

Hollis redeemed himself towards the end though. His answer to, "What is pretty?" was "Mommy and her smile." Say it with me now, everyone, "Awwwwwwwwww!" When his teacher followed up with, "What makes her pretty?" Hollis's response was, "Her hair and her hair clip."

T was a little disturbed about Hollis's public acknowledgement of his obsession with my accessories. The kid loves to wear my necklaces, hair clips and headbands, and shoes. Clearly, there's hope for my boy!

3-2-1- Blast Off!

I love the Discovery Channel Store. They always have the coolest toys, for grown ups and children. In fact, my husband has a robot and a remote control helicopter from the store sitting in our sun room right now. We've both been eying the talking globe for some time, trying to figure out just how old the boys need to be before we can justify buying it for ourselves the kids.

So when PBN gave me the opportunity to review one the Discovery Store's latest pre-school toys, I was thrilled! Discovery Store didn't disappoint me. Paz's Lift-Off Rocket is pretty cool. Read More....

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The DC Metro Moms are discussing breastfeeding and boobs today. Pop on over and check out the discussion.

HP Photosmart Compact Photo Printer

I take far too many pictures. I've taken more than 5000 photos since Hollis was born a little over 3 years ago. That averages out to about 4-5 every day for his entire life.

That's the wonder of digital photography. You can take a million photos and just print out the best ones instead of just praying that at least 1 photo on your roll of film came out all right.

But if you're anything like me you no longer have time to print out those "best" photos. I'm a scrapbooker. So for the first 9 months of Hollis's life I diligently printed out photos and created original scrapbook pages for each milestone in his infanthood. But when Hollis was about 9 months old, I really entered the throes of my second pregnancy and the paper scrapbook fell by the wayside. Hollis's scrap book stops at 9 months and Holden's never really got started.

Read More....

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The brand new New York City Moms Blog has officially launched! Go check out all the great writers.

I Gave Birth To A Goat

My Little H will eat anything.

Unless it's supposed to be eaten and is served to him on a plate.

Rocks? Eaten them.

Sand? His digestive tract is well exfoliated.

Grass? Dirt? Small twigs? Money?

Check, check, check, and $0.37.

When my parents were watching the kids he ate the TIVO button off of our remote:

Then, he devoured part of a flashing super ball:


My parents were horrified. See, no one really believes me when I say Holden is a goat until they experience it for themselves.

At our local farmers market, he got a free stress ball shaped like a stalk of broccoli.

Ate it:

See that white part down at the bottom of the stalk? (Click to enlarge.)

As for actual edible things, if it doesn't involve french fries or come from Starbucks, he's not touching it. Read More....