Alabaster Mom

Yesterday I took my daughter to a department store in order to buy a suitcase for P. He needed a new one for our upcoming vacation trip because his old one has broken wheels, a broken zipper, and very low self-esteem in general. While I was there, I browsed for a new top for myself. I had a coupon, ya'll. The kid was "helping" by pushing our shopping cart (which had the suitcase in it).  We were in the women's section. "Let's go over here," she said, and started to steer the cart towards the plus size racks. "I want to stay in this section," I replied, guiding the cart back towards the jeans I was fondling. While I surely have had my struggles with my weight, thus far I have not required plus sizes. Honestly, I'm not even sure why it needs to be a separate section. Why not just put all the clothes together and have a full array of sizes in every style? "Why don't you want to shop over there?" A asked. Oh geez.  How to sa...

I've had to listen to this at least 800 times a day for the past five days. I think it's only fair to share the joy.

I think I've gone all New Age-y. Or maybe I'm turning into a hippie.  Proof: 1. I got up at 4 a.m. yesterday to participate in a solstice celebration yoga session. I did yoga by candlelight while two drummers banged out tribal rhythms.  I have to say I really enjoyed it. I got to bang a drum on my way out, too. I wish I could start out every day this way. I think I need a drum. 2. I am not wearing patchouli, but I did buy a patchouli-scented tart at Yankee Candle last week. 3. I bought Almond Milk instead of cow's milk yesterday. (On purpose) 4. I wore a full-length broomstick skirt on Saturday. Next up, I start investing in crystals, giving tarot readings, and talking an awful lot about my chakras. Is Phish still touring?

This CNN opinion piece made the rounds on Facebook last week. In a nutshell, the author's goal is to encourage uninvolved fathers to rethink their role in their children's lives. His primary target is the dad who works during the week, plays golf on the weekends, and seldom takes an active role in parenting. As the world's grown-ups have often noted, kids grow up very fast and before you know it, your offspring is off at college or perhaps living with an unemployed tattoo artist named Smudge in a one-bedroom apartment in a bad part of town. I am happy to report that my husband is not an inattentive father. Yes, he spends too much time playing games on the PS3, watching "Farscape" on Netflix streaming (remind me to tell you sometime just how much I hate that show), and reading comic books.  But, he does spend a lot of time with his daughter. He helps her with the zippers on her dress-up clothes. He carries her when she wants to be carried. He takes her to the pa...

Bathtub Art What I love about being a mom: Seeing all the trappings of childhood in my home. At the end of the hallway is a colorful bedroom full of stuffed animals, Barbies, and magic markers. At this very moment, there is sidewalk chalk all over my driveway. One of the drawings is of me (I must say I look very svelte, too!). Hearing my daughter's voice on the phone and being reminded of just how young she still is (do they sound younger on the phone or is it just me?) Knowing that sometimes, all she truly needs is my touch. I know that sounds corny but it's pretty cool to know that I have the power to soothe and to fix stuff, just by holding my baby girl in my arms. Getting to see all the kids' movies that come out. Before A was born, I was often tempted to rent a kid so that I could see animated movies in the theater. (P gamely came along to see Monsters Inc and some of the Muppet movies with me, though). I still laugh out loud at certain lines from Toy Story....

The kid and I spent the weekend out of town. We had signed up to volunteer at a pet expo on Sunday, so we made a weekend of it and stayed overnight on Saturday (the expo was held a couple hours away from where we live). I got a room on Priceline, and fortunately the hotel had a pool.  We headed out Saturday morning after my Weight Watchers meeting (I only lost a 1/2 pound, but it's better than a poke in the eye, so I'll take it).  I had planned to leave earlier than we did, but when you have to yell, "PUT YOUR SHOES ON!" at someone for 45 minutes straight, your travel schedule tends to unravel a bit. We drove to our destination and had lunch at a deli/ice cream parlor. The restaurant has a carousel out front so of course she had to ride that. I would have ridden it with her except that she told me I had to stand by the gate and hold her blue moon ice cream cone. Thank goodness she left me with a flavor I don't like. Had it been chocolate or mint choc...

As you know, I'm a vegetarian. I've been a vegetarian since I was a teenager and I'm an old lady now, so I'll let you do the math. In most social situations, I tend to keep my eating habits on the down-low.  I don't want people to feel awkward if they eat at a restaurant with me, for example. I don't really like answering the questions about the whys of it all, because it always seems to come along with the unspoken sentiment that I'm not right in the head. I also don't want my friends to feel like I'm holier-than-thou or that I believe I'm somehow more evolved than they are.  However, I do think I've made it a point to take a hard look at what really goes on in the world (on factory farms and in the slaughterhouses) whereas many find it easier . . . not to look. Certainly it would be easier if I fed my child hot dogs and pretended I didn't know what went into them. Wait, no one actually knows what hot dogs are made of, right? I'll ...

A friend of mine sent me this blog yesterday: Wave At The Bus  If you haven't seen this site previously, be prepared to lose a solid afternoon looking through the posts. In a nutshell, a dad in Utah decided to wave to his teenaged son's school bus every morning. In costume. How he came up with 170 themes, I have no idea. The icing on the cake, to be sure, is the fact that this dad has a peg leg and works that into a few of the outfits. There's no parent alive who wouldn't think that embarrassing a teenager isn't the funniest thing ever. The dad and his wife claim that the kid doesn't mind, which may or may not be true. My parents delighted in embarrassing their children. Sometimes just the threat of it was enough. My stad has worked at an Irish pub ever since I was a kid. St. Patrick's Day has always been a big deal at the restaurant, of course. When I was in high school, Pop somehow got his hands on a green tuxedo and promoted St. Patty's Day by stan...

Well, my daughter passed Kindergarten and is now a proud first grader. She's particularly psyched about the fact that first graders are permitted to check out three books at the school library (instead of just one). This is awesome because I was really hoping to have a few more things to keep track of next year. We got her final report card yesterday. Her grades were generally good, mostly 3's and 4's. She got a 2 in "exhibits self control" as well as "listens when others are talking."  That was a proud parenting moment for me, for sure. I have to admit, I find it odd when people talk about Kindergarten graduation ceremonies. I don't want to offend those for whom this is a big deal - I'm just glad my daughter's school doesn't do it. Some of my friends have posted photos on Facebook of their children wearing wee caps and gowns, and such events definitely rate pretty high on the cuteness meter. However, isn't it pretty much a sure thi...

I've had two things on my mind this week: 1. I had hoped to get back to my goal weight by June 1st. Why I chose that particular date, I have no idea. Just arbitrary, I guess.  While I did miss that goal, I do not totally suck. I've lost some weight.  I'm currently 39.4 pounds under my original starting weight (September 2005) and 27.4 pounds over my goal weight. I have been working out a ton and sticking to my eating plan. One side effect that I'm really proud of is that the gazillion yoga classes I've taken have increased my overall strength.  I can now pull myself into a headstand without the instructor having to shove my legs up into the air. This basically means that my core is stronger, even though it does still have a layer of fat on top of it. I can also lower myself from a plank position (chaturanga) without collapsing onto my face. My upper body strength is still crap (always has been) but has gotten a little better. Honestly, I don't think I'll ...