Happy New Year

Hope you had a great start. We had a nice break and are back to our real life. 

Happy 2013! 

The Weekender - Colorful fall

I haven't made up my mind yet on wether spring is my favorite season in New York or fall is the winner. Both seasons are so colorful. It's like living inside a painting. And biking in the middle of all those changing colors is absolutely priceless.
Have a wonderful weekend!

The resurrection

A friend just asked me if I had "resurrected" my blog. And I realized that it really feels as if it had died. I think I might have even missed the "first year" post (has it been one year already?). 

Sorry for the absence. Lack of time would be a good (and true) excuse, but, mainly, it has been a lack of willingness to write that has kept me far from this space. 

I'll try to come back. 

Life has been as good as always. Some galleries and museums visits. Some puppet shows here and there. Some nice rides. Some nice outings. Some birthday parties organization. 

Lots to share, indeed. 

Simpler sometimes is better

The other day, P and I went to this tiny, little park, close to our apartment. There is no playground for the kids to play. Just a sandbox. Well, lately, this is one of P's and F's favorite places to play. 

I was sitting on a bench reading (yes! reading! I have time to read again!) and from time to time watching P who was either chasing some pigeons or looking at the boats passing by. This all reminded me that sometimes we try so hard to entertain our kids, when all it takes to make them happy is some space to run around and little pebbles to throw in the water.

I'm not saying anything new here. But sometimes we forget that children can have fun doing things that we take for granted as adults. For instance, a trip to the supermarket, a ride on the bus/subway or just a walk around the block can do the trick. If you haven't already, try it for a change, you'll see how much fun the kids will have.

Let's try to keep it simple!

P.S 1: Also, being bored sometimes is also fine.

P.S 2: Here in the U.S., the supermarket chain Whole Foods has a new kind of cart with a seat in front of it, for a toddlers to sit in. It's a great idea, because the children can really participate in the whole shopping experience, by looking at everything (picture below).

Sorry about the blurry face.
P was actually having lots of fun and had a big smile on his face. 

The Weekender - "a play date with Mommy"

GROSSE PLÄNE from Irmgard Walthert on Vimeo.

F had a busy week. First full week since classes started again. Several play dates and some new after school trial classes. So he was quite tired when he arrived from school today. On the other hand, P had just woken up from his nap and he wanted to go the park.

F telling P he doesn't want to go to the park: "P, I'm too tired to go the park. I just want to have a play date with Mommy".

And so we played all afternoon (I'm now exhausted from my play date).

Have a nice weekend.

Back to the routine

Here and there are some new signs of Autumn to remind us that our long and busy Summer is almost a distant and pleasant memory. 

F started Kindergarten last week. Although it is in the same school he's been going for the last year and a half, I somehow felt a door had been shut and a new phase was starting. He left home with a big smile stamped on his face, his new tie around his tiny neck ("Just like Daddy" he kept saying) and his huge backpack on his back. When we arrived in front of the classroom he suddenly felt shy, held my hand a little tighter and clearly retained his tears. I did the same. 

This week was also P's first day of Preschool. Some tears rolled down. But he's slowly adapting. My little baby is not a baby anymore. No more diapers, no more bottles and (almost) no more pacifier. He's also part of a group now and becoming aware of it. He's slowly letting my hand go, gaining his independence, but always looking back for me. 

And... we're back!

After a small intermission, I'm back.

My month of June has been so full of events, that I actually can't believe that we are still in June. During these two weeks of absence, I was mainly busy with F's school (Speech day, sports day and some nice outings with the class); my mother's visit and the organization of F's birthday party.

Both boys are now on vacation, so I will obviously be short on time for the next couple of months. I'll try to come whenever possible, though.

Thanks for hanging in!!

How to entertain a restless toddler in his/her stroller?

Give the child a book!

Laughing at the not so distant past

Shapeset by Tim Fishlock

My husband was traveling (again) last week. So Friday night, after putting the kids to sleep, not having any company, I just went back to my most faithful friend during those lonely hours - the Internet.

I read some stuff (nothing worth sharing), did some shopping (always a pleasure when it doesn't involve entering a physical store) and re-read this post of mine. 

I don't know what exactly made me read it again. But, at the end, I was laughing at myself. Is just that so many things that I mentioned in that post have changed recently, that while I was reading it, it made me feel that it had been written years ago. Why don't I give you an update on the current situation? 

First of all, as from last Thursday, I don't own three strollers anymore. I sold one of them - actually the first I bought while F was still in my belly. As stupid as it may sound, it made me sad to see it go. Also, I'm starting to become one of those "nerdy" moms. I'm not sure "nerdy" would be the best term to describe me. Maybe, mom-too-concern-with-her-child-performance-at-school, would a better one, but way too long. It seems that F is a little bit behind at school, so I've been more and less forced to do some catch up at home with him. I now completely understand the "pity" look that the other mother gave me on the bus when I told her that I had forgotten about F's report. He may be doomed for life because of me (no matter what, I've discovered that it's always the mother's fault).

However, if I'm responsible on having such a bad influence on my child, I should also be very much capable to have a positive impact on his education. Therefore, I became very engaged on changing the situation. And I recently bought so many educational material to help F, that I'll probably write a post about them later. I'm actually surprised on how by making the whole learning process fun, the kids do learn incredibly fast and I'm glad we have access to all those support material. I wish I had done that before with F, but I thought I was paying the school for that. Apparently not enough... Anyway, one of my mottos in life is that there's always something good to learn/retain from any experience. And I became really interested on the alphabetization process done through phonetics. I'm currently waiting for a Jolly Phonics kit to arrive and then I'll give you all my impressions about it.

Boy, our summer will certainly be fun!

What we've been up to...

Mostly, just enjoying the great weather (finally!). 

On our way to the park today, we passed in front of the U.N. building. It has just been renovated and cleaned up. Look how great it's looking now. 

I love walking around this area, because in just a few blocks you can see people from all over the world and hear so many different languages. It's kind of taking a short trip to an imaginary Babylon. Then, I realized that I have never been inside the building for a tour. It always sound kind of strange to do some tourism in the place we live, don't you think? But I'm really thinking about taking one of those tours. 

Spring in New York

One of the most enjoyable time of the year here in New York.

Hello Spring!!

New York today - gorgeous!!

Although outside it definitely feels like spring in New York, here at home it doesn't quite feel like it yet. The trees are blossoming, the weather is warming, the days are longer and... P is sick. Nothing to worry about, he just caught a very bad cold (probably from the temperature swings we've been having lately). 

However, after three days confined at home, we managed to put our little noses outside today just for a little while, to breadth some fresh air and pay a visit to the pediatrician. The day is absolutely gorgeous, the streets are cheerful and sunny. 

We've definitely had one of the best winters ever. Nonetheless, spring is always and will always be more than welcomed.  

Happy Women's Day

This is for all the wonderful women that bring so much joy into my life. Thank you for making my days better and share the good and bad moments with me.
Happy, happy, happy day for all of us!

How do you carry your iPad?

Recently my iPad has become my babysitter. On weekend mornings, F comes quietly to my room and asks me if he can take the iPad. To which I obviously agree in a very sleepy voice. I'm not very proud of this, but really, what other choice do I have at 7am, if I don't want to wake up yet? 

Back in his bedroom, F goes into P's crib and they stay both of them playing quietly with the iPad. This new weekend-morning-dynamic gives me an extra 30 to 60 minutes of sleep, which is, believe me, absolutely priceless. 

Here are some iPad cases ideas:

Patterned DODOcase for J.Crew

Poketo Envelope iPad Case

Poketo Three Dots iPad Case

Hermes iPad case (the case is much more expensive than the iPad - how ironic is that?!)

Happy Valentine's Day!

The American Love, by Robert Indiana

I wish you a sweet day!

To work or not to work

I would find it hard to believe that this question hasn't crossed the mind of every mother in our modern society. 

Some women need to work for a living, others because they praise their careers and are afraid of being left out of the market for too long, others because they may just not be satisfied by being only mothers and like the challenge of their jobs and others for all the reasons above. On the other hand, other women stay at home with the kids because they chose to or maybe because the household income simply wouldn't cover for the expenses related to childcare (being it a full-time nanny or a daycare). In any case, I believe that all reasons are valid and I'm in no position to judge any mother or her life-style here.

I worked until F was 1 year and a half. I liked it but there wasn't a single day that I wouldn't think about leaving my job to stay with him. In the descriptions I established above, I fitted in the "mother who praised her career and was afraid of being left out of the market". I thought I was too young to stop working (just turned 27 when F was born) and I had studied too hard just to hang all my diplomas and spend every afternoon in the park. But I suffered too much. When F turned one it hit me very hard, I felt I had missed everything that was important to me - spending time with him and watching him growing. Nonetheless, I still felt divided, because I wanted to build a career for myself...

Then came the decision to move back to Brazil and I got pregnant of my second child. I decided to take some time off. But I always had in mind, that after P would be 6 months old, I would go back to work. P turned one and I was still at home. In part because I couldn't find a job, but also because I wasn't really trying hard to find one. When we moved back to New York, I was lucky to be hired by the same bank I used to work for, with the same group, to do exactly the same thing. Unfortunately it didn't last.

The first weeks were hard because I had to be reacquainted with everything, especially the working space and rhythm. Imagine how hard it can be to stay in front of a Bloomberg screen for 10 hours, analyzing balance sheets and income statements after having spent two years changing diapers, singing children songs, playing with cubes, going to the park! That part was actually easy to overcome. But, the daily life away from the kids was just too hard for me. Not to mention that my husband works long hours, so I couldn't really rely on him. So, I decided to go back home.

I don't regret it. I enjoy and feel lucky of being able to spend this time with my kids. They actually do grow extremely fast and I would hate to miss their early childhood. I have a great admiration for the working mothers because I tried to be one and I just couldn't handle the challenge. However, there is this constant little voice telling me your kids will grow up and what will happen to you?

In addition to all my worries about working or not - and, I'm sorry, but I don't consider staying-at-home a work, especially when I see my sister who works full-time and takes care of her children with no help at home -, this morning F made a comment that left me so so sad. He told me that I should go back to work, so his nanny could give him breakfast like she used to do a few months ago while I was in the office. so, there is now this whole new question, banging in my head, that I had never asked myself before: will my grown up kids reprove my decision of having stayed with them? 

Big, huge, enormous *SIGH*. 

Piano lessons

Lecon de musique, by Jean-Jacques Sempe 

Today F will have his first piano lesson. It is recommended that we buy a piano, because he will, obviously, need to practice at home. Therefore, I've been doing some research in order to decide which one we should buy. Unfortunately, given that we are very limited in terms of space, the decision will actually weight more on the size factor that on the quality one.

Nonetheless, I wanted to share some of my amusing findings with you.

I could maybe just change my dinner table:

Or redecorate my living-room:

Piano bar

What about car inspired pianos?

The Ferrari Piano

The Audi piano

And what about this one:

The Rocking piano

If you'd like to see some more, here is the page where i found them all. 

Funny conversations with a 4 year-old about work and money

Lately, I'm finding myself very amused, challenged and sometimes trapped by the conversations I'm having with my son. You see, he's starting to make some very interesting arguments and I can't really dismiss him as I used to do by simplifying an answer, avoiding a subject or simply lying straight-forward to his little innocent face.
Let me give you some recent funny examples.

Example #1 - A few months ago when I was not working anymore.
F - Mom, can you buy me this? (can't remember exactly what it was)
Me - No
F - Why?
Me - Because, I can't just buy you everything we see
F - Why?
Me - It's expensive and I don't have the money
F - So, I have an idea! Why don't you ask if you can go back to your office tomorrow, just for one day, and you make some money, so we can come back and buy it!

Example #2 - Monday morning
F - Mom, why was Daddy home yesterday?
Me - Well, because it was Sunday (simplifying the answer)
F - So, why was he home and not at the office?
Me - Because the office was closed (lying on his innocent face)
F - That's not true (he caught me!), because Dad's office never closes.

Example #3 - Sunday morning, having breakfast. J (my husband) had to work and I was complaining about it. F steps in the conversation, telling me to stop complaining and giving me the reasons why his Dad had to work so hard.
F - Dad needs to work a lot so we can pay my school, our food, my clothes, my toys and Santa
Me - What? We don't pay Santa...
F - Of course we have to send him some money! Otherwise how can he make all the toys for us and pay his elves?!
Me - speechless; I had never thought about Santa that way...
J - He has a point...

I wish I could give the proper credits to the picture above, but I was unable to identify the author. I just took it from the web...

My neighbor

Scene from Alfred Hitchcock's film "Rear Window"

Since he moved in, about 4 months ago, I've been doing some "voyeurism". He lives in our building, one floor below ours. I've never met him and, most probably, I wouldn't recognize him in the elevator. But, from my kitchen window, I have a partial view of his living room. I followed his whole installation, from the day he moved in and there was still no furniture in the apartment. You may ask yourself why I found myself so interested on this man. Mainly because he represents a life that was once mine and is no more.

He lives by himself. His apartment is neat, nicely decorated. Everything is in its place and, more importantly, stays that way. No toys on the way, no pillows thrown away, no chairs overturned. I especially take long glances at his living room on Sundays. Yesterday, for example, while I was in the kitchen preparing simultaneously dinner, cookies and a chocolate mousse that went terribly wrong, the usual two little hurricanes were passing around my apartment (that is, F and P running around and leaving things everywhere). In the meantime, my dear neighbor (let's call him Mr. N) was peacefully resting on his sofa, like he usually does on Sundays afternoon. 

He likes to read, take naps and watch TV while lying on that sofa. Last Tuesday, at 7 am, he was even having breakfast there while reading the news on his iPad. So, as I was saying, on Sundays he stays there for long hours. Something that for me, would absolutely be impossible, unimaginable, inconceivable. I don't even know if I would know how to do that anymore, because since I became a mother I developed an acute level of ADD. I need to be multitasking, in order for things to work out.

Yesterday Mr. N stayed so long lying on his sofa, by himself, that at the end I was actually feeling sorry for himself. Doesn't he feel kind of lonely sometimes? I certainly envy him, especially on Sunday evenings when I'm exhausted from the weekend (I know, I'm repeating myself), but I find it harder to imagine a life without children. While the kids were awake and making noise, I was dreaming of being that guy. But as soon as they were in bed and the apartment was silent again, I was glad to have the life that I have.

After observing Mr. N for many weekends I decided to share my little "voyeurism" secret with my husband. We were so jealous of him that we are now planning a little getaway. No kids allowed. It has been so long we travelled only the two of us that I'm not sure what to expect. We haven't decided the destination yet and it will certainly be a short trip. J (my husband) can't take long vacations right now and, as much as I need some rest, I wouldn't be able to stay too long away from the kids. Oh, motherhood...

Paris vs. New York

From Paris vs. New York, a tally of two cities

Lately I've been dreaming on going to Paris. Just to stroll around or even better, just to flâner. Is there a better thing to do in Paris? As we are rapidly approaching the end of the year I've realized that the promise we made each other to take the children there once a year, so they would meet their french roots (or was it an excuse for us), has been broken. Oh, Paris, Paris, when will we meet again?

In the meantime, I'm very tempted on buying some of these posters, as well as the book. My two favorite cities, side by side.