My amazingly talented husband made a video montage of some of the sweetest and most memorable moments in our son Mylo’s first year of life.
Sabrina Needs Our Help
August 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Sabrina, rescued from death row at NYC Animal Care & Control last month, almost died today. She is bleeding into her abdomen and is currently at Garden State Veterinary Clinic undergoing tests. We almost put her down but GSVC (the same vet that treated Patrick the Miracle pup) generously set up a payment plan with her foster so that the bill can be paid off in installments.
Please help us save Sabrina’s young life one dollar at a time by donating directly to her care at GSVC: 732.922.0011 or by clicking here. Thank you.
Happy Birthday, my love…
August 9, 2011 By 2 Comments
Yesterday morning I went for a four mile run over the Brooklyn Bridge. On the same morning last year at 40 weeks pregnant, I walked up a very steep hill in my hometown on Long Island. I’m confident that challenging walk is what helped start labor because in the middle of the night on my due date, contractions began. It would be an entire day later and then some, though, before our son Mylo entered the world. One year ago today.
I am a mixed bag of emotions. One moment it feels like yesterday and in the next moment it feels like he has always been in our lives. I feel so lucky and so honored to be a part of every Mylostone, every development and every day. So happy to be Mylo’s mom.
Happy Birthday my love, my baby boy, my buddy boy. I love you like crazy.
My Big Birthday Boy!
Mylostone – WALKING!
July 30, 2011 By 3 Comments
Shame on me for not finding the time to post my son Mylo’s most important Mylostone yet… walking.
On a Saturday afternoon in July, while Jason and I were both at home, Mylo took his first few steps, and then fell. It just so happened to be his 11 month birthday. It was a moment of great joy and immense pride and one that I won’t soon forget. And because we knew it was going to happen any day (he had been taking a step or two towards stationary objects for a couple of weeks), I was most elated that it happened when both his mommy AND daddy were home to witness it, and praise him.
Walking – week 1
Walking – week 2
Mylostone – First Beach & First Trip to Montauk
July 10, 2011 By 1 Comment
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MyMy playing in the sand with baby James.
For two self-proclaimed beach bums, Jason and I sure took our sweet time introducing our son to the beach.
For the fifth consecutive year, we took our summer vacation in Montauk, a rugged and dreamy beach town on the eastern most tip of Long Island. It was a wonderful vacation and Mylo did surprisingly well sleeping almost-through-the-night in a hotel room in which his crib nearly touched the foot of our bed.
Hackin' around with the hotel ice bucket.
Each year we make the trip out east with the same group of friends. My best friend’s boyfriend, Jack, came along this year and I was grateful for that. Not just because I like to see how happy he makes my dear friend, but because ever since Mylo was a newborn, Jack has had an amazingly pacifying affect on him.
Jack with Mylo at 2 weeks.
Jack with Mylo at 11 months.
My favorite part of the trip was taking Mylo to Ditch Plains – the beach where we did our maternity photo shoot last year.
I will never forget this time in our lives...
Mylo was 8 months grown in my belly on the very same day last year that he was about to turn 11 months old this year.
...but this has been even more memorable.
A great Mylostone indeed… cannot wait until next year!
Mylostone – First Farm
July 5, 2011 By 1 Comment
This Mylostone is a particularly personal one for me. As a vegetarian, it meant a lot to me to be able to introduce my son Mylo to farm animals. I apologize ahead of time if what I’m about to write offends you, but since becoming a vegetarian, I’ve always wondered how parents take their children to farms to feed and admire the cows, chickens and goats to then turn around and feed those same animals to them for dinner. My own folks included.
I’ve always intended to write in more detail about our decision to raise our children vegetarian but have sadly not gotten around to that post, (and others for that matter). My husband Jason is only vegetarian 75% of the time, but I am immensely grateful that I have his full support in bringing up Mylo as one. As he said to my parents when we explained to them of our wishes, “How can you really argue with a lifestyle that is healthy, environmentally responsible and compassionate.”
So you could imagine my delight at seeing my son hand-feed this bully billy goat a carrot in my hometown of Northport, NY — at the same farm I grew up visiting no less!
Injured Pup from ACC
July 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment
One June 14th I pulled a dog off of the euthanasia list at Manhattan Animal Care & Control who had a bum leg. She wasn’t going down for kennel cough (as most are), she was going to be killed for having a bum leg. She had $750 dollars in pledge money and a foster/possible forever home with a family in Connecticut.
Mary scared at the shelter.
She was A# (animal #) 899911. ‘The 911 was fitting,’ I thought. The dog, named Mary, generated by the shelter’s antiquated computer software, was transported to an emergency vet hospital in Connecticut. X-rays showed that her left front leg was broken and they referred her to a specialist.
When I heard the news, my heart sank. It immediately made me anxious because all I could see were all the dollars signs that my bare bones rescue group does not have, and at the same time it touched a soft spot in me reminding me of my own dog and what we had been through with her broken legs.
I was fortunate to be able to send the dog to Animal Medical Center in Yonkers where she underwent surgery to repair her humeral fracture. I was even more fortunate to piggyback off of a bigger, more powerful NYC rescue organization’s 50% discount. A surgery that normally costs $4,500 cost us half that.
Mary, now called Angel, is recovering well at her new home and has grown particularly close to the family’s three teenage children. She sleeps with the youngest under a pink blanket every night.
Angel safe and loved.
A ChipIn for Angel has been set up as we are still more than $500 away from being able to pay off her surgery bill. If you are able to ChipIn to help Mary, please click here.
An Almost Mylostone
June 26, 2011 By 1 Comment
My son Mylo is close to his biggest Mylostone yet… walking. My husband Jason says, it best, “the steering is a bit off, but the engine seems to work.” Watch the boy go…
Should Have Bought Two
June 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I bought these Steve Madden sandals two years ago and except for the occasional stud that comes loose, they’ve held up pretty well. I get a ton of compliments on them and have I mentioned how comfortable they are?
Well they are, which is why I set out recently to buy another pair.
I had to do some serious investigative work to find out where I bought the sandals, what their name is and what size I bought. I know what you’re thinking, ‘I should know my own size,’ but I vacillate between a 8 1/2 and 9 depending on the shoe.
I started by calling my BFF Lauren, (she bought them first so she would be able to tell me when that was.) I then took a trip down memory lane with my AMEX card online. Scrolling through months of purchases during a time when I was gainfully employed, sans child AND shopped (a lot), was sort of like looking for a needle in a haystack.
But alas, I found it. They are the Steve Madden ‘Boogle’ Sandals in taupe which I purchased in June of 09′ from Nordstrom’s for $50.
An immediate Google search for “Steve Madden Boogle Sandals” turned up a bunch of results, just none that were available to purchase. Nordstroms, Overstock, Swell and Amazon had them at one time or another (err in 2009) but not this year.
So what did I do? I pulled the trigger on a totally different style of Steve Madden sandals. It is after all, 2011.
Doula In Training
June 5, 2011 By 4 Comments
I am officially a doula in training! Tonight marked the end of a three day workshop to become a birth doula certified with DONA (Doulas of North America). I took the course, taught by the extremely affable and entertaining Tara Poulin of Birthing Gently, along with 14 fascinating women.
Tara has a wealth of experience in the birth world. For starters, she has five children of her own! Prior to founding Birthing Gently in 2001, she worked on the labor and delivery floor at a Boston hospital. Today she is a certified Birth Doula (DONA), Certified Childbirth Educator (CAPPA) and an Approved DONA International Birth Doula trainer. The only, and I mean ONLY negative thing I can say about Tara is that she lives in Massachusetts. Boo! New York City’s loss, big time.
Tara’s course was engaging, contained a wealth of knowledge and left you hungry for more the next day. I have never said that before and believe me, with three degrees and many hobbies, I’ve taken my fair share of courses!
Tara Poulin of Birthing Gently
My journey to become a doula is a result of my own birth experience – one which was 30 hours long from start to finish, and, unmedicated. Although I did not have a doula – my husband and mom were with me – I believe that having someone who’s objective and who’s trained in emotional and physical comfort techniques could have made my long and difficult labor shorter and easier. Still, my birth transformed me. It made me stronger. And it gave me and my husband the most marvelous gift, a beautiful and healthy baby boy.
I would be honored to be a part of something so intimate and life-changing for other expectant moms and dads. Getting started might be slow-going but I definitely look forward to building my doula community and attending my first birth!
