My Kids Saw Their Parents Get Married
After six years, and two beautiful children together, on May 22nd, 2011, Wilhelm and I got married.One of the special parts of the ceremony, to me, was that our children got to see us get married. Ari looks really silly in this picture, but I think he was intrigued by what was going on. Ari was three years old when he saw us get married. It's quite possible that he will have some memories from this day. It will be interesting to see what he remembers about our marriage, if anything. Samara was only four months old, so she won't have concrete memories; however, when she gets older, she'll see pictures of herself at our wedding.Samara with GrandmaI wonder what Ari will think when he gets older; what he will remember. I wonder what Samara will think when she gets older, what she will observe in pictures. What will my children remember from this very important day?
Things I’ve Learned on the Playground Today
Many of the Park Slope moms carry business cards. 2. On chance that you've forgotten baby sunscreen, somebody can hook you up with some. 3. Second children appear to be more laid back than first-borns. 4. If there is a sandbox around, someone is probably doing one of the following a) eating sand; b) throwing sand; c) stealing someone else's sand toy. 5. When you're two-three years old, "waiting your turn" is optional. 6. If you have a baby, someone wants to hold him/her and mentions how they want another baby. 7. There appear to be two types of playground moms a) Those that discipline their kids; b) Those who ignore their kids and let them beat the crap out of other kids. 8. Nannies/Babysitters want to make a point that the kid they're watching isn't biologically theirs, however moms want to make the point that the kid they are watching is biologically theirs. 9. The way to exit the playground the most gracefully is through bribery. What have you learned on the playground?
Ari’s 3rd Birthday Party at Power Play
A couple of months ago, my friend Barbara introduced me to an awesome indoor play space and gymnastics center in Park Slope, Brooklyn called Power Play. Since that time, Ari and I have been back to Power Play for a gymnastics class, and Power Play agreed to be one of my blog sponsors, which I'm thrilled about. It means I'm going to be covering events happening at Power Play, and giving you all the inside scoop about what's happening there. We had the opportunity to have Ari's 3rd birthday party at Power Play, and I was so excited. Initially, I was nervous, because the party started at 1:30pm on Saturday, and he generally naps around that time. He was cranky when we arrived, and kept asking for cupcakes. I realized that the constant asking for cupcakes had more to do with the fact that he was hungry for lunch. His mood turned around when he ate a bagel with Grandpa and he started to play!Ari and Nelson bouncing around!Ari wasn't the only one getting in on the action. His cousin Francesca tried out the zip line. Look at her go!Even the adults were having fun. Check out my friend Cordy [...]
What Did You Do This Weekend? Oh, You Know, Got Married!
After six years together, Wilhelm Van Luyn and I got married in my parent's garden today. My friend Dara (whom I've known since the 1st grade) officiated the inter-faith ceremony. My best friend, Mint, was my Matron of Honor and Wil's brother, Dan, was his Best Man. It was very small, mainly family and a few of our close friends. I am happy to report that my entire family are now Fader-Van Luyns! Before we got to the main event, we had to get ready first: Here's Cordy doing my hair, and Ari helping. Donna was stuck in traffic with veganwedding cupcakes, but when she got there she finished flat ironing and curling my hair. She also did a killer job on my make-up. I would like take a moment to thank Uncle Mike AKA "The Baby Whisperer" who held, fed, and calmed Samara before and during the ceremony. Francesca was our flower girl, and Ari was our ring bearer. This was his second time doing the job, the first go-around was at Mint and Mike's wedding. He did a great job this time. He handed the rings directly to Mint. **Edit Wil tells me that Ari did NOT hand [...]
A Morning in The Life Of
"Ari, are you awake?" "The robot...I wanna watch the robot episode of Max and Ruby." "Are you awake or talking in your asleep?" "Awake. Hungry." "Go to the potty." "No! Hungry first." Ari rolls over on his side. "Use the potty and then you can eat breakfast." "NO! Hungry." Silence. "Carry me." "What?" "Carry me to the potty." "Okay. Fine." I carry him to the bathroom. He pees. Flushes. Re-clothes. Washes hands, with help. Samara starts crying. I pick her up. "I peed on the potty, now I get cat cookies!" "Okay, but only two." "NO! A lot!" "Okay four. But then breakfast." "Okay..." Ari sighs. "French toast." I say definitively. I make french toast and coffee while holding Samara, who is crying, on my hip. "Is that my french toast?" "Yes. It's yours." "Is that mommy's french toast?" "Yes." "I want chocolate milk." "No, french toast first." "NO! I want chocolate milk first. No french toast. I don't want to eat." "You eat your breakfast, then you get chocolate milk." "Okay..." Ari sighs. Samara is still whining. I nurse her while drinking coffee and eating french toast at the same time. Ari eats half his french toast and says: [...]
Nosefrida is Awesome- ENTER TO WIN ONE!
Samara has yet another cold. All I can say is oy gavolt! It's her third one since birth, and she is only four months old! I was just about at my wits' end, when I found a really awesome, helpful product that's helping her and providing both of us (mother and daughter) with relief. It's called Nosefrida. This is what Nosefrida looks like: Ari was very interested in Nosefrida the minute I opened the box Here's what the box looks like: Nosefrida comes with disposable filters that are replaced after each use. They look like this: Here's how Nosefrida works: place the blue part of the tube against, but not inside, the child's nose:Then suck the red part of the tube:The mucus is suctioned into the blue tube, and absorbed by the filter. That's it! Here's a picture of the whole process: Samara feels much better after a few Nosefrida treatments. In fact, I'm so pleased with Nosefrida, that I want to give you the opportunity to try it. Here's how you can enter to WIN a Nosefrida of you own:Each counts as one entry1. Post a comment saying why you'd like to try Nosefrida 2. Like Nosefrida on Facebook [...]
This is What Four Months Looks Like
Samara will be four months old on Saturday, and I'm sitting here asking myself "How the hell did that happen?!" I feel like I was just in the hospital, giving birth. She is laughing, jumping and trying to stand, with some assistance, of course.This girl is only four months old, and has already exhibited a fierce independent nature. She does not want to lay down, ever. She wants to stand at all times, and appears frustrated when she realizes that older people (than her) have to help to make this happen.She's teething already! Just like Ari, who had teeth by four months, she is an early teether. But, unlike Ari, she hates the frozen wash cloth. She does love her amber teething necklace that my friend Amanda gave her. She's sleeping in larger blocks at night. She'll sleep from 8pm to 3am. I'm dreaming of the time that she actually sleeps through the night.It seems like things are happening so quickly with her. When I had Ari, I was waiting for him to do something; smile, laugh, sit up. I would stare at him for days waiting for him to change. Samara, on the other hand, keeps surprising me by [...]
Bacitracin Fights Old Age
Last night I was washing my face, and I noticed a spec of dirt on my cheek. I scrubbed the area, but the dirt didn't come off. It was then that I realized that it was not dirt, but a giant permanent dark spot. I gasped, audibly. "What's wrong, mommy?" Ari asked. "There's a spot on my face!" I exclaimed. My mind was racing. I've been neglectful about putting on sunscreen, it's cancer! I have a cancerous growth! I'm getting old, I'm going to die! Clearly, I've gone mad. "Don't worry, mommy," Ari replied softly. "I have a spot too. "You do?" I asked, thinking he was just humoring me. "Where?" He pointed to a tiny scratch near his nose. "Let's put some Bacitracin on it." He said. "On your spot, and my spot. It's gonna feel better okay?" For those of you that are unfamiliar with Bacitracin, it's like the Jewish Neosporin. When I was a child, my mom's tried and true cure for every thing was "put some Bacitracin on it!" Ari is becoming a part of the Bacitracin tradition. "Ari, I'm not getting old, right?" I asked him. "No, you put some Bacitracin on it, and it's [...]
Michelle Au Interview at Columbia University Bookstore
On 5/11/11, I had the opportunity to interview Michelle Au at Columbia University Bookstore about her book, This Won't Hurt a Bit (and other white lies). Dr. Au was doing a book signing event up at Columbia, where she would be speaking to an audience about her book. My friend Leigh, who introduced me to Michelle's blog, came with me to the event. First we went out for Middle-Eastern food at Cafe Nana. Then we set out for the event, books in hand. We got to the bookstore, and saw the large crowd of young doctors-in-training sitting in the audience, in awe of Dr. Au. Then we spotted Michelle at the front of the crowd. After Michelle spoke, and the 9000 "Au groupies" got their books signed, Leigh and I got the chance to meet Michelle in person. She was so down to earth and awesome. Even her mom seemed cool. It was almost time for the interview, but first we took some pictures. After her close-ups, we found a quiet spot in the bookstore for the interview. Here's what Michelle had to say about her book, being nine months pregnant while she was an anesthesiology resident, diagnosing her own [...]
Tell Me a Story…On The Toilet
As I mentioned before, Ari is no longer asking for rewards after using the potty. However, that means that he is less interested in stopping his busy life to use the potty. So I came up with another form of bribery: storytelling."Ari, if you go to the potty, I'll tell you a story." I offered, as he was busy lining up his cars, taxis and buses."Okay!" He exclaimed. He dropped everything and ran to the bathroom. I made up a story about a little boy who was desperately searching for a toilet on the playground. I think our toilet liked the story as much as Ari did.Low and behold, during my story, Ari pooped! It was a shining moment for me.I wonder if the Native Americans told their children stories while they were relieving themselves in the woods.Tell me, what are your tricks for getting your kid to use the toilet?
Potty-Training War Stories
I don't want to jinx myself, but I believe that Ari is potty-trained! I would like to take a moment to give an extra special shout-0ut to my amazing friend Amanda. She talked me down from a ledge during the first day of hardcore potty-training. I decided to do the three day method. I stuck Ari in underwear and tried hard to stay strong and consistent.It took every ounce of strength I had in me to stick with the plan. There were times that I'd look at the pee on the kitchen floor, or the poop-soiled Toy Story underwear, and the size 5 Target diapers were calling my name. It was during those times that I called or text Amanda and she fortified me with the strength to make it through.But now, I believe we've made it to the other side. He doesn't ask for rewards after using the potty anymore! He did pee on the floor this morning, but he woke up in a dry bed.Potty training is intense. I'm constantly looking for signs that he has to go. I try to take him often, and every time I take him, he at least pees.The funny thing is, now [...]
The Year You Were Born: In Honor of Mother’s Day
In honor of Mother's Day, I wanted to review something that celebrates the women who bore us. My dear friend Barbara designed a beautiful card called The Year You Were Born Card.The Year You Were Born Card is a keepsake, which allows the recipient to fill in relevant information about what was happening the year their baby came into this world. Here is the New York City version of The Year You Were Born Card:On the New York City Card, you can fill out information such as "A ride on the subway costs___" or "The cost of a slice of pizza ____"The Year You Were Born Card also comes in cities (besides NYC) such as London, Chicago, Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco.Barbara was born in Santiago, Chile to a Chilean mother and a Dutch Father. She traveled throughout her childhood, and collected passport stamps from all over the world. From an extremely young age, she loved writing and collecting letters. Her love affair with stationery had begun.In 2009, after working in the New York Art World for many years for companies such as HBO and Giorgio Armani, Barbara had an epiphany; it was time to start her own company. That's [...]
Mother’s Day Collage and Some Samara/Daddy Pictures
Wil made this awesome collage for me for Mother's Day:Here are a couple of pictures of the artist and his daughter:
Hello City Hall
This morning, while the kids were asleep, Wil and I set out to City Hall to get our marriage license. When the children woke up, they were greeted by Grandpa and Grandma, who were watching them. I can tell you a few things I noticed while in line at City Hall: 1. The chairs in the marriage license room smile. 2. Waiting in line is boring. But I entertained myself by taking 9 million pictures of ourselves. Here is the best one below. I deleted the rest of the 8,999,999 of them. 3. Wil thinks he is a bad ass, all the time. 4. We had no idea what the marriage license clerk said to us. We left the office with an undecipherable form. However, I do know this: we are one step closer to being Fader-Van Luyns! We are now off to celebrate Ari's 3rd birthday! Stay tuned for a birthday post!
Happy Birthday Ari and Max & Ruby Live!
It's Ari's birthday today! The little man is three-years-old, or as he likes to say, he is "three months old." When he says that he's three months old, I tell him: "Samara is three months old, you're three years old." He then insists that Samara is three-years-old and he is three months old, and I feel like I'm playing a giant game of "who's on first." The first thing we did was to go out for brunch with grandma and grandpa. To get to the brunch spot we took the train, which Ari loved. We got to Dizzy's, the coolest brunch spot in Park Slope. Please excuse the giant light emanating from Samara's head. She can't help it if she glows. Faces of the other restaurant diners have been disguised to protect anonymity. After brunch, everyone took a nap, except for me because I had some freelance writing work to do, and then we set off to Staten Island to see...Max & Ruby Live! Aunt Jackie got our whole family tickets to see the show as a birthday present for Ari, or as she calls in in tagalog- Ari-Ko. Off we went to The St. George Theater in Staten Island. [...]