For your easy reference, here are links to my favorite holiday-related posts from December 2009 and December 2010.
Latest Posts
Operation Santa Claus
Every year.
It's the best.
Click here to read more about my experiences with Operation Santa Claus, and here for the Operation Santa Claus site.
One note: If you’re hand-delivering the gifts rather than mailing them (and it really is so fun and exciting to see the recipients’ reactions), I recommend traveling in pairs. No wandering around unfamiliar apartment buildings and ringing strangers’ doorbells alone, please!
Parentdish Article On Bloggers & Birth Stories
Interesting article over on Parentdish today by journalist Diane Shipley about bloggers who post about their pregnancies, including a couple of quotes from yours truly about my feelings on blogging about baby.
Said "blogging about baby," incidentally, continues to be a subject that Kendrick and I mull over on a constant basis: what are we comfortable with, what will our son one day be comfortable with...how can any of us possibly know, as Diane writes, the effects of a "digital legacy" that's established for a child before he or she is even old enough to focus on objects, let alone read and write? This is a majorly controversial topic, and something that every parent - not just the ones with blogs - has to consider: if you have a Facebook account or a Twitter and you chat about your child or put up his photo, you're creating an online identity for him to some extent. Not that I believe that this is necessarily a bad thing in most cases - it can even be a very positive experience, as I've found writing about motherhood to be...but it's certainly something to be aware of. Something to think about.
For me, this is such a complex issue that I ultimately decided that what felt right to me was to do what I've done here all along, which is to follow my instincts, both as a blogger who believes in the enormous value of storytelling, and as a mother. Sharing is important and not something I shy away from, but family is above it all.
Baby Space-Savers
One of the major things I worried about while pregnant was the whole space problem that comes hand-in-hand with city living.
Job Opportunity
OK, it's time: Mama needs some help over here.
I'm looking for a Mother's Helper to start immediately and work flexible hours. This will likely mean two afternoons a week, with additional last-minute assistance needed on a day-by-day basis (an hour here, two hours there). While the baby is very small, this will mean either watching him at my place in the presence of myself or other family members, or accompanying me on-set and to work events to help out with the baby.
The position will become more time-intensive in early-to-mid January, when we start shooting JITH, and full days (though not every day) and some travel will be required.
Requirements: A flexible schedule, previous childcare experience with very young children, strong references. Residence on the Upper East Side (or thereabouts) and infant/child CPR certification are pluses.
Easy Holiday Party Decor Ideas
You know those people who have houses that look like Christmas exploded inside from Thanksgiving through New Year's, what with the wreath-wrapped bannisters, holiday-themed place settings, and a tree or wreath around every corner? Very lovely; totally not me.
Morning Light
American Living / Made For 12 Days Of Giving
Speaking of holiday gifts...
This year, I'm participating in American Living's Made For 12 Days of Giving program: myself and a few other bloggers were asked to choose our top holiday pick from their selection of gifts for everyone on your list, from clothing to accessories to pieces for the home (and even baby stuff - I love these coveralls).
Check back on December 12th to see what I chose! (Hint: you will be thoroughly unsurprised; it's something that I can't stop myself from picking up whenever I see one...and that I find especially irresistible in holiday colors. Any guesses?)
Lunch: Done
Fact: one should always keep eggs in the house for emergency meals - they can be mixed up with whatever else you find in your refrigerator (in this case, goat cheese and baby spinach leaves) and be quite delicious.
In other news, I am feeling extremely healthy and virtuous at the moment, being as my diet these days consists mostly of whatever I can locate and ingest with one hand and zero thought. Which usually means Pop Tarts. (I recommend the Brown Sugar and Cinnamon flavor.)
Presents For Everyone!
A gift suggestion that's 100% my kind of present:
A tarot deck (Golden Tarot is the one I own, and it's a great one for beginners; very pretty and user-friendly), either by itself or accompanied by a New Moon Creations Nature's Power Pendant (Lapis, pictured above, is to inspire a positive change).
The pendants come in a wide variety of stones intended to bring the wearer everything from luck to love to protection against negative energy, and are hand-made in Canada by my Aunt Trudy, who's offering RG readers 15% off of any purchase from her site. (She also does thoughtful and scarily accurate readings, which make a unique holiday present for anyone with introspective leanings.)








