Strong Women

My two aunts – my mother’s older sisters – are very interesting people. One has her MBA and is an executive of an academic publishing company. In a male dominated business world, she’s fought for the recognition she deserves and refused to let her gender stop her from reaching her goals. As a child I always admired her expensive style, and as an adult I know she has worked hard to get to a position where she has the financial resources to live that high life.

My other aunt has her library science degree, along with a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies, earned from the University of Edinburgh with additional studies in Iran. She knows Arabic, and is a professor and librarian at a prestigious university. She can beat most people in Trivial Pursuit, and will correct your grammar in an instant. Even though she was from a poor family in rural Ohio, she never let that keep her from seeing the world and reaching all of her educational goals.

Both of my aunts have never married. They didn’t have time for it, and they weren’t interested in having children. That’s not to say that they dislike children – they have always enjoyed their roles as aunt. And they both consider education to be one of the most important things in a young person’s life.

Growing up, these two women were the most educated people I knew. And they were the ones who stressed the importance of education to me. I never knew that there was a choice to not go to college – I simply knew that after high school, college was the next logical step.

They also helped me form my identity as a woman. Seeing the successes of my aunts, I really believed I could do anything I put my mind to. In a small town where girls were expected to be good at Home Ec and English, while boys excelled in Math and Science, I was the winner of the Math award my senior year, honoring the student with the highest math scores over all four years of high school. I was the first girl in many years to win that award. I give some of the credit to my aunts, who encouraged me to do my best in all areas, especially math and science.

It always surprises me to meet women who believe they are less important, less valuable than men. My aunts taught me that I was an equal to anyone else, and not to let others try to shove me into a narrow definition of being a woman. Of course, I went on to marry and have children, unlike them, and doing so certainly slowed down any career aspirations. I love being a wife and mother, but there’s so much more to me than that. Continuing to learn and find new ways to make an impact with others is so important to me, too. I have a degree, I’ve worked on graduate degrees, and I’m now back in school to become a nurse. I enjoy writing and improving my writings skills through practice. I participate in social and charity groups to help others.

My aunts, along with my mom and my grandmother, provided the role models I needed to become the person I am today. I’m grateful that I had such strong support, and I hope that these women will continue to provide a positive influence on my daughters as well.

Thanks to Susan for tagging me for this very interesting meme! Now I’d like to pass it on to Bub & Pie, Violet the Verbose, and Momma to LG and ask them: who has influenced you in your life/career?



Half a Year

If you ask ten moms, at least nine would likely tell you about how the first year of life with a new baby goes by so fast. The time does fly by, or at least it appears to based on the rapid development that occurs in that first year. Babies change so quickly: from tiny, helpless, red-faced lumps to actual people with their own interests and personality quirks, able to interact with you and make their needs known without always resorting to crying.

I’m sitting here a little stunned that today marks six months since I gave birth to Mira. Half a year. Where has that time gone? It didn’t go by so fast with Cordy, I think. I remember each month and each milestone slowly drifting by at a leisurely pace. Mira’s first six months have resembled a high-speed chase – blink and you’ll miss it. I’m sure some of it has to do with being the second child, and my not having as much time to devote to only her.


I’m proud that we’ve made it six months with practically no formula. While breastfeeding didn’t work with Cordy, I’m thrilled that Mira’s growth so far has been nourished by something I can provide. (Besides, we’re saving gobs of money by not buying formula!) She’s losing interest already, though, and weaning may be coming sooner rather than later. But for now we’ll keep going as long as she wants to.

I wanted to wait until this time marker to begin solid foods, but like many children, Mira made sure not to follow the plan I had for her. From nearly her first day she was interested in my food, eventually working up the dexterity and coordination to attempt stealing food from my plate. With the speed of a slight of hand artist, she slapped her hands down into my three bean salad at Thanksgiving and came up with two fistfuls of green beans. Since we started solids, she’s been a champion eater – I’m not sure there is a bottom to that stomach.


The same can’t be said for sleep, though. Like Cordy, she seems to have inherited some inability to sleep from her father. It has to be his fault, because no child who takes after me would disrespect sleep like this. I think I now understand the popularity of those “Party in my crib – 2am” onesies that Target sells. Even as I write this she is next to me, rubbing her eyes furiously and fussing because she refuses to take a nap. She never wakes up happy – almost as soon as her eyes pop open, she lets out an enormous wail, announcing her cranky awakeness to the world.

(but she’ll sleep for her Uncle Adam)

Bits of her personality are really shining through now. The feeling of bouncing in the Jumperoo is one of her favorite things, and she giggles when we spin her around or “fly” her through the air. She hates being put down, and complains if she thinks you’re not giving her your entire attention. (Diva)


At home, she is a grumpy monster, bored with only me to look at all day. In public, where there are new people and new things to look at, everyone coos at her and remarks on what a charming, sweet baby she is. She smiles, perks up, and I swear she performs when you applaud her – future actress, thriving on the applause, perhaps?


She will not take a pacifier, no matter how much I beg her to at times. The television also holds little interest for her – she will glance at it on occasion, but no amount of Baby Einstein or Noggin can convince her that it’s OK for mommy to go to the bathroom without her. When I put her in front of the TV, she actually cocks her right eyebrow up and rolls her eyes at me, like, oh, mommy, that passive-yet-flashy form of entertainment will simply not do for someone with my sophisticated tastes.


The sound of her daddy’s voice stops almost any cry. Seeing her sister always brings a smile.


Mira can hold her head up well, even sitting for brief periods on her own before toppling over. She moves across the floor by rolling, but only to the right, requiring me to turn her around when she hits a roadblock. Or a cat. Rolling to the left is never an option – apparently turning left is offensive. Let’s hope she gets over that by the time she starts driving. She occasionally will stand up while held, but generally prefers her feet as chew toys.


But her real magic lies in those moments when we lock eyes, and she gives me this goofy grin as if we’re sharing some big secret. I grin back at her, knowing that the next six months are going to be so much fun as she continues to explore her world and share more of her secrets with us.

And hopefully sleep more.

Party at my crib, 2am


The Post-Thanksgiving Post, in Bullets!

We survived another holiday filled with too much sugar, way too many foods that Cordy is allergic to (’tis the season for cinnamon!), and lots of relatives we haven’t seen in a long time, who forget that Cordy needs time to warm up to them, and therefore freak her out.

Because I am still in holiday mode, and because I have barely slept in days (see second bullet below), I give you this post, bullet-style:

  • I’m thankful that Cordy is finally letting go of Halloween. It’s taken a hefty dose of the new Disney series Bunnytown (Have you seen this? It’s like crack for toddlers!), plus a showing of Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmas, but Halloween is fading from her vocabulary. I soon expect her to be talking up Christmas every waking moment.
  • I’m not thankful that Mira started waking up every couple of hours at night. Wha? How is this fair? I can deal with her not napping during the day, being cranky nearly every waking moment, and even the occasional bite to my nipple. But PLEASE let me have my four hours of sleep a night, child! Two is just not enough. If you’d sleep more, kid, I wouldn’t be as fat. You’ll appreciate it when you’re a teen and you don’t have a fat mom to embarrass you, OK?
  • Did you know my blog is being mentioned in a book? It’s true. Vicky Zhou is working on a book about the most interesting blogs on the web, and she has somehow included this little blog in her list. I don’t know which category, but I’m sure it isn’t in the category of “blogs with deep thoughts and big words”. I swear I didn’t pay her.
  • And speaking of blog business, I totally missed my second blog anniversary due to Thanksgiving. Actually, it was on Thanksgiving. Happy second year to me! I promise to come out of this baby-induced haze (if she’d let me sleep) and write more interesting posts again in the next year.
  • Finally, I have more proof that my children apparently threw out most of my genetic material in favor of Aaron’s at conception. Of course everyone thinks that Mira looks like Aaron, but several people say Cordy looks like me. I think they’re only seeing the coloring, and not the features, but then I took this picture. Can you see how we would never end up on Maury Povich for a DNA test?



Haiku Friday: Black Friday Edition

Haiku Friday
Black Friday is here
Want a digital frame cheap?
Only until noon!

I am thankful for
the huz, who wakes up early
to shop the big sales

Oh sure, I love Black Friday. The teaser sales are exciting, but the early hours? Eh, not for me. Before we had kids, Aaron and I would pick the sales that interested us the most, then go out together. Now, he goes out for the early morning sales race, and I stay home with the kids. I like this arrangement.

Edited to add:

We struck out this year
too many bargain hunters
not enough product

To play along for Haiku Friday, follow these steps:

1. Write your own haiku on your blog. You can do one or many, all following a theme or just random. What’s a haiku, you ask? Click here.

2. Sign the Mister Linky below with your name and the link to your haiku post (the specific post URL, not your generic blog URL). We will delete your link if it doesn’t go to a haiku. If you need help with this, contact Jennifer or myself.

3. Pick up a Haiku Friday button to display on the post or in your sidebar by clicking the button above.

So flex those mental muscles and join Jennifer and I for Haiku Fridays!



The Week (so far) In Pictures

I get it. Everyone is so busy with NaBloMoBananaFanaFoSho that we’re all having trouble keeping up with the crushing number of posts flooding our blog readers. I know I’ve got over 300 posts staring back at me in Bloglines, just daring me to hit the Mark All Read button.

So to make it easier on everyone, I’ll skip a long post, and instead give you a day-before-Thanksgiving recap of my week in pictures, with limited commentary, requiring no deep thought.

Aaron and I went to a wedding over the weekend. It was our first chance in a long, long time to dress up, go out without kids, eat a nice meal, drink, socialize with friends, and dance. I didn’t want to come home. We need more engaged friends so we can go to more weddings.

A typical Monday – Mira gazing adoringly at her big sister, wanting to be noticed, and Cordy ignoring her. It’s so rare to get a picture of the two of them this close together, so I’m thrilled I took this picture.

Tuesday, I got the chance to have brunch with the fabulous Tammie and finally meet the way-too-cute-for-words Myles! He and Mira smiled at each other across the table while we talked. And Tammie brought me Key Limes – we’ll be having Key Lime bars as a dessert at Thanksgiving now. Yum!

Some days, you can’t get to this moment fast enough. Oh, and notice the rocket in her bed? I have a review of that rocket at Mommy’s Must Haves today.

The newest Sith Lord – Darth Cordy. If only I could Photoshop in some force lightning. That sums up today so far.

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