I've been annoyed with the bathing suit industry for most of my life. It's like common sense does not factor in their designs. For example, if women use band and cup sizes to find the right bra, why wouldn't bikini tops come in the same sizes? I know they usually do now, but for YEARS they came in small, medium or large, or they came in numbered sizes (size 6, 8, 10, etc.). And who doesn't know that humans often don't have the same size top as they do bottoms, so why wouldn't bathing suits always come in separate pieces?
But I thought that at least with children's bathing suits, they couldn't screw up too badly. Their just kids, so their sizes should be pretty simple. Now, I person don't like the idea of putting bikinis or even two pieces on a baby or toddler. It just doesn't look right to me. Those are adult styles designed to show off the body. IMO, children should be dressed more moderately. However, not everyone shares the same opinion, so I understand that the bathing suit industry makes bikinis and two pieces for infants.
What I can't get over is that one piece girl suits for babies and toddler don't have snaps at the bottom! Who designs these suits? Do they have or have they ever had children in diapers? Have they thought about what it's like to have to strip off a wet bathing suit in order to change a poopy swimmer diaper? And then try to get that wet bathing suit back on a squirmy toddler? RIDICULOUS!!!
Last year, after searching every store with childrens clothes in my area (which is considerable in the DC area), I found ONE bathing suit that had snaps at the bottom for my 3 month old. This year, that store is carrying some new line that I'm not ready to try, and no other stores have any with snaps. I just want a one piece bathing suit that has snaps at the bottom. Not a two piece*. Not something that looks like she's going surfing. And not something that is going to bug the crap out of me every time she needs a diaper change. URG!!
*Even if child's tankini was modest enough, I'm not good with sun block and am very nervous that I would miss a spot on my little girl's snow white belly. I just know the bathing suit top would pull up while my toddler was being her active self, and she'd end up with a bad burn on her precious skin. I'm simply not ready to attempt a two piece of any kind.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Toddler on a Train
Things are really crazy at work, and a good night's sleep is still something that exists only in my daydreams. So I'm going to be really slacking this week on posting and reading other blogs. Please know that I feel terrible about both of those things. You must know that I believe the blogging is way more important than both work and sleep, and yet I do occasionally have to prioritize work and sleep (and my family) over the blogs. I beg your pardon in this matter.
In good news, my friend (MommyEm) and her almost 17-month old girl (Dorothy) are definitely coming on vacation with us! I'm so excited! But to get to DC the day before we drive out to the beach, she will be taking a 3-hour train ride... just her and the toddler. She is (understandably) a bit nervous about how the trip will go. She will be leaving about 10:00 AM and getting in about 1:00 PM, and nap time for Dorothy is usually about 12:30, which is going to be iffy considering the excitement of the train and the trip.
Anyone have some good traveling tips for my friend? Especially for the train, which is Amtrak and won't have those seating compartments like they do in Europe. It will have a snack car, so she can probably bring the toddler to run around in there. Anyone have any good ideas? I've only done miserable car trips with no real options for my screaming child, so all I know is what the internet tells me...
In good news, my friend (MommyEm) and her almost 17-month old girl (Dorothy) are definitely coming on vacation with us! I'm so excited! But to get to DC the day before we drive out to the beach, she will be taking a 3-hour train ride... just her and the toddler. She is (understandably) a bit nervous about how the trip will go. She will be leaving about 10:00 AM and getting in about 1:00 PM, and nap time for Dorothy is usually about 12:30, which is going to be iffy considering the excitement of the train and the trip.
Anyone have some good traveling tips for my friend? Especially for the train, which is Amtrak and won't have those seating compartments like they do in Europe. It will have a snack car, so she can probably bring the toddler to run around in there. Anyone have any good ideas? I've only done miserable car trips with no real options for my screaming child, so all I know is what the internet tells me...
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Question of the Week - Choose Your Own Adventure
Between seeing Indiana Jones this weekend and reading about moms traveling with their children (A Mother's World: Journeys of the Heart), I'm feeling this pull to be adventurous. Of course, the most adventurous I'll be this week is working my butt off to meet two work deadlines and get us ready to leave for our beach vacation. But I used to be adventurous.
Question of the Week:
What is the most adventurous thing you have done (besides become a parent, because that is craziest adventure of all)?
Mine was skydiving. I really did jump out of a perfectly good airplane! It was in tandem with a pro somewhere down in the Virginia Beach area. It was exhilirating and beautiful and such an adreneline rush!
I also backpacked around Europe, sometimes venturing to places by myself over trains that arrived in the middle of the night to schetchy train stations. And I spent a week on an African island in Tunisia where me and my friend were the only Americans that almost everyone there had ever seen and only other vacationers from Europe spoke any English. But I think the skydiving was really the most adventurous.
How about you? Done anything wild and crazy? Do tell!
Question of the Week:
What is the most adventurous thing you have done (besides become a parent, because that is craziest adventure of all)?
Mine was skydiving. I really did jump out of a perfectly good airplane! It was in tandem with a pro somewhere down in the Virginia Beach area. It was exhilirating and beautiful and such an adreneline rush!
I also backpacked around Europe, sometimes venturing to places by myself over trains that arrived in the middle of the night to schetchy train stations. And I spent a week on an African island in Tunisia where me and my friend were the only Americans that almost everyone there had ever seen and only other vacationers from Europe spoke any English. But I think the skydiving was really the most adventurous.
How about you? Done anything wild and crazy? Do tell!
Monday, May 26, 2008
Loved Meeting the DC Area Internetters!
First, I'm going to do the Question of the Week tomorrow, because today is, you know, a holiday. Plus I really want to do a recounting of the DC Area Meet Up without worrying about the Question of the Week. And I know you all really would rather hear about the awesome ladies and gents I meet and how cute their children were, don't you?
First, it was great meeting all the lovely ladies, handsome husbands and adorable children. Everyone was nice and fun, which makes me excited to plan another get together! We definitely need to do another one, because this one was not the ideal opportunity to get to know everyone. It was crowded and we were all busy wrangling kids and trying to work around naps.
Should I admit that I knew the zoo would not be a good place to really get to know each other? I knew it. But I thought for a first meeting, it would provide us with distractions for the kids and an easy-to-find location. We would at least get to meet each other and put faces with names, as well as meet the kiddos.
But there are definitely some lessons learned from this meet up.
Lessons Learned:
-Do not plan to go to the zoo on Memorial Day weekend! I had not really considered the crowds both in the zoo and in trying to park. The caused mayham in trying to meet up at our initial meeting place, and trouble navigating through the zoo itself throughout the day.
-If you are the one everyone is looking for, leave extra early to be sure to get there in time even if you have parking issues. Oops. My bad, people. Sorry about that.
-Having a back-up time/place for meeting up was brilliant (if I do say so myself). I was actually able to meet up with most people at the zoo restaurant, which was our back-up place.
-Different ages and nap times will always be an issue when meeting a group of parents with their kids. I knew this ahead of time, but it bares noted again.
-I wish I could have spent more time with everyone, so next time we need to come up with a place/activity where we can coordinate schedules better and have the ability to really talk.
I'm sure there were more, but that's all that come to mind right off. Feel free to add your own in the comments, so next time will be even better. But let's talk about who was there!
People who made it (in order of my meeting them):
-La Folle Maman of Cirque du Bebe - I happen to know La Folle Maman in real life, but we haven't gotten together in a few months, and I haven't seen her Lil' Monkey in even longer! I can't believe how big he has gotten, and he was so charming and smiley. I wish you could have stayed longer, but I understand when a baby needs a nap, it is time to go.
-Becoming Mommy - It was great to finally meet Becoming Mommy. I first went to her blog after reading in a comment she left somewhere (I think on Mom-101) mentioning that she lived in the DC area. So I checked her out and immediately felt comfortable with her and charmed by her adorable Sasha. She was just as nice in person, and her smiley boy was even more adorable in person! I also wish you could have stayed longer, but when that baby needs to go, you better go.
-chaser - Although chaser does not have her own blog, she is a regular commenter on Ask Moxie, which is where the idea of a DC area get together was originally thought up and developed. Chaser was friendly and easy to talk to, her husband was wonderful, and her two boys were very cute. Unfortunately, we were only able to chat during a hurried lunch while juggling kids. We were hoping to meet them at a little playground area, but they had to leave before we got there. Sorry we didn't get to chat more! I hope we will next time.
-Colleen of Wine Please - Colleen was introduced to me through Burgh Baby's Mom because she was in the area and interested in meeting up. So I started reading her blog, which I immediately loved because she is funny and I could relate to her. She was the same in person! Funny and relatable. Her husband was also funny and so good with the kids, which can be tough when juggling one who wants to take in everything and another who does not want to be in the stroller (I know all about that!). Thanks for sticking it out even with a baby who was in need of a nap.
-Hedra of Hands Full of Rocks - Hedra is a well-known commenter on Ask Moxie, and she and her family made a 3-hour car trip to come to the zoo! She and her husband really were as wonderful in person as they are online. Her four kids were amazingly good, running around on a hill to get their pent-up energy out and being patient navigating through the crowds. After 3 hours in the car, I would have thought they'd have been a little more crazy with energy! And I got to hear hedra say to one of the kids that they shouldn't do something because "it's not safe" thus showing that she really does follow her own advice! I'm so glad you made the trip out, and hopefully you will come out for another where we might be able to really chat and get to know each other better.
-Sharina - Also a reader and commenter on Ask Moxie. Unfortunately, we missed each other at the zoo. I'm so upset that we didn't get to meet! You were perhaps the first person to contact me via email about wanting to do this get together, so I'm especially bummed we didn't see each other at all. Hopefully you had a good time at the zoo anyway.
Finally, here are some fun facts about the 10 adults and 11 children who meet up at the zoo:
-Over half of the adults are consultants/contractors. This is pretty normal in the DC area.
-3 of the 11 kids were 11 months old. That is over 25%! (Another was 10 months old.) I just thought that was an interesting coincidence.
-Of the children, there were 3 girls and 8 boys.
-3 of the 4 men had facial hair. Apparently facial hair in the DC area is HAWT (to steal a phrase from Paris Hilton and another blogger who didn't make it). And all our men (even the one without facial hair) are HAWT!
-All 6 women I got to meet? Beautiful! How do we look so good and still manage to balance working and husbands and kids and goodness knows what else? With HAWT hubbies and gorgeous children? We are all very blessed.
Okay, that's all I've got. I'm soooooo tired. It's been a long weekend, and it has taken me since last night to write this post. I still haven't gotten to respond to other people's write ups on the meet up, but I will get there! It's just been a roller coast of a weekend with very high highs (like this meet up and lunch and a movie with good friends) and very low lows (like my short fuse with the Pumpkin and her screaming for an hour straight in the wee hours and her grumpiness during the days). It's been a long weekend, and it will be an even longer week coming up. Now, it's time to go to sleep.
Thanks to all who came, and hopefully we will really get to know each other at the next meet up. I'm thinking late June? Maybe early July? I can't get enough of you people!
First, it was great meeting all the lovely ladies, handsome husbands and adorable children. Everyone was nice and fun, which makes me excited to plan another get together! We definitely need to do another one, because this one was not the ideal opportunity to get to know everyone. It was crowded and we were all busy wrangling kids and trying to work around naps.
Should I admit that I knew the zoo would not be a good place to really get to know each other? I knew it. But I thought for a first meeting, it would provide us with distractions for the kids and an easy-to-find location. We would at least get to meet each other and put faces with names, as well as meet the kiddos.
But there are definitely some lessons learned from this meet up.
Lessons Learned:
-Do not plan to go to the zoo on Memorial Day weekend! I had not really considered the crowds both in the zoo and in trying to park. The caused mayham in trying to meet up at our initial meeting place, and trouble navigating through the zoo itself throughout the day.
-If you are the one everyone is looking for, leave extra early to be sure to get there in time even if you have parking issues. Oops. My bad, people. Sorry about that.
-Having a back-up time/place for meeting up was brilliant (if I do say so myself). I was actually able to meet up with most people at the zoo restaurant, which was our back-up place.
-Different ages and nap times will always be an issue when meeting a group of parents with their kids. I knew this ahead of time, but it bares noted again.
-I wish I could have spent more time with everyone, so next time we need to come up with a place/activity where we can coordinate schedules better and have the ability to really talk.
I'm sure there were more, but that's all that come to mind right off. Feel free to add your own in the comments, so next time will be even better. But let's talk about who was there!
People who made it (in order of my meeting them):
-La Folle Maman of Cirque du Bebe - I happen to know La Folle Maman in real life, but we haven't gotten together in a few months, and I haven't seen her Lil' Monkey in even longer! I can't believe how big he has gotten, and he was so charming and smiley. I wish you could have stayed longer, but I understand when a baby needs a nap, it is time to go.
-Becoming Mommy - It was great to finally meet Becoming Mommy. I first went to her blog after reading in a comment she left somewhere (I think on Mom-101) mentioning that she lived in the DC area. So I checked her out and immediately felt comfortable with her and charmed by her adorable Sasha. She was just as nice in person, and her smiley boy was even more adorable in person! I also wish you could have stayed longer, but when that baby needs to go, you better go.
-chaser - Although chaser does not have her own blog, she is a regular commenter on Ask Moxie, which is where the idea of a DC area get together was originally thought up and developed. Chaser was friendly and easy to talk to, her husband was wonderful, and her two boys were very cute. Unfortunately, we were only able to chat during a hurried lunch while juggling kids. We were hoping to meet them at a little playground area, but they had to leave before we got there. Sorry we didn't get to chat more! I hope we will next time.
-Colleen of Wine Please - Colleen was introduced to me through Burgh Baby's Mom because she was in the area and interested in meeting up. So I started reading her blog, which I immediately loved because she is funny and I could relate to her. She was the same in person! Funny and relatable. Her husband was also funny and so good with the kids, which can be tough when juggling one who wants to take in everything and another who does not want to be in the stroller (I know all about that!). Thanks for sticking it out even with a baby who was in need of a nap.
-Hedra of Hands Full of Rocks - Hedra is a well-known commenter on Ask Moxie, and she and her family made a 3-hour car trip to come to the zoo! She and her husband really were as wonderful in person as they are online. Her four kids were amazingly good, running around on a hill to get their pent-up energy out and being patient navigating through the crowds. After 3 hours in the car, I would have thought they'd have been a little more crazy with energy! And I got to hear hedra say to one of the kids that they shouldn't do something because "it's not safe" thus showing that she really does follow her own advice! I'm so glad you made the trip out, and hopefully you will come out for another where we might be able to really chat and get to know each other better.
-Sharina - Also a reader and commenter on Ask Moxie. Unfortunately, we missed each other at the zoo. I'm so upset that we didn't get to meet! You were perhaps the first person to contact me via email about wanting to do this get together, so I'm especially bummed we didn't see each other at all. Hopefully you had a good time at the zoo anyway.
Finally, here are some fun facts about the 10 adults and 11 children who meet up at the zoo:
-Over half of the adults are consultants/contractors. This is pretty normal in the DC area.
-3 of the 11 kids were 11 months old. That is over 25%! (Another was 10 months old.) I just thought that was an interesting coincidence.
-Of the children, there were 3 girls and 8 boys.
-3 of the 4 men had facial hair. Apparently facial hair in the DC area is HAWT (to steal a phrase from Paris Hilton and another blogger who didn't make it). And all our men (even the one without facial hair) are HAWT!
-All 6 women I got to meet? Beautiful! How do we look so good and still manage to balance working and husbands and kids and goodness knows what else? With HAWT hubbies and gorgeous children? We are all very blessed.
Okay, that's all I've got. I'm soooooo tired. It's been a long weekend, and it has taken me since last night to write this post. I still haven't gotten to respond to other people's write ups on the meet up, but I will get there! It's just been a roller coast of a weekend with very high highs (like this meet up and lunch and a movie with good friends) and very low lows (like my short fuse with the Pumpkin and her screaming for an hour straight in the wee hours and her grumpiness during the days). It's been a long weekend, and it will be an even longer week coming up. Now, it's time to go to sleep.
Thanks to all who came, and hopefully we will really get to know each other at the next meet up. I'm thinking late June? Maybe early July? I can't get enough of you people!
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Cara Mama - Routine Re-instated
Cara Mama,
Yesterday was a bit rough for me. It's hard having my routine so disrupted. I had a lot of fun, and I know I was pretty good, but it was hard. So today helped a lot. I appreciate you nursing me and letting me nap a bit extra this morning. I know I was whiny, and thanks for being understanding and holding me when I needed it.
I liked having my godfather and his wife over for lunch! That was fun. I hope you had fun at the movies*. I liked having the nanny here, because she is fun and I'm used to seeing her. I really needed that 2 hour nap too. Can you believe I slept for two hour? Going down to one nap a day really makes me want to sleep longer. Hopefully, tonight's routine will go well and I'll be able to get to sleep pretty easily!
Ti amo,
Pumpkin
*We saw the new Indiana Jones movie, which was pretty good in parts and super cheesy and a bit lame in others. Eh. But at least we went out to the movies!!
Yesterday was a bit rough for me. It's hard having my routine so disrupted. I had a lot of fun, and I know I was pretty good, but it was hard. So today helped a lot. I appreciate you nursing me and letting me nap a bit extra this morning. I know I was whiny, and thanks for being understanding and holding me when I needed it.
I liked having my godfather and his wife over for lunch! That was fun. I hope you had fun at the movies*. I liked having the nanny here, because she is fun and I'm used to seeing her. I really needed that 2 hour nap too. Can you believe I slept for two hour? Going down to one nap a day really makes me want to sleep longer. Hopefully, tonight's routine will go well and I'll be able to get to sleep pretty easily!
Ti amo,
Pumpkin
*We saw the new Indiana Jones movie, which was pretty good in parts and super cheesy and a bit lame in others. Eh. But at least we went out to the movies!!
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