“Whatever happened to predictability… the milkman, the paperboy, and evening TV?” The opening notes to the theme song of Full House, one of the most beloved sitcoms of the late 80s and early 90s, immediately evokes nostalgic memories for a generation of neon-wearing children. For me, hearing the lyrics puts me in my parent’s basement excitedly awaiting the next half hour of my 8 year old life, wherein I would wish that I too was a member of the Tanner family.
The Spring time change is approaching, and On March 13th at 2:00 a.m. we move our clocks forward by one hour and instead of rejoicing about more daylight and the cue that winter is almost over, parents everywhere await the horror. Yes, just when you have your baby on a great sleep schedule, Spring Daylight Saving Time hits and screws it all up!
We love great movies here at Urban Mommies. Oscar night allows us to indulge our Hollywood fantasies as star or director, studio boss or film reviewer. We all become movie experts on Oscar night. Chef Wolfgang Puck makes the celebration of cinema’s brightest night delicious with this award-worthy recipe for Raspberry Panna Cotta.
The Glitz, The Glam, The Gossip. It’s Oscar season in tinseltown and Hollywood’s biggest night is upon us. The Academy Awards is the culmination of the year in film, and the nominees have been active in talk show and media circuits promoting the projects for which they hope to take home a coveted golden statue. For those of us regular folk who are not planning on attending the awards show, the Oscars are the perfect excuse to indulge in rich foods, decadent desserts, and bubbly cocktails while enjoying the show from the comfort of our couches.
The other day I was so engrossed with something happening on a Facebook feed, I didn’t realize my children were completely trashing our playroom. Cry for attention maybe? It’s so easy to get distracted with the never ending access to people and entertainment with smart technology. What started as a “quick check” of Facebook turned into, well, a lot longer.
My first child had a delivery that made many a mom hate me. This wonderfully compliant girl arrived at exactly forty weeks and one day. I arrived at the hospital, received an epidural, and birthed a baby girl in under two hours. Quick, uneventful, successful.
See? You hate me. But don’t worry, it won’t last.
Especially if they’ve been trying to conceive, women can become understandably obsessed with recognizing early pregnancy signs and symptoms. We all know that you wait until you’ve missed a period, take a test, and you will know for sure. But what about the other little signs that women seem to know, but the books rarely mention? They are called ‘soft signs of pregnancy’ or ‘signs of implantation’ and are hardly discussed. Once, when I was a week late, somebody asked me – do you feel pregnant? Pardon? Feel?
When I had my first baby and became a stay-at-home-mom, I hit a wall of loneliness after about 8 weeks of having zero adult conversation throughout the day and never going anywhere because my baby hated the car more than anything else. I desperately needed to find people I could connect with in order to save my sanity. My wonderful doula suggested that I meet up with a group of girls who called themselves the Booby Buddies (a bunch of breastfeeding mamas offering each other support). Feeling really awkward, I timidly contacted one of the girls in the group and she promptly invited me over for a play date.
I travel often with my kids and while it’s much easier now as they’re getting older, I still remember the horrific time with one baby in a carrier, the other standing beside me trying to manoeuvre in a tiny airplane stall. And then there’s the flight where at least one child has cried for 9 straight hours. Yes, I have experienced flights from hell, and lived to tell the tale.
Just over ten years ago I moved from Ontario to British Columbia. In addition to the three hour time change and milder climate, I was baffled that prices could be so different in the two provinces. Fitness studios, manicures and spas are a much better value on the west coast, but life’s staples are considerably more expensive. It’s not just the million dollar teardown homes that blow family budgets, but gas and groceries take a huge dent out of monthly paychecks compared to what the family spent in Ontario.
