Boy, she's pretty much inescapable these days, that Sheryl Sandberg. Lately I feel like she done leaned right on into my livingroom. The other day at the gym I was reading Time's cover article on Sandberg while watching a CNN piece on Sandberg that referenced a Vanity Fair article on Sandberg (in an issue which perhaps ironically has Taylor Swift on the cover...contrasts). The woman's gone meta. I have no real quarrel with Sandberg. The Mommy Wars aren't really my thing, and anyway, she's obviously talented, smart, and ambitious and her career savvy has paid off handsomely, and why ... [READ MORE]
Mompetition
January 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment
I have a couple of friends -- real friends, women I genuinely like and enjoy spending time with -- who for a while I was seriously considering breaking up with on Facebook. I know that sounds passive-aggressive, and maybe it is, but I sort of reached a point where I couldn't take it anymore. Facebook is a truly, deeply weird planet. I mean, I am aware that every Facebook page is a carefully curated, highly edited version of real life; a place where our children's foibles are just cute as beans, and our hair looks good, and we're perpetually on vacation or at the pumpkin patch or scoring a ... [READ MORE]
In the Dark
October 1, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Wherever you are, it is dark. That is the first criterion. It is dark, and, with any luck, it is quiet. Because this is the Wind-Down Time. Usually, you are at home, in your baby's room, or in your room; but sometimes, you are in your in-laws' study, or your sister's guest room, or your college buddy's bathroom (in the worst-case scenario, and obviously not speaking from experience, of course). In any case, the time has come for your child to Wind Down, so you find or create a quiet space to rock and soothe and see it through. If your baby is nursing, the breast does the work. If ... [READ MORE]
And So It Begins, Part 2 (How It Really Began)
August 15, 2012 by 1 Comment
Babyman started his new Pre-K the first Monday after our two-week family vacation in Tahoe. Babyman is not fond of change or shake-ups to his routine. He is, however, tremendously fond of family vacations in Tahoe. It follows that shaking up his routine just as our Tahoe vacation came to an end was something less than popular. We dedicated the ride home to hyper-enthusiastic Pre-K prep as only nervous parents can. We stopped along the way to get a back-to-school outfit and, most importantly, a snazzy Cars 2 lunchbox. The lunchbox, its utter coolness, its "I can't wait to show the ... [READ MORE]
Cold Beer & Conversation
June 20, 2012 by 1 Comment
If you are late to the Less on the Floor party, I might as well reiterate that Babyman is somewhat challenged in the falling asleep department. This means, almost four years in, that Babyman's parents (me being one of them) are somewhat challenged in the sanity department. You know that internet-sensation book, Go the F--- to Sleep, that everyone thought was SO FUNNY last year? I own that book in hardcover. I read it for solace. I take it as a sign from above that my husband and I are not alone on the barren desert of bedtime. Somewhere, not that long ago, someone else felt the way we ... [READ MORE]
Boredom
December 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Well, I can kiss my dreams of quitting my day job to become a full-time mommy blogger/Today show contributor goodbye, because I am clearly unable to juggle two children and a blog with four loyal followers (love you guys!). But hey, I'm not going to beat myself up about it, because I am the new-and-improved relaxed Jaime now. (Can't you tell?) In all seriousness, I learned a valuable lesson after I allowed our first big holiday (Thanksgiving) to totally stress me out. Late that night, as I sat in the darkness feeding Babygirl, enjoying the solitude after a crazy day, I realized I had ... [READ MORE]
Oh, We’re Just Passing Through…
November 2, 2011 by 1 Comment
In honor of Babygirl's arrival I have switched back to part-time work, and though my maternity leave officially ends after Thanksgiving, we ratcheted Babyman down to part-time daycare on November 1. Which means, of course, that yesterday was my first full day with two children, on my own. I'll kill the suspense here and tell you that it went really well, and I feel with some confidence that I can do this. (Though it also bears pointing out that in doing this I will do little -- read: NOTHING -- else. I will not read the paper, I will not watch the news, I will not download the new ... [READ MORE]
