Latte-Lovin’ Mama

As a sensitive person, I didn’t do caffeine. 

The few times I drank coffee my rate of speech doubled, and I couldn’t sleep until a few days later.  

(Maybe a slight exaggeration, but you get the point here.)

Continue… »

Lose Weight the Jon Lovitz Way!

On the finale of “Last Comic Standing,” comedian Jon Lovitz explained, “I discovered the secret to losing weight. As you all know, muscle weighs more than fat. So if you really want to lose weight, you really have to get rid of all that muscle.”

I think I’ve been on that plan lately.

With both kids in preschool for the past three weeks, my body is changing. Where I used to be constantly on my feet, wiping bottoms, cleaning up spills, and running after bikes during the morning, I’m now happily seated, sedentary, rarely moving, in front of the computer, writing. 

Continue… »

Gyno Gratitude

Yesterday was my annual OB-GYN appointment.

I was filled with such gratitude for the doctor who brought my boys safely into this world.

Without her, the outcome of my first son’s birth may have been different.  During the twenty-four hours prior to her entry into my son’s birth story, the other doctor and nurses were expecting me to make important decisions and lead the birthing process. 

Continue… »

The Prius Greening of America

After preschool today, I was loading both boys’ bikes into the back of our Prius. A man walking his two dogs stopped next to our car. He was a big guy with large biceps and a bald head. Normally I’m used to getting comments about the kids’ bikes, etc. from fellow parents, but he wasn’t looking at the bikes.

“How do you like your car?” he asked. I explained how much I love it. He asked how often I fill up the tank. I said every two weeks, but I actually have no idea. I fill it up when it’s close to empty. But I told him it gets about forty-five miles a gallon.

This I knew.

Continue… »

Saving the Whales

Continue… »

Butterflies — and Tears — Are Free

Monday afternoon my boys were begging to go outside.  They didn’t want to go in the backyard where they can play independently, but in the front yard to ride their bikes. 

I needed to unload the grocery bags first, and then empty the dishwasher.  That doesn’t sound difficult, but with cleaning up accidental spills and refereeing the sharing of toys, it looked like it may take us three days before we’d get to see the sun.

Finally, I told them we would visit the bathroom and then go outside.  When Henrik, my two-year-old, was standing by the bathtub, all of a sudden he fell straight down, hitting his chin on the bathtub and then ricocheted back to hit his head on the toilet, and then crumpled on the floor screaming.  Lucas, my four-year-old, ran to his room to hide since he hates the sound of his brother crying. 

Continue… »

Kevin Costner is My Guru

My good friend Kevin Costner came for breakfast Sunday morning.

OK, not in real life, but via “Parade” in “The SF Chronicle.”

I was having one of those days where I think the world is mad at me, and I wonder if I should even continue with writing since if everyone is mad at me, they won’t want to read me.

Continue… »

Real Life Snapped Between All the Kodak Moments

Standing in the kitchen at the brink of dawn, I’m not quite awake, so I don’t want the junior paparazzi capturing the moment. But I’ve grown accustomed to the photographs, so much so that I often don’t notice them being taken any longer.

The pictures I take of our family are the life moments I want to remember, the “cute” ones: the first day of school, a baby with food all over his face, my two boys eating popsicles on the front step.

My husband takes amazing photographs of nature, including a pair of frog lovers preparing to bring new tadpoles into the waterways of College of Marin. He also photographs our boys, zoomed in with serious expressions or action shots of them riding their bikes.

Continue… »

Another “Dreaded” Father’s Day Gift

My husband must be the most difficult person to shop for. 

He hates knick-knacks or anything without a utilitarian purpose.  The only “things” he likes are either technology-related, or camera equipment.  I can buy neither for him because he is one, an engineer, and two, a master researcher who reads hundreds of reviews and somehow is able to buy things for less than it costs to make them. 

Like our Tivos. Yes, plural. We have three.  Two currently sit next to our TV, and one is in the attic, just in case.

Continue… »

May the Porcelain God Shine Happily On My Second Child

Before my first son was even interested in potty training, I worried about it — should we be starting, why doesn’t he show any readiness at age three, etc.  

When he finally was ready, my husband and I made a big deal every time he peed, congratulating him. 

With my second son following two years behind his big brother, I’m amazed at how much simpler things have been.  His birth, for example, was so much easier than the first; things were already stretched out, and I knew how long to wait at home before going to the hospital.  I also knew to ask for an epidural instead of trying to make it through excruciating back labor as I did the first time.

Continue… »