THIS MOMENT

What a cheese! #babyledweaning #blw #babycolepgh

GOALS: MOTIVATION

I know it’s only the end of July but I’m already gearing up for a new season. I want a fresh start and in my mind Fall will provide that. But I need to start now. This summer has been fun, but I have not accomplished as much as I would like. I feel a bit stagnant…on my days off I tend to stay in PJs most of the day watching TV, playing with Jack and napping when he does. I also have done waaaay too much online shopping. I need to snap myself out of this boring (and then expensive) rut and get myself on track. I hope typing out these simple goals will provide some motivation to actually accomplish them. 

1. Live minimally  -  less spending, less clothes, less junk

2. Eat healthy  -  salads, soups, water, real food

3. Exercise  - daily sit-ups, daily walks, work up to running

30 BEFORE 30: #2

I’m so excited to cross another item off of my 30 Before 30 list, have a drink with my 21-year-old sister! It just so happens I’m going in order of the list…however that will end soon because I can’t afford to go to Liverpool next! 

My sister turned 21 while she was studying abroad in England, so when she returned this past May it was time to take her out for a proper birthday celebration! We had a delicious meal at Girasole in Shadyside and enjoyed cocktails, then a few glasses of wine. 

It still blows my mind that she has grown up…I never expected her to stay my little baby sister, but it still sometimes hits me just how old she is now! She’s lived in Europe, alone, for almost a year, has one year left of college, has held several professional jobs, and so much more. I do love watching her grow up into this amazing woman, maybe that’s a cliche thing for an older sister to say, but it’s true. 

On that sappy note, I also like the fact that we can drink tequila shots together now, too. 

THIS WEEKEND I:

Watched: so many episodes of Parks & Recreation…and LOVE it!

Listened: to Jack laugh over everything! 

Learned: that I need to suck it up and just be happy working an overnight shift. 

Ate: my mom’s homemade waffle recipe.

Read: Beyond the Sling.

Drank: a watermelon slushy.

Thought: a lot about my family home.

Wished: I had a real weekend off.

Realized: that I’m almost out of frozen breast milk.

Bought: foam floor pads to baby-proof the living room! 

(A NEW) INDEPENDENCE DAY

The Fourth of July has always been my favorite holiday. Every year my family would host a huge breakfast at our house before heading up to our neighborhood parade. It was a tradition older than me and we took great pride in it. But life happens, my parents moved and Independence Day really became just July 4 to me.

I haven’t been too upset about it the past couple years, but this year was different. I think it’s because of Jack. It’s weird to think that he won’t know that part of my family. I guess it’s not just the 4th, it’s everything that the house represented about my family. He won’t know the card parties with my Pap-Pap Joe, he won’t know that our house was the center of basically all the great family parties, he won’t know where I grew up. I guess I have to actually grow up now, life goes on and we make new traditions. The traditions will be his, the ones that he’ll remember when he’s my age and hopefully cherish. 

A favorite at our breakfast on the 4th were my mom’s waffles…so this year I made them for Jack. This is something I want to continue to do every year, some of my tradition but in a new way for Jack. He loved them! He seriously ate a whole waffle. I mean a lot of it was on the floor, but he ate a ton and kept grabbing for more! 

Then we headed over to Mt. Washington for a picnic at my friend Ashley’s place. She has an amazing backyard and we definitely enjoyed hanging out with friends. Hopefully next year we can stay for the fireworks (I was worried about them upsetting Jack this year). 

All in all it was a happy day celebrating Independence Day, remembering our past and moving forward together. 

IT IS ILLEGAL FOR WOMEN TO GO TOPLESS IN MOST CITIES, YET YOU CAN BUY A MAGAZINE OF A WOMAN WITHOUT HER TOP ON AT ANY 7-11 STORE. SO, YOU CAN SELL BREASTS, BUT YOU CANNOT WEAR BREASTS, IN AMERICA.

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Violet Rose (via c-icatrix)

This is one of my favorite quotes about sexualization/objectification vs autonomy of female bodies bc it’s so succinct

(via platonicsbeforeerotics)

THIS MOMENT

This boy is loving to roll around right now. He’s a squirmy one when he is held and just want’s to do his own thing. 

theatlantic.comON TV, DADS ARE IDIOTS, AND THAT'S NOT A GOOD THING 

On television shows, dads have been portrayed as incompetent dolts reflecting and encouraging a damaging attitude towards men and childcare.

This was such a good read. I’m a bit media obsessed, TV and movies, and for me it’s always a good reminder to not take fluff movies at face value-the characters are often flawed and should not be the standard in real life.

I’m so happy to be a parent in 2014 with my husband. We are really striving for equality in parenting. We’re not perfect but I don’t think there was ever the expectation that I would be the primary caregiver. We both have our time with Jack while the other person works. The Ginger takes care of Jack at night while I’m working. He knows Jack’s body language, mood, and sounds. Just this morning I was trying to get Jack back to sleep because it was still early and the Ginger yelled up the stairs that it sounded like he needed to burp. He knows his kid. As it should be. I love that. I don’t know how there is any other option. 

“The Atlantic has charted in multiple stories over the past couple years: if we want gender equality, men have to step up as parents to free up their partners as workers. And not when the kids are teenagers, but when they’re babies. 

"What I’ve noticed in my own life and among my friends,” Oppenheimer said. “The men who’ve spent a good deal of time with their kids—maybe not as much as their wives, but a good deal of time—there is a seamless transition as the kids grow up. They develop a competency that they are proud of and that stays with them." 

I’ve noticed a key variation on this pattern, too. Men who chose to—or had to—spend time alone with their infants develop more parenting skills than those who don’t have to "solo,” as I call it. And those early experiences compound as the children get older. If you know what you’re doing when the kid’s two months old, you’ll be more likely to know what you’re doing when the kid is ten months or ten years old.“