I put all this energy, during my pregnancy, so that my Son would have his space and his room and in my pregnant mind that is where he was always going to sleep: alone, happy, long, long hours. I am such a sound and good sleeper that not even for one brief moment I thought my baby could be any different. Or maybe it was just the denial of the possibility driven by my own attachment to precious undisturbed sleep.
September the 16th 2013 marks my Son’s 3rd Birthday, and I have mixed emotions about that. Part of me feels like he is growing up way too fast and everything is slipping by, and another part of me is so proud with the way he is growing into such a happy, considerate and caring little boy. I love being his Mum so much!
Being a Stay-At-Home-Mum in New York City is not always easy, especially during the colder weather. It is definitely not like the environment where I grew up in Australia where my Mother told me and my brother and sisters to go outside and play every day; you just do not have that choice here as a parent.
Glass Slippers are back in on Broadway, but let’s be honest with the Kate-Moss-Wearing Stuart Weitzman designing them, of course they are! — Willy B Mum.
Last week, here in New York Fabulous City, I was invited by The Moms with my girlfriend and fellow blogger Kristin, to stop by to see the musical “Cinderella on Broadway” This was of particular excitement for me, as after living in NYC for 10 years, I had never been to a Broadway Show…. I know, right, this is kind of embarrassing. But, last night I checked it off my list of things to do and had a wonderful time doing so.
Without getting into too much detail, when Miles Storm was first born, it took a huge toll on my husband and my relationship. While family and friends were worried about me developing postnatal depression, it was actually my husband who took our Son’s arrival the hardest. As a result, during the majority of the first year I spent a lot of time upstate NY in Rhinebeck (at our weekend house) with our 2 dogs and our newborn Son. My husband works in New York City, so we would see him on the weekends. It was rough for me for sure, although I hate admitting that. I saw a therapist on a weekly basis and tried my best to navigate through all the changes.
Did you know, that some conservationists estimate that at least ONE MILLION animals die in the United States annually from plastic related issues? Just let that number sink in – ONE MILLION animals die because of plastic. While, apparently the fish that are killed in the wild each year is a lot higher. Let’s take it a step further and say, that around 500 billion plastic bags go into circulation each year. Sit there and consider that for a moment! I mean, it literally just breaks my heart.
So, straight off the plane from an amazingly wonderful 4 week family holiday to Croatia, Montenegro and the United Kingdom I am back full-swing into being a Stay-At-Home-Mummy. And, what a whirlwind it is. I am juggling insane jetlag, finally pulling together the Open House of the Brooklyn Chapter of the Holistic Moms Network, planning a 10 city marketing campaign through my boutique agency Honey Bee MGMT, organizing Miles Storm’s 2nd birthday, writing this Blog post, finding time to exercise and today deal with my little boy’s first day at school! I mean, there is just not enough hours in the day is there?
Last week, I decided to take Miles Storm on a day trip to Prospect Park, which is in Brooklyn about 4 miles from where we live in Williamsburg. It was a pleasant day, he’d slept in late (amazing as therefore so did I) and as a result we had missed his morning art-class meaning that I had to come up with another activity to keep him entertained. I have lived in NYC for 10 years, and Prospect Park has been one of the places I have always wanted to visit however it never happened – the same with The Intrepid and the American Museum of Natural History. Now that Miles Storm is here it looks like all that will finally manifest, as goodness knows I have tried to convince my husband to tag along with me for years to no avail!
As we have a swimming pool and a lake on the family property upstate NY it was a priority for my husband and I to start our Son Swimming lessons as soon as possible. I knew about the Williamsburg/Greenpoint located Aqua Beba Swim School and wanted to check out their vibe and do a drop-in lesson before we committed. Fair enough I thought? However, when I first called to inquire it was politely explained to me that it was a matter of privacy towards the participating families and as each group progressed together it was not fair to bring in curious-not-sure parents to observe a class. Well, the way it was explained left me no choice and on Word-Of-Mouth recommendations I agreed to sign Miles Storm up for his first semester of lessons. And, I am happy to write that we were so not disappointed.
When I was pregnant I did a lot of reading – I had recently been let go from my job as a Director of Events at Night Agency in Soho, (where I had been for 6 years), so I had plenty of free time on my hands which I really did not know what to do with?
Being Holistic Minded, and while putting together my baby shower gift registry I realized all toys are not created equal. My interest in soft-toys was specific as that is what my baby would be playing with, more so than harder ones, when he was born. I also knew that the soft-toys were going to be spending a lot of time in my Little One’s mouth once he started teething!