Around the time my old friend Jess’s daughter (now a very sophisticated five and a half year old) turned four, she reportedly started rolling her eyes and otherwise sassing her mother. Jess eventually discovered that some of the infamous hormones found coursing through the veins of adolescents are also present in preschoolers. If that’s the case, we are definitely entering Thumbsucker High around here. As we approach birthday #4, all the signs are there: the attitude, the backtalking, the constant battle of wills. Hank’s also becoming highly skilled at picking up on one’s weak points (of which I have maaaany) and engaging in shameless manipulation.
This is all made up for (to some degree) by the amazing and hilarious shit that comes out of his mouth. And by the ability to have something approaching an intelligent conversation with one of the crazy aliens with whom I spend most of my waking hours. I’m often blown away by the cuteness of the imaginative play (toys having conversations with each other etc.)
It all hit home the other day when I noticed, for the first time, Hank using like as a quotative. As in: “I found some food on my pants and I’m like, ‘I’m going to eat it up.’” I was kind of stunned and a little tickled. I guess with two Gen-X parents it was only a matter of time. But still…
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Do I Get Any Points for Originality?
I’m always intrigued when the Social Security Administration comes out with its annual list of most popular baby names. In case you haven’t read it somewhere else, Jacob and Emma are at the top for 2008. I happen to have noticed that Emma is also #1 in France. What would Flaubert have to say about that?
The thing that strikes me about this year’s top 20 girls names is that quite a few of them are really nice (Ava, Sophia, Olivia). On the other hand, you have both Madison and Addison in the top 15. Just don’t get it…
Everyone wants a nice name for his/her kid, I suppose. But no one wants to be the fourth little Jacob in kindergarten. Before my kids were born, I checked the lists and immediately ruled out any name anywhere near the top. (Coco might have been just another little Natalie if I hadn’t spotted it in on somebody’s list). Must admit to being a little annoyed when Julia Roberts and Heidi Klum popped out a couple of Henrys in the months/years following my own Hank’s appearance on the scene. But the wave of little Henrys I was dreading doesn’t seem to have materialized. The name has, in fact, jumped in the past three years (from 102 to 78), but it’s still reassuringly far down the list, and I have yet to run into one on the playground. I do think it’s a name one would be more likely to encounter in NYC than in the wilds of exurbia. Out here, there are lots of Aidens, Jadens, Cadens and so forth.
We came across Henry while perusing a baby name book published in the 50s, and it was settled in fairly short order. Little Coco was more of a challenge. I was pushing for a series of old lady names (Helen, Frances, Louise) and Christian was resisting. We were at an impasse and were considering taking her home without a name. However, they apparently won’t let you leave the hospital in Virginia without putting something down on paper, so we would have had to give her a placeholder (like X), and we just could not do it. We settled on Colette in honor of couple of favorite friends and the writer of whom I have long been a fan. Colette was actually one of the names whose prevalence I had failed to research, but based on anecdotal evidence, I figured it was a pretty safe bet. Turns out I had nothing to worry about: Colette appears to have reached its peak in the mid-sixties (around 400) until it dropped off the chart (which goes up to 1000) in 1987. I was a little irritated when friends of friends gave their daughter Colette as a middle name shortly after ours was born. Out common friend swears it was a coincidence. In any case, I got over it.
Jennifer, you may be interested to learn, was #1 for an astonishing 15 years (from 70-84) which explains its prevalence among the playground mommies here and (I’m sure) everywhere else in America. Thanks to my crazy parents, my own (real) name has never appeared in the top 1000. Guess I was born to nonconform…
The thing that strikes me about this year’s top 20 girls names is that quite a few of them are really nice (Ava, Sophia, Olivia). On the other hand, you have both Madison and Addison in the top 15. Just don’t get it…
Everyone wants a nice name for his/her kid, I suppose. But no one wants to be the fourth little Jacob in kindergarten. Before my kids were born, I checked the lists and immediately ruled out any name anywhere near the top. (Coco might have been just another little Natalie if I hadn’t spotted it in on somebody’s list). Must admit to being a little annoyed when Julia Roberts and Heidi Klum popped out a couple of Henrys in the months/years following my own Hank’s appearance on the scene. But the wave of little Henrys I was dreading doesn’t seem to have materialized. The name has, in fact, jumped in the past three years (from 102 to 78), but it’s still reassuringly far down the list, and I have yet to run into one on the playground. I do think it’s a name one would be more likely to encounter in NYC than in the wilds of exurbia. Out here, there are lots of Aidens, Jadens, Cadens and so forth.
We came across Henry while perusing a baby name book published in the 50s, and it was settled in fairly short order. Little Coco was more of a challenge. I was pushing for a series of old lady names (Helen, Frances, Louise) and Christian was resisting. We were at an impasse and were considering taking her home without a name. However, they apparently won’t let you leave the hospital in Virginia without putting something down on paper, so we would have had to give her a placeholder (like X), and we just could not do it. We settled on Colette in honor of couple of favorite friends and the writer of whom I have long been a fan. Colette was actually one of the names whose prevalence I had failed to research, but based on anecdotal evidence, I figured it was a pretty safe bet. Turns out I had nothing to worry about: Colette appears to have reached its peak in the mid-sixties (around 400) until it dropped off the chart (which goes up to 1000) in 1987. I was a little irritated when friends of friends gave their daughter Colette as a middle name shortly after ours was born. Out common friend swears it was a coincidence. In any case, I got over it.
Jennifer, you may be interested to learn, was #1 for an astonishing 15 years (from 70-84) which explains its prevalence among the playground mommies here and (I’m sure) everywhere else in America. Thanks to my crazy parents, my own (real) name has never appeared in the top 1000. Guess I was born to nonconform…
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Freeloading...Freestyle
Spring is my favorite time of year for a number of reasons, not least of which is the onset of yard sale season. I love driving through exurbia on a bright Saturday morning with a travel mug full of steaming tea and a wad of cash in my pocket. There’s nothing as exhilarating as finding the motherlode of little girls T-shirts (10¢ each) in front of someone’s tract house. Most of my kids’ clothes (and plenty of mine too) are second hand. A lot of it (especially the girls’ stuff) is not necessarily what I would have picked out if I could style my principina exactly the way I wanted. But she’d look cute in a paper bag and doesn’t seem to mind.
Buying up other people’s cast offs is just one of the many ways this frugal domestic goddess keeps the family budget in line. Among the other belt tightening measures I have taken on: Gave up my $25 a bottle shampoo in favor of $4 Pantene (there is a difference in case you were wondering). Switched from premium to cheap-ass cat food (sorry boys). Let my magazine subscriptions expire and put Netflix on hold (sniff). Of course, we long ago gave up new books, records, dining out, round robins at the tennis club and most cosmetics. I did buy a $16 lip gloss from Mac earlier this spring. Felt a little guilty but I looove it. The color is perfect. The packaging is perfect. I actually feel kind of glam when I’m wearing it to preschool drop off, the way I used to back in the days when I’d routinely walk over to Saks on my lunch break and buy something from Stila as a little pick me up….
Let’s see…I’ve been putting off getting a new pair of glasses after Hank caused mine to break in half by jumping on them. Also putting off getting a haircut but it will have to be done at some point. I was commiserating on this subject with a friend whose husband was recently laid off from a technology company and who has been implementing a similar austerity plan. She mentioned that she’d stumbled across a 10% off coupon from the one and only hair salon in Lovetown and wondered if she should give it a shot. I regularly drive by this place, which is located on the main drag in our sorry little hamlet. It appears to be staffed by a bunch of leather skinned hags (with terrible 80s hair) who hang out on the sidewalk smoking cigarettes. Hell no, I told her. Spend an extra $10 and go to a “real” salon in the inner exurbs where at least they’ll make every effort to make you look like Jennifer Aniston from her Friends days instead of Joan Cusack in Working Girl.
There are a few small indulgences I’ve refused (so far) to give up: swimming lessons for my boy, Ghirardelli chocolate and the occasional bikini/eyebrow wax. I still buy organic veggies/milk/hormone free meats as much as possible (although we do have a two-tier system in place as far as eggs go: organic for me and the kids and cheap/industrial for poor old papa).
Anyway, above all, we try to keep things simple. And I’m always on the lookout for free activities. Among my favorites are once a month Friday happy hours at a local yoga studio (an hour of free yoga, followed by wine and cheese) and story hour at the local library. Coco and I generally hit this one while Hank’s in school. It’s quite the social scene for local toddlers. If only they served cocktails.
Buying up other people’s cast offs is just one of the many ways this frugal domestic goddess keeps the family budget in line. Among the other belt tightening measures I have taken on: Gave up my $25 a bottle shampoo in favor of $4 Pantene (there is a difference in case you were wondering). Switched from premium to cheap-ass cat food (sorry boys). Let my magazine subscriptions expire and put Netflix on hold (sniff). Of course, we long ago gave up new books, records, dining out, round robins at the tennis club and most cosmetics. I did buy a $16 lip gloss from Mac earlier this spring. Felt a little guilty but I looove it. The color is perfect. The packaging is perfect. I actually feel kind of glam when I’m wearing it to preschool drop off, the way I used to back in the days when I’d routinely walk over to Saks on my lunch break and buy something from Stila as a little pick me up….
Let’s see…I’ve been putting off getting a new pair of glasses after Hank caused mine to break in half by jumping on them. Also putting off getting a haircut but it will have to be done at some point. I was commiserating on this subject with a friend whose husband was recently laid off from a technology company and who has been implementing a similar austerity plan. She mentioned that she’d stumbled across a 10% off coupon from the one and only hair salon in Lovetown and wondered if she should give it a shot. I regularly drive by this place, which is located on the main drag in our sorry little hamlet. It appears to be staffed by a bunch of leather skinned hags (with terrible 80s hair) who hang out on the sidewalk smoking cigarettes. Hell no, I told her. Spend an extra $10 and go to a “real” salon in the inner exurbs where at least they’ll make every effort to make you look like Jennifer Aniston from her Friends days instead of Joan Cusack in Working Girl.
There are a few small indulgences I’ve refused (so far) to give up: swimming lessons for my boy, Ghirardelli chocolate and the occasional bikini/eyebrow wax. I still buy organic veggies/milk/hormone free meats as much as possible (although we do have a two-tier system in place as far as eggs go: organic for me and the kids and cheap/industrial for poor old papa).
Anyway, above all, we try to keep things simple. And I’m always on the lookout for free activities. Among my favorites are once a month Friday happy hours at a local yoga studio (an hour of free yoga, followed by wine and cheese) and story hour at the local library. Coco and I generally hit this one while Hank’s in school. It’s quite the social scene for local toddlers. If only they served cocktails.
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