Shifting Life

Christmas in August

Willa and I were invited to attend a private party at Radio City Music Hall to kick off this season of The Christmas Spectacular staring the Rockettes.

We had so much fun. There’s something almost magical about the Rockettes, and Willa is mesmerized by them.

Willa was not shy about showing the Rockettes her moves, and I’m so thankful that this event was the day before Willa broke her ankle. (That’s a long story. Maybe I’ll write a post about it.)

Then, we got to see the Rockettes perform. Always so amazing.

*Thanks to the people at MSG who hosted this event. You guys are great hosts.

Energy

Will I ever feel rested again? I ask myself this question every day.

I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t tired. I wonder if it’s just because of my physical issues (Fibromyalgia, Epstein Barr, etc.), or if most adults feel this way?

I find that if I don’t rely on caffeine (I used to have a cup of black tea every morning), and I drink green juice in the morning (Apples, carrots, kale, spinach, grapes, and whatever berries I have in the house), that it helps me get through the day, but I still wake up every morning feeling exhausted.

I feel like if I could just figure out this one part of my life- how to be less tired, then everything else wouldn’t seem so overwhelming. Being tired can make you crazy.

Also, do you think there are different kinds of tired? Because I swear I’m more tired now than I was when Willa was an infant. I wonder- Do the hormones secreted when you breastfeed help you deal with the lack of sleep?

Are you tired all the time? Did you used to be tired, but now you have more energy? What’s your secret?

Recovering

I’d love to tell you all about the Blogher 10 conference I attended, but I am EXHAUSTED.

I went to bed at 3am the first night and 2am the second night. I am obviously too old for that.

So, until I recover, I will leave you with this picture I took of Willa and her Daddy in Central Park yesterday:

I can’t get out of the car if one of the following songs is on the radio

Superstitious by Stevie Wonder

Wanted Dead or Alive by Bon Jovi

Living on a Prayer by Bon Jovi

25 or 6 to 4 by Chicago

Groove is in the Heart by Deee-Lite

Love Shack by The B52′s

Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen

Are You Gonna Go My Way? by Lenny Kravitz

Blister in the Sun by the Violent Femmes

Hey Ya! byOutkast

Creep by Radio Head

Electioneering by Radio Head

Crazy by Gnarls Barkley

Gold Digger by Kayne West featuring Jamie Foxx

Graceland by Paul Simon

Happiness is a Warm Gun by The Beatles

Hard to Handle by The Black Crows

Jump Around by House of Pain

Fix You by Coldplay

Politik by Coldplay

Lose Yourself by Eminem

Mr. Mastodon Farm by Cake

Never is a Promise by Fiona Apple

Piano Man by Billy Joel

Scenes From an Italian Restaurant by Billy Joel

Roxanne by The Police

Scenario by A Tribe Called Quest

SexyBack by Justin Timberlake

What I Got by Sublime

Closer to Fine by The Indigo Girls

Crash by The Dave Matthews Band

Those are the one I could come up with in the last 24 hours. I’m sure I’m forgetting a ton.

What are yours?

Inspiring/Funny/Interesting Links

A mom shows us what she thinks her infant daughter is dreaming about via Design Mom

Robot shows us that humans have compassion

Hours of entertainment

The new David after the Dentist

Perhaps the funniest thing I’ve ever seen

What happens when you tell your mom that you’re really high via Melissa at Sarcomical

Every woman should read this

Are less calories worth this?

Have any inspiring/funny/interesting links? Leave a comment or send me an email, and if I choose to feature it in my next link post I’ll link back to you.

Still Life

My kitchen windowsill this morning. Taken with my iphone.

Virtuoso

Violin

So, remember this?

Well, after many phone calls back and forth, and an in person visit to the school, Willa is finally taking violin lessons.

They usually don’t give lessons to kids until they are four years old, but when they heard that Willa has been asking us to play the violin every day for almost a year, that her father and her grandfather are accomplished musicians, and that she can pick out the violin when she hears music, they were willing to give her a trial lesson.

One day a couple of weeks ago, we met with the teacher for her first lesson. I thought she would say Willa wasn’t ready, to come back in a year or two, but she didn’t. She told us Willa was ready, and that I should rent a violin too, so that I could work with her at practicing at home.

I never had a desire to play the violin. I played drums in junior high, but that’s the only instrument I’ve ever played. I’ve always wanted to play the guitar (see #1 on my Life List), but suddenly I’m really excited about learning to play the violin. To be honest, I’m just excited to be doing SOMETHING- my life has been pretty boring lately.

So, we are currently renting a regular size violin for me and a teeny-tiny violin for Willa (so cute!). I’m really looking forward to learning something new, and to sharing it with my kid.

The cuteness, it hurts

Taken with the IPhone.

Embracing The Pink

When Willa was a baby I had control over what she was wearing, so she was usually covered in blue.

There are two reasons for this 1) It’s my favorite color and 2) I never wanted to “force” gender specific things on her. I cringe when I see tiny baby girls with bows stuck to their heads.

I’m not saying I never put her in a dress, or anything pink, but I gravitated towards overalls, and blues and brown.

This combined with her lack of hair caused her to be mistaken for a boy until she was about two and her hair started coming in.

This also happened to be about the time that Willa started to really show an interest in “girly” things- necklaces, skirts, hats, party shoes, etc.

I still had some control though, until recently.

Now, Willa only wants to wear skirts, dresses, and party shoes when I would rather her wear jeans and sneakers. She wants everything to be pink and purple. At first I fought her sometimes, but then I remembered my parenting mantra- pick your battles. Why do I care so much if she is covered in pink? It makes her happy. It’s how she expresses herself. That’s all that matters. It’s one of the many situations where my kid is different from me, and that’s ok. I need to let go, and let her be her own person.

So, I’ve started buying some more pink and purple clothes. And when she outgrew her green rain boots, I let Willa pick out pink polka-dot ones to replace them.