Leave vacation. Catch a flight. Miss my connection. Grab the next flight. Change in the airport bathroom. Ride in a stinky NY cab. Arrive at Brasserie 8 1/2. Phew- I thought I would never make it! My luggage was in tact but I wasn’t sure my mood was - - that is, until I joined the NY Moms blog launch party- already in progress – and realized this group of women could pick anyone off the floor!

2 weeks ago, Graco sponsored the 4th and latest blog launch, the New York City Moms blog (sister site to Silicon Valley, Chicago and DC Metro). The upscale cocktail hour was held at the Brassierie 8 1/2 in mid-town.

I was greeted by Erin who had so wonderfully set all the Nautilus information up in my absence and it was a whirlwind from there…

There was Beth from SVMoms with the cutest short haircut ever! (I say that because we looked like we went to the same hairdresser), Jill, also from SVMoms, who I had never met in person was there and Stacy who we met out in Palo Alto just a few months back. Jen Lemen stopped by to give me hugs and photography tips and the Today Show’s Janet Shamlian (mom of 5!) interviewed me for a piece on corporations reaching out to mommy bloggers! (haven’t seen the footage yet, if it’s good, you can be sure I will share it )

After the mini-reunion and tv-time, I thought I should meet some of the new women who make up the NY City Moms blog. I talked to Andi first who recently published a book “Mama Knows Breast” (that would have been helpful for me a few years ago) and Beth who had written her own book (published that day!) called “Peeing in Peace” (which will be a good read if I can get some peace and quiet to check it out). We then chatted with Alexandra and Carolyn who both had slung tiny babies and were clearly happy to be out and about (and looking fantastic, I might add) and then awarded Kelcey a Calphalon One set for winning our “Day in the Life” photo contest with a telling photo of her daughter going potty on the streets of NYC! (not something the moms of suburban PA would understand!)

This is only a handful of the women we met- all of which seemed to be enjoying themselves and each other. Here are a few posts and pictures from the event:

- The post at NYC Moms Blog (scroll down past Katie Couric!) http://svmomblog.typepad.com/nyc_moms/2008/04/katie-couric-kn.html
- Beth’s Excellent NY Adventure - http://techmamas.typepad.com/main/2008/04/techmamas-excel.html
- Kelcey’s famed photo- http://www.mamabirddiaries.com/?p=696

I absolutely love “interviewing” my son. No- I’m not getting him ready for corporate America already, I just love hearing what he thinks about stuff. All kinds of stuff. My husband rolls his eyes at me but I could do this for hours with Jagger. It’s one of the sweetest things about kids this age (3) because they have started articulating their thoughts pretty clearly, they have LOTS of thoughts (and they never stop talking about them) and they ask a million questions.

This harkens back to the days when Bill Cosby hosted “Kids say the Darndest Things.” His little interviews produced some of the funniest, cutest, responses ever. We recently saw this video floating around You Tube and loved it so much we wanted to share it:

I thought I might give you some “interview” topics that I’ve enjoyed using lately with Jagger:

- How was your day? (start off easy)
- Tell me about Mommy’s/Daddy’s Job.
- What does it mean to be a “good person”?
- Why do you like your ____ (insert favorite object) so much?
- What is the movie “Cars” about?
- What is your favorite animal and why?
- How long have you had a Mommy and Daddy?
- Who is your best friend and why?
- Where does milk come from and how do we get it?
- Now that you’re ____ (insert age here) what are you going to do?

A quick tip with this - use “wait time.” (it’s an old tool I learned back in my college education classes) If they don’t answer immediately, just wait. They will fill in the awkward silence and pauses with more and more thoughts. It allows for a stream of conscienceness of sorts (this works great for getting to the “truth” too!)

Now get your journals and/or video cameras out and record this- it’s great to watch as your kids grow!  If you have some “interview” questions of your own, share them with us!

Boog is thinking: “Is this all she does?”
Hercules is thinking: “I wonder what else he will try to feed me as I get older…”
Amy is thinking: “Did he sterilize that?”

Amy wanted to share this sweet moment between a new big brother (Boog) and his new little sis (Hercules). 

(I’m a little hesitant to tell Amy about my experience between my son Jagger and his little sis B - let’s just say I don’t have too many “sweet moment pics” to share on this blog!)

Every Wednesday we’ll be sharing a photo showing off a little bit of wonder in the lives of our extended Graco family of customers, employees and friends.

“Hmmm… I’ve got some explorin’ to do!” 

This is a picture of blogger Kristin’s daughter, Punkin’ Bear, in the Children’s Garden at Longwood Gardens here in PA. They had been building this garden since before Punkin’ Bear was born so they were all excited to finally get to see it! (all of it- even the stuff behind the locked gates!)

Every Wednesday we’ll be sharing a photo showing off a little bit of wonder in the lives of our extended Graco family of customers, employees and friends.

My son has one. He’s got it bad. But guess who’s not ready for rehab? Me. Jagger’s blankie is the love of his life right now – no, not after Mommy and Daddy – I mean the love of his life- A #1, numero uno, TLA. And who can blame him? Who wouldn’t fall in love with these qualities??:
- It will never let you down
- It won’t judge you
- It will never ignore you
- It won’t bite (even when bitten! That’s more than Jagger’s sister can say)
- It won’t tell you to “hold on” “please wait” “not now” “maybe later” – it’s ready whenever you are
- It won’t lie to you (white lies people – I’m just talking Santa and the Easter Bunny)
- It will always be there for you
- You can count on it to do whatever you want- always.

At this point, Jagger has 3 identical blankies but he only knows about 2 of them.  I interchanged those 2 for almost 3 years without him even knowing there was more than one. I wanted to be sure I always had a back up in case one got lost plus, this way I could wash one when the other one was being used. (brilliant, right??) They both got so nasty that my MIL and I found another one on Ebay to have a “cleaner” alternative. He was thrilled when he opened that present on Christmas but of course now he likes the clean one the best- giving us one option instead of the intended 3! Luckily (I think) the 3rd one is getting nice and nasty just like the others.

 My daughter B has a blankie problem too (apparently my husband and I are dealers) but it isn’t as bad. She carries it with her everywhere around the house (they are generally not allowed out of the house and mostly kept in the bedrooms) but B’s habit isn’t quite as problematic as Jagger’s. B simply holds it and rubs it on her face as she settles down for bed. Jagger, on the other hand, bites it- all night long. It is disgusting. I was happy when I heard someone else was dealing with this same issue but her son is only 2-she’s has time to change that (if she wants).

He’s totally getting an overbite because of it, he’s becoming more and more reliant on it and asking to keep it with him more often, and did I mention it was gross? And with all that, I still don’t want to “break him of his blankie habit.” I read Kim’s post about Bear getting rid of her binkies at two years old and for a split second I felt guilty about my slobbering, 3-year old with a mean overbite – but then I stopped. I realize that I love his blankie as much as he does. I love that it is, and will always be, the most reliable companion he can ever have. That blankie will never let him down or ignore him or yell at him and frankly, I know I will eventually do all of those things. I know a son’s true love can’t always be his mommy (and I was replaced at quite an early age) but maybe I’d rather be replaced by a blankie than another woman  :)  I hope his future wife won’t be jealous of Jagger drooling over “someone” else because if it were up to me, he may still have his blankie then.

I didn’t do it. Nobody saw me do it. Can’t prove a thing.

This is a photo of Geneva Greenleaf’s (Fashion Team) 5-month Grandson in the Graco Baby Einstein activity center.  She said he takes his “playing” very seriously while he’s in there - like he’s clocking in and going to work.  (looks like a fun job to me!)

Every Wednesday we’ll be sharing a photo showing off a little bit of wonder in the lives of our extended Graco family of customers, employees and friends.

A large part of joining in the conversation in the online parenting community, is reading all of the great conversation that is going on in the blogosphere. We are always sharing cute, funny, informative, and inspiring stories that we’ve read with each other, so we thought it would be a great idea (right?!) to share some of our favorite posts from the previous month with all of you. Every month we will be giving these bloggers a monthly “nod” - all while sharing their stories with you. We hope you enjoy the stories we chose below.

Lindsay Lebresco: Hormone-colored Days - “Baby’s First Petition Drive”
I love the quote from Gandhi “You must be the change you wish to see in the world” so it was with that in mind, that Jagger (at 3 months old) and I drove down to City Hall when the vote for Philadelphia’s smoking ban came up.  He had a little onsie on that said “I have the right to be smoke free” and I’m hoping to instill in him that same sense of activism that Kim has instilled in her son.

Melissa Parlaman: Balancing Motherhood -”Poopy Diaper in the Cookie Line”
I thought this post was hysterical! I love the Superwoman reference & I can totally feel her pain when you experience a temporary feeling of panic when you know you don’t have your diaper bag when you really need it.

Erin McHugh: Blissfully Domestic - “S-T-R-E-T-C-H Your Food Budget” 
As a young woman who is planning a wedding, buying a house and still trying to keep up with the Jones’s (a little bit- I have somewhat of a bag/shoe fetish) I am living on a tight budget. One of my favorite pastimes is cooking so when I stumble upon this blog about stretching your food budget it was right up my ally. I try to go grocery shopping only once every two weeks, but my fiancé is a 6.2” athlete who requires A LOT of food, so I usually end up grocery shopping once a week (sometimes more!). This blog opened my eyes about how to stretch my food budget!

Kristin DeLoach: BananaBlueberry - “What are the rules of the Easter Bunny”
Being relatively new to the “holiday characters” club (in the sense that this is the first year my daughter is old enough to get excited and remember the holiday characters/legends such as Santa, the Easter Bunny, the tooth fairy, etc), I was faced with the same exact dilemma at Easter –how do you explain the who, what, when and where and more importantly, make sure there are no holes in your explanations?! I’m in the same boat as Nicole on this one…

Jon DeHart: DadThing - “101 Sites for Men, Husbands and Fathers”
Being among a lot of mommy bloggers, this was helpful for me to find some reading I could connect with a little more as a dad.

Tracy Myerson: NYC Moms - “Flying by the Seat of My Pants”
No matter how fast life moves, I think this post helps remind us all that we have to slow down and appreciate the things that ground us. All the little things that occupy our time may come and go but friends and family are forever. Without these people in our lives where would we be? I love the little reminder at the end about spending time with your kids, talking with your significant other, and calling a long lost friend. I’m going to make that call tonight….and I hope I receive one too!

Kim Lefko: Tales from the Crib - “Making the Big Announcement”
This is such a great story and one that many people can relate too. However, the twist the story takes leaves you laughing pretty hard. Very Clever!!

Be sure to check back next month for our April nods.

We are happy to announce that little Allie Joy Sleep arrived at 12:44pm yesterday and weighed in at 8 lbs. 15 oz. and 22″ long- right on schedule. 

Amy is feeling great (and looking good too, I might add) and getting some much needed sleep in the hospital before she heads home (where there will be a lot of “Sleeps” but nobody will be having any!)

Congratulations Amy and Stefan and big brother Tyler!!  Best Wishes to you and your beautiful family of four.

“See how it opens here?  There’s usually a treat inside. These are so much better than the other ones you can’t open. Plus, the chocolate inside these is better than the stuff that comes inside those…”

This is a picture of Kaye Hansen’s (Executive Assistant here at Graco) grandniece and grandnephew enjoying Easter down south.  Her family keeps in touch via Facebook - that’s so 2008 of you, Kaye!  She’s cool and they’re cute!

Every Wednesday we’ll be sharing a photo showing off a little bit of wonder in the lives of our extended Graco family of customers, employees and friends.

Wednesdays is usually reserved for a quick photo displaying the wonder of being a parent, however we thought the wonder of giving birth was certainly significant enough to alter our blog schedule.  :)

Today’s the day!  Amy Sleep (blog contributor), has scheduled to have her baby via c-section this afternoon.  (you can read all about it in her “I’d like to schedule my baby, please” post from last week.)  Yes-schedule.  She’s a busy woman, people!  In fact, on her way to the hospital, she is planning to drop off thank you notes for the office shower we held for her last week.  (This last minute errand was not on her Outlook calendar but apparently she really wants to squeeze it in).  I would have been ok with a late thank you note (actually I would be cool if she e-mailed me a mass thank you but that’s just me- my mom, on the other hand, would be waiting in the lobby of the office for that stack of thank yous).  The funny thing is, Amy thinks she’s busy now. Babies don’t care about Outlook calendars.  I have to hand it to Baby Sleep-he or she’s conscientious enough to not pop out before today. 

We’ll keep you posted- look out for another update - this one will hopefully have pictures of Baby Sleep!