J'Espere

     Driving up Six Forks Road, I was nervous. In my head, I was thinking that this might be a major mistake, and berating myself for being one of those people who enter every contest that sounds remotely interesting. It was a facebook post from Raleigh Moms Blog that offered a free cut and color from Samuel Cole Salon. You just needed to post why you should be the mom who needed it. So I (jokingly but it was serious) posted “Because my hair hasn’t been out of a ponytail in two months”. True story. For the most part it had been the more professional low pony, or sometimes a low bun for work (I’m sure there’s a librarian joke in there somewhere), and then at home a higher ponytail.   I actually would occasionally read articles about the variety of ponytails you could wear.             So when Jill Kornegay sent me an urgent message about winning this particular contest, I read it about 3 times.   My first ...

Oh, sweet friends who are due in the year of a royal birth, take note.   Don’t forget to bring your favorite heels and hairdresser to the hospital. I mean, I love Kate as much as the next person, but seriously? TEN HOURS after birth she appears, radiant, as if she had happened to be passing by and dropped in to scoop up a bundle of joy. Not as if she delivered an 8-pound baby. See below (taken from people.com)             Looking at the photos and then comparing them to George’s birth photos, I did see that she looked, oh, slightly more polished this time around. But….I am actually having trouble finding the words for this…maybe I just need one…HOW? I saw lots of comments about how she had a team of people, blah blah blah, and wanted to just say (but resisted)…yes, but SHE was the only person who DELIVERED A BABY.    No one else, as good as their intentions may have been, were able to get that child out of her ...

            Last week I had to be a grown-up. Again. Normally I can squeak by in what I lovingly refer to as “pseudo-grown-up” world. That’s where you are technically at a physical age in which you are considered a grown-up, but secretly you are still treating said activity/excursion/event in the same way a much younger version of yourself would.   I live on the edge.             But last week I had a realization. I would call it an epiphany, but I like to think those refer to something positive and this wasn’t.    So I will call it a realization. Months ago, on a high from running the 4 mile Fleet Feet Run in Chapel Hill, I signed up for the 10 miler (at a steep discount, I might add!) KNOWING that if I could run 4 miles with a 10 month old, I could doubtless run 10 miles with a 22 month old! Because 22 months is much easier than 10, right? In my head she would already be a p...

     After reading that you are probably wondering how you missed the part where my sweet baby, the one who just celebrated a birthday,   grew up. Fortunately, dear readers, you haven’t. She’s still a little bit, though she regularly grows in her sleep, surprising me and Matt in the mornings with a little extra height, useful for things like trying to turn the doorknob on her own or reaching for things from the counter when she shouldn’t.             She has always had a ton of baby dolls- some from when I was little, some from shower gifts, some from Christmas and then one from our delightful neighbor, who is seven and the official “babysitter”.   This is by far the most important object she has ever owned, besides Lambie and Bunny.   She calls her “Baby” and carries her high on her shoulder, gently patting her back. She has adapted quite well to only using one arm to do many things, such as build...