I sort of feel like we should all get up and sing "Grease Lightening" or something. Maybe put on poodle skirt? Smack gum? Sing a duet of Summer loven with my husband? Except our version of Sandy in Connecticut is not such a great movie.
I know I should be "prepared". I didn't buy 3,000 gallons of water. Nor did I buy any batteries. I figured if I had wine and a toothbrush I was golden right?
It is hard not to get sucked into the media. I know it is going to be bad. I realize that we could be without power for weeks. I get that Sandy is going to blow real hard. errrrrr.... I mean be windy.
But the hysteria makes people absolutely nuts. I would rather calmly get our shit together, then be running around in panic! I mean a few weeks ago I experienced my first earthquake--granted I was sitting at my dining room table while on the phone with my sister and the table shook a little. I just balked it up to it being possessed until I heard otherwise. A month ago we had tornado warnings that included our home town in the national news! Three months ago we lost power for quite sometime and in the heat of the Summer I was 9 months pregnant and barely able to contain myself from skinny dipping in the kiddie pool outside. Mother natures not a fan of Connecticut lately! Nor does she think Halloween is a worthy holiday.
Last year when we had the snow storm that knocked us flat on our face and living like we were in the 1800's for weeks, my number 1 complaint wasn't bathing--it was Starbucks being closed, and lines to Dunken' hours long. Priorities people! You can take away my ability to shower, or put on a light, but please God don't make me sacrifice my drive thru coffee!
We are off to spend the next few days at my in laws who thankfully decided to upgrade to an all house generator last month! Thank God because I can't imagine sticking it out with a two month old and 2 older kids wanting something to play because they are bored without TV! I am sure once we do regain power my in laws will be just as excited to see us go home as we will be to sleep in our own beds. I hate leaving my house. However, without power, and the good chance that our street will be flooded--we are out. Plus we live in a very wooded area that Sandy is bound to take her fury out on.
So as I sign off-- please stay safe fellow east coasters! Pray for us, and that we weather the storm, and get to see electricity sooner then later.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
My new gig!
It is hard for me to imagine the working world after being out of it for so long. Almost 7 years later, I wonder what my life felt like with full time work. I do remember the great gratification of helping others in need, and yearn for it often.
I would never trade in my time at home with my kids, or my yoga pants for that matter. The fact that I continue to be able to do it is a blessing in its self (also a comfy blessing in my yoga pants). However, lately I had dabbled with thinking about volunteering or somehow serving others. I thought I was insane--I mean the time factor of 3 kids and 1 being a newborn is insane and exhausting. And so I just prayed something would move me enough, or feel the pull of needing to do something. I didn't expect it to come so soon!
The following is a excerpt from my other blog to tell you about it!
Recently a dear friend told me about a company her sister in-law co-founded with her two friends after traveling the world and wanting to help. The idea was to help women in underdeveloped countries struggling in poverty by giving them fair trade work. It would also give women in the US job opportunities during our dwindling job availabilities. Women helping women! The women in dire need would hand make jewelry and accessories and sell to this country at a fair trade value. Women here in the US would sell the products to friends and family to support giving the women consistent work, while also paying for their own bills. The idea that a simple bracelet could help save lives spoke to me. The Mena bracelet for instance, is made of gun-metal hand crafted by HIV Ethiopian women needing the work for healthcare. Why buy factory made when you can by something not only handmade, but made by hands that lives depend on that bracelet sale. It moved me. It spoke to me. Now I am knee-deep in it.
I would never trade in my time at home with my kids, or my yoga pants for that matter. The fact that I continue to be able to do it is a blessing in its self (also a comfy blessing in my yoga pants). However, lately I had dabbled with thinking about volunteering or somehow serving others. I thought I was insane--I mean the time factor of 3 kids and 1 being a newborn is insane and exhausting. And so I just prayed something would move me enough, or feel the pull of needing to do something. I didn't expect it to come so soon!
The following is a excerpt from my other blog to tell you about it!
Recently a dear friend told me about a company her sister in-law co-founded with her two friends after traveling the world and wanting to help. The idea was to help women in underdeveloped countries struggling in poverty by giving them fair trade work. It would also give women in the US job opportunities during our dwindling job availabilities. Women helping women! The women in dire need would hand make jewelry and accessories and sell to this country at a fair trade value. Women here in the US would sell the products to friends and family to support giving the women consistent work, while also paying for their own bills. The idea that a simple bracelet could help save lives spoke to me. The Mena bracelet for instance, is made of gun-metal hand crafted by HIV Ethiopian women needing the work for healthcare. Why buy factory made when you can by something not only handmade, but made by hands that lives depend on that bracelet sale. It moved me. It spoke to me. Now I am knee-deep in it.
This is who I am. When I commit myself to something and find passion in it, I want to be the over achiever that leaves a mark of goodness behind. And so, this is my new side business-Threads Worldwide! Selling this amazing stuff via online, home parties, and while doing fantastic fundraising to! It may not be a direct one on one way to save someones life, but the gratification of the work is still there.
(insert commercial voice)
If you are moved to do so, check out their website www.threadsworldwide.com and if you decide to purchase something or have friends and family that would like to, please make sure to put in my referral code “2006-Aimee Dos Santos” in the “referral box” at check out. Like us on Facebook too! And if you are also yearning to do more, you could also join the consulting team! Just ask me how!!!
(end of commercial)
If you are moved to do so, check out their website www.threadsworldwide.com and if you decide to purchase something or have friends and family that would like to, please make sure to put in my referral code “2006-Aimee Dos Santos” in the “referral box” at check out. Like us on Facebook too! And if you are also yearning to do more, you could also join the consulting team! Just ask me how!!!
(end of commercial)
I am so blessed to have yet another prayer answer and to be working for a company focusing on impacting the change in the world, and less about the greed.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
I'm In A New York State Of Mind
My New York City self seems so long ago. I have only been gone for 7 years, yet the women I was then is unrecognizable. This makes returning to the city an entirely different experience. Every time I go I miss that person I once was, while loving the fact that the women I am now can bring my children to a place that brought/brings me such incredible joy. I went from single in the city, to Mom of 3 visiting the city, nothing could be more contrast then that!
A few weeks back when we took the older 2 to Times Square we went into Toys R Us. I was shocked to see how massive it was, and even more shocked I had never been inside it. Then the old me reminded the new me, why the heck would my old self ever go into Toys R Us without kids? We also went to a trendy cafeteria type place for a bite to eat that was closer to the fashion district. I would venture to say 99% of the people live/work there. It was the perfect place to eat with kids since it was fast and ran like a fast-food place with gourmet eats. However the crowd was trendy with a capital T. Nobody had kids. We experienced a handful of people cutting us for a table, and when we asked to borrow a chair nobody was using from an adjacent table the guy rolled his eyes at us. For a moment--just that moment--I didn't miss the city. I also wondered if I was so jaded and not understanding of parents with young kids (for the record I most likely was).
Yesterday however, we returned to the area I once lived, this time with all 3 of my kids. Friends of ours were visiting the city and we planned to meet them at Central Park Zoo. We decided to head there early to enjoy such an enchanting Fall day in such a beautiful park. We ate lunch at a small snack shack near the water, people watched, and took in the beauty of the Fall colored trees next to the large backdrop of huge buildings. I kept thinking to myself --nothing compares to this place. This park is where I used to come to gain solace, and keep my mind still in a city that never sleeps. It is where a lot of my roots lay still. I also kept thinking it was the first time I was bringing my newborn to a place I love so much. The kids played on the playgrounds that I never saw before being a Mom. They beamed with joy and so did I. They enjoyed the zoo which has become such a hit since the Madagascar movies. We enjoyed the company of old friends, and a meal. Before we knew it, the lights beamed in the city, and the sun was no longer out.
Walking back to our car while pushing my youngest in the stroller around the same area I lived 7 years ago brought a heavy sadness in my heart. I wished we could just stroll into my old apartment to go to sleep and awake for another day in the city. I wish we could afford city living in many ways. However, I can't imagine living in that city as a 24/7 stroller pusher, especially on the subway or when the weather is bad. Leaving NYC is like leaving my greatest love every single time I go. Days follow with me being sad. It is forever in my blood. The silver lining is we live close enough to visit it all the time, which allows me to have my cake and eat it too, with a house of storage, a car for getting around, and a back yard for my kids to play (all things I would have to sacrifice to live in the city).
There is something to be said about bringing the people you love most in the world to the place you love most:
It brings joy all around.
A few weeks back when we took the older 2 to Times Square we went into Toys R Us. I was shocked to see how massive it was, and even more shocked I had never been inside it. Then the old me reminded the new me, why the heck would my old self ever go into Toys R Us without kids? We also went to a trendy cafeteria type place for a bite to eat that was closer to the fashion district. I would venture to say 99% of the people live/work there. It was the perfect place to eat with kids since it was fast and ran like a fast-food place with gourmet eats. However the crowd was trendy with a capital T. Nobody had kids. We experienced a handful of people cutting us for a table, and when we asked to borrow a chair nobody was using from an adjacent table the guy rolled his eyes at us. For a moment--just that moment--I didn't miss the city. I also wondered if I was so jaded and not understanding of parents with young kids (for the record I most likely was).
Yesterday however, we returned to the area I once lived, this time with all 3 of my kids. Friends of ours were visiting the city and we planned to meet them at Central Park Zoo. We decided to head there early to enjoy such an enchanting Fall day in such a beautiful park. We ate lunch at a small snack shack near the water, people watched, and took in the beauty of the Fall colored trees next to the large backdrop of huge buildings. I kept thinking to myself --nothing compares to this place. This park is where I used to come to gain solace, and keep my mind still in a city that never sleeps. It is where a lot of my roots lay still. I also kept thinking it was the first time I was bringing my newborn to a place I love so much. The kids played on the playgrounds that I never saw before being a Mom. They beamed with joy and so did I. They enjoyed the zoo which has become such a hit since the Madagascar movies. We enjoyed the company of old friends, and a meal. Before we knew it, the lights beamed in the city, and the sun was no longer out.
Walking back to our car while pushing my youngest in the stroller around the same area I lived 7 years ago brought a heavy sadness in my heart. I wished we could just stroll into my old apartment to go to sleep and awake for another day in the city. I wish we could afford city living in many ways. However, I can't imagine living in that city as a 24/7 stroller pusher, especially on the subway or when the weather is bad. Leaving NYC is like leaving my greatest love every single time I go. Days follow with me being sad. It is forever in my blood. The silver lining is we live close enough to visit it all the time, which allows me to have my cake and eat it too, with a house of storage, a car for getting around, and a back yard for my kids to play (all things I would have to sacrifice to live in the city).
There is something to be said about bringing the people you love most in the world to the place you love most:
It brings joy all around.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
3's Company
It has been almost 2 months and it has flown by. Three kids is an insane amount of madness that I just wasn't prepared for. Everyone with 3 or more would make comments like: "adjusting from 1 to 2 is harder" "ah its only an extra plate" "After 2 you can handle 3, 8, 10 kids... its all the same"--- and they are all LIES I tell you LIES. If you don't want to have a moment to even pee by yourself, not enough hands or patience to attend to three little beings, or enough sleep in the world to make you not sleepy--go for number 3! THREE IS HARD people. Really hard.
I am almost 2 months in and finally writing a blog post. You can understand that if one can not even urinate alone that blogging was seemingly out of the question. However, now I have learned to art of putting 2 kids to nap while 1 is in school, to eat ice cream and watch trash tv for a few minutes. Today, however, I cashed in trash tv to be with you and write this post. I will not sacrifice the ice cream however, as it is keeping me sane right now.
So Bennett is a dream. He is a none cryer, sweet love muffin that of course has the dreaded but predicable reflux. So on top of trying to adjust to 3 I am also riding the advocate wagon for my wee baby in pain. He seems to be getting better if we are not in the car and he is gagging 50 times in a ride. There isn't anything worse then hearing him gasping in the back seat while I am driving in the front.
It isn't Bennett that is hard about having 3 kids, it is having 3 kids. Keeping up, and giving them the individual attention I feel they each need is exhausting. I know it will get easier as they get older but for now it has literally taken me six weeks to find a new normal. The new normal includes a lot of sweat pants, coffee, and make-up to cover bagged eyes. It does not include the exercise and counting WW points that it should.
I am thankful to feel half what human again, and that I do have 3 healthy and for the most part, happy kids. I can only imagine it will get easier with time and that these early months will seem so far fetched by next Summer. It is already going by so so quickly. The fact my newborn is about to be 2 months is baffling to me since I feel like I just had him. Since he is starting to look more baby then newborn. You can't relish in the third one like you did you first or second. I just try to steal mini moments of loving him up.
So as I stop and breathe to write this, my house is like a ticking bomb waiting to go off. Any moment now I am going to hear a baby cry, and a door open, and the new normal starts again.
I am almost 2 months in and finally writing a blog post. You can understand that if one can not even urinate alone that blogging was seemingly out of the question. However, now I have learned to art of putting 2 kids to nap while 1 is in school, to eat ice cream and watch trash tv for a few minutes. Today, however, I cashed in trash tv to be with you and write this post. I will not sacrifice the ice cream however, as it is keeping me sane right now.
So Bennett is a dream. He is a none cryer, sweet love muffin that of course has the dreaded but predicable reflux. So on top of trying to adjust to 3 I am also riding the advocate wagon for my wee baby in pain. He seems to be getting better if we are not in the car and he is gagging 50 times in a ride. There isn't anything worse then hearing him gasping in the back seat while I am driving in the front.
It isn't Bennett that is hard about having 3 kids, it is having 3 kids. Keeping up, and giving them the individual attention I feel they each need is exhausting. I know it will get easier as they get older but for now it has literally taken me six weeks to find a new normal. The new normal includes a lot of sweat pants, coffee, and make-up to cover bagged eyes. It does not include the exercise and counting WW points that it should.
I am thankful to feel half what human again, and that I do have 3 healthy and for the most part, happy kids. I can only imagine it will get easier with time and that these early months will seem so far fetched by next Summer. It is already going by so so quickly. The fact my newborn is about to be 2 months is baffling to me since I feel like I just had him. Since he is starting to look more baby then newborn. You can't relish in the third one like you did you first or second. I just try to steal mini moments of loving him up.
So as I stop and breathe to write this, my house is like a ticking bomb waiting to go off. Any moment now I am going to hear a baby cry, and a door open, and the new normal starts again.
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