Boyd Meets Girl

Do you know a new mom (doesn't have to be a new first-time mom) who has everything already? Or maybe she is just super special and doesn't need a generic gift? This post is for you. I've officially entered the phase of pregnancy where I am carefully balancing wanting my unborn cherub to cook as long as possible for her health and thinking every cramp or stomachache are signs of early labor. (Don't know what I'm talking about? Be enlightened on the Psycho Stages of Pregnancy ). I basically have one foot out the door to head to the hospital. I'm just ready, ok? Except I've been too lazy to pack my hospital bag yet. No judgement please! Anyway, with the pending birth of my second child, I'm daydreaming of all of the things (other than a live-in nanny housekeeper chef) that I want after I am done with pregnancy. Enter the list of 5 unconventional gifts for the new mom. Just because you already have kids, you are still entitled to the items on this list. ...

Upfront confession, y'all. I LOATHE LAUNDRY. Ask my husband, who ran out of socks this morning. I hate every single last thing about laundry, except for reading about ways to improve this horrendous experience in hopes that I will actually implement them. Laundry tips are actually a pretty hot topic on the interwebs these days, as I have seen several other blog posts about laundry tips, which I will be including within this post because that is how I roll. But before I do that, let me share with you my plan for lessening my laundry load. You see, I feel like laundry is to a housewife (or househusband) as diet is to a fitness person. It's the thing you can't fake . You can sweep stuff under the rug, dump a bunch of toys into a cabinet in the living room or spray febreeze on the carpets to fake a put together house. (No judgment, I have done ALL of these things and more) But you can't really fake laundry. The clothes are either clean or they aren't. (I will spare m...

One of the many hats I wear is that of a speech-language pathologist. I have worked in what seems like every facet of my profession - from babies to senior citizens, from hospitals, to homes, to schools, to nursing homes, to rehab facilities. When we moved to Illinois, I found myself in one niche of my job that I really enjoy - doing speech therapy in Early Intervention for the state of Illinois' 0-3 program. Maybe not every day, but very often I have friends or even people I have just met ask me questions about how to facilitate communication in a little person in their life. So I decided to write up my most common suggestions that I give to parents and caretakers of our little people. Each kiddo is different, so this obviously isn't an individualized plan, but a lot of these strategies can be applied to many children in many scenarios. Tips to Get 'Em Talking Facilitating Communication with Your Toddler  1. Give choices. All day, every day. Give choices! ...

Absolute truth.  Might sound vain, but wouldn't every woman be a little happier if at least she didn't feel like her jeans doubled as a sausage casing?  Just sayin'.  Happy Sunday!

photo by walkingdot photography Let's be real, y'all. I'm one missed nap time away from a mental breakdown. I guess that it just comes with the territory of being a new mom. Which, in the big scheme of things, I'm still very new  - 7 months new, at this whole "mom" thing.  It seems as though, overnight, laundry has tripled and the hours in the day have reduced by at least half. It continues to boggle my mind as to how such a wee little person can create so much extra work! So - here are a couple of things I have observed/learned about time management as a mom. 1. The days of leisurely nap time and/or reading a magazine are OVER. Like, way over, like "what's that?" over. 2. Your husband or child asking you if something is done that is, in fact, yet to be accomplished is perfectly deserving of a death stare. 3. The amount of things that you can get done in a 2-hour nap (of your child) is deserving of an Olympic gold medal. 4. Peop...

One of the things that I love about blogging is the opportunity to interact with my friends and fellow bloggers. Because of my blog, a fellow blogger Heather Von St. James reached out to me with a special request -- to spread the word about a day very special to her, a day that forever changed her life. After reading her story, it resonated with me. She was diagnosed with mesothelioma when she was around my age, having just given birth to a sweet baby girl. One important thing cancer taught Heather is the importance of acknowledging these apprehensions that prevent us from living life to the fullest extent.  8 years ago on February 2, Heather underwent a risky surgery to remove a lung... and it worked! She now celebrates her "Lung Leavin' Day" with her family, when each year they get together and write their fears onto plates and smash them into a bonfire. I love Heather's approach to life and about verbalizing her fears and literally smashing them into a bill...

Have you ever had a horrible, horrible day that just keeps on getting worse? On the flip side, have you ever had a great day where everything just falls into place? I am a firm believer that it happens like this because of your attitude towards things. 1. Smile! Say hi to people. Depending on your geographic location, people will either happily say hello back, or look at you like you are crazy. In most situations, you will never get cussed out or otherwise for smiling at someone. I love saying Hi to people. I say Hi to everyone! Even if they don't say hi back, it makes me feel good. 2. Compliment others (including yourself). This would be the opposite of talking crap about people. But it feels good, y'all! Tell the lady next to you in line at Subway that you love her necklace. Compliment a co-worker on her work ethic. Not only will people appreciate you, but it will make you feel good to make others feel good. Positivity is as contagious as the negativity is! This al...

I have been seeing a lot of social media memes or someecards lately talking about "kids these days" and all the technology that they are inundated with. (That statement just made me feel super old, for some reason.) Anyway, this is a real issue, people! Our kids are learning how to play with a tablet before they learn how to stack blocks. Some kiddos spend so much time in front of a screen of some sort that they don't know how to play and, more disturbingly so, don't want to. Being told to go play outside is viewed as some sort of punishment or an unwelcome interlude to whatever technology gadgets they have tempting them to be immobile inside the comfort of their own home.  But, this technology thing.... it's complex. It's not just the kids that are inundated with technology, it's EVERYONE. I know this comes to no shock to you, as you read this from your computer, iPad, or iPhone. I have spent the better part of today looking at my phone or a compu...

So, many of you know that in just two short days I will be traveling solo to Santa Fe, NM, from our home in Chicago. And with me, I am bringing my little bambina Beulah, all of her stuff, and a lot of prayers. Packing for this trip is like packing Madonna up for the zombie apocalypse. Beulah has A LOT OF STUFF. We have done two big trips with her over the last almost 7  months. The first was a plane ride to Texas in October, when she was about 4 months old. I was with my husband. She promptly had blow-out diapers as soon as the plane took off both there and back. But, overall, it wasn't bad. We were headed to Texas (the best place EVER); we could have arrived covered head to toe in Beulah spit-up/poop/pee/whatever, and I wouldn't have cared!!!!! But I still packed a bunch of crap that I really didn't need for the plane ride. The second trip was a cross-country 15-ish hour drive from Chicago to Pennsylvania to see her big brother. Frequent stops for coffee and bottle wat...

Let me just start this by telling you that I started  writing this blog post when Beulah was 6 weeks old... yea, she's almost 7 months now if that is any indication of the whirlwind that is new mommyhood. But it's been wonderful. Woohoo :) Photo by Andrea Pascalau Eighty7 Photography the P-word Where to begin? First, I'll share that I was NOT one of those women who loved being pregnant. Sure, I love the end result (the bebe) but I did not have a glow other than perspiration secondary to puking my brains out over the toilet 10 times a day. Lovely it was not. An additional thing I will share is that I NEVER thought I would be able to function properly again. A seemingly easy task, such as putting laundry in the dryer from the washer, or paying a bill online, was a daunting task that would take HOURS to complete. Even thinking about doing things would be enough to lay on the couch and watch HGTV for the rest of the afternoon. I'm not kidding. My husband probably wa...