A Girl Named PJ

Did you cry the first time you dropped your child off at school?

January 29, 2013

After a whirlwind Alt Summit experience, where I learned tips and tricks to grow my blog, it was back to the grind yesterday at my full-time job: Motherhood.

It had been a week since Levi and I spent the entire day together; my mom flew to Omaha a couple days before I left for Alt to get reacquainted with Levi’s schedule. As much as I wanted to dive into my notes from Alt Summit and begin reaching out to bloggers and brands I met at the conference, my first priority was feeding, dressing, playing with, and tending to Levi–and let me tell you, he was quite the needy toddler yesterday. It appears he’s on a hunger strike, which I believe is related to teething. Over the course of the day, he must have had nearly 30 oz of milk but only took 5 bites of solid food.

After his midday nap, we drove to the library to return our borrowed books and pick out new ones. As Levi wandered through the children’s section, pulling oversize hardcover books off the shelves, I flipped through the toddler-friendly board books stored in plastic bins. It wasn’t until I landed on the Scholastic title Bye-Bye, Mommy that it dawned on me–this was my last full week with Levi. On Monday he starts a part-time program at Montessori.

Although I tend to be guarded with my emotions, I’m actually the sentimental type. I think that’s why I take so many photos of Levi; I’m trying to preserve every single moment. So you would think that I’d be an emotional mess at the mere thought of sending Levi off to school, but surprisingly, I’m not. And I feel sort of… confused about my lack of sentimentality on this occasion.

Perhaps it’s because I know that JB and I have made the right decision in sending Levi to Montessori. We’re providing him yet another opportunity to learn, grow, and have fun. And it’s only for three hours a day. I’ll still have breakfast, lunch, afternoons, and evening with Levi. Plus, I’ll be able to use the time he’s in school to cross of even more items on my to-do list. Who knows, maybe I’ll even have the opportunity to regularly visit the gym again. (On second thought, I’m not sure I really want to know how out of shape I’ve become!)

I checked out Bye-Bye, Mommy along with three or four other board books and will be reading it to Levi this week to prepare him for saying goodbye at school. We’ve struggled with separation anxiety, and although I’m not sure if I’ll have tears in my eyes when I leave him at Montessori, I’m pretty sure that he will be crying.

My mom recently recalled her experience dropping me off at nursery school. Neither she nor I cried, but when she left the building, she found all of the other moms in tears. Will that be my experience on Monday?

Tell me about your experience taking your child to daycare or school for the first time. Did either of you cry? Was it harder or easier than you had anticipated? I’d love to hear!

{my 1983 nursery school class photo}

Inspiration and Advice from Alt Summit SLC 2013

January 28, 2013

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you may have caught a glimpse or two of my recent Salt Lake City escapades. Despite my nerves, I not only made it through all three days of Alt Summit without having a panic attack, I had fun. Lots of fun. And I learned a ton.

Sure, I have some regrets (like wishing I wore my Saturday outfit on Thursday when more people would have seen it) and made some silly mistakes (who puts on a full face of makeup but forgets to apply mascara?). Occasionally I fell victim to the comparison trap, which is hard to avoid when you’re surrounded by super successful and uber fashionable bloggers.

Overall, however, I’d call the whole experience a huge success because I actually achieved all four of my goals:

I reached out to brands about potential collaborations.
I networked with other bloggers.
I bonded with friends I had previously only known online (doesn’t that sound sketchy?) and met some lovely girls with whom I’d love to develop friendships.
I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and took risks.

Rather than give you a play-by-play of my time at Alt Summit, I want to share some inspiring and business-savvy sound bites from sessions I attended.… READ MORE!

Pep talk

January 23, 2013

I woke up yesterday feeling ready to take on Alt Summit. Ready to take on the world, perhaps.

My best outfits for Alt had been packed the night before, and I was eager to begin networking with some of my favorite bloggers and brands. Chronic uncertainty had been overtaken by new-found confidence as I said to myself, “Hey, I can do this! I have something unique to offer, and people want to hear from me. I can achieve [insert random dream here].”

And then, as they say, shit hit the fan.

First, I found myself feeling jealous of another blogger-slash-mom who had just announced a super cool collaboration with a brand I would like to work with. Then I learned I was not among the chosen Alt Summit attendees picked to interview a certain celebrity making a brief appearance at the conference.

Insecurity quickly chipped away at my self-assured facade, leaving me feeling particularly insignificant. But before my disappointment could turn into a full-blown pity party, I forced myself to give myself a pep talk: You’re good enough, you’re smart enough, and doggone it, people like you!

Actually, my pep talk sounded more like this: “There is room at the top for everybody. There is enough success to go around. One person’s success has absolutely nothing to do with me.”

Over sushi yesterday evening, JB gave me another pep talk, reminding me that I’m not attending Alt Summit because I’m a hugely popular blogger but because I want to learn. And to have fun. So if I have fun with new friends and learn one new thing, I could consider the event a success.

Every once in a while, the boy knows what to say.

Alt Summit officially kicks off this evening with dinners hosted by various sponsors. I’ll be dining with Better Homes and Gardens — eek! Perhaps if I tell them that at my childhood dream was to become a magazine editor, they’ll offer me a job on the spot…

In the meantime, please follow along on Twitter and Instagram for up-to-the-minute Alt Summit updates. Oh, and wish me luck!

{photo via kcajnagrom}

The Inauguration

January 22, 2013

Did you watch President Obama’s second inauguration yesterday? I was only able to catch a few minutes of television coverage before heading out to pick up my mom at the airport. She’s staying at the house to watch Levi while I’m in Salt Lake City for Alt Summit.

Did you watch President Obama deliver his inaugural speech? Unfortunately, I missed it, but I found this quote from it when I was catching up on Twitter. Anna Dorfman from Door Sixteen posted it (I’m not sure if she created the graphic or found it someplace else), and it’s just so beautiful that I wanted to share it on the blog. Even if you disagree with his politics, you can’t deny that President Obama is an elegant orator.

Four years ago, I was in Washington, D.C. to witness history in the making. It was a frigid day, but that didn’t stop me and my friend from joining more than one million people on the crowded National Mall to watch President Obama’s first inauguration on jumbo-trons. Despite slowly losing feeling in my toes, I was grateful and excited to be standing among such enthusiastic supporters of our new president. All around me were proud Americans cheering, “That’s my president!” Needless to say, it was a morning I’ll never forget. Here are some of the photos I took that day.

Were you at either of President Obama’s inaugurations? Tell me about your experience on that day!

{image of quote from Door Sixteen’s Twitter update}

Networking at Alt Summit: A Pre-Event Checklist + Free Download

January 21, 2013

The hashtag #altsummit was buzzing on Twitter and Instagram this weekend with chatter about packing for Alt Summit. Attendees like myself were asking questions about what to wear, sharing links to packing lists, and snapping photos of possible outfits.

If there was ever an occasion to dress to impress, it would be a blogging conference like Alt Summit. However, transforming the Grand America Hotel into a real world catwalk is not Alt’s primary intention. Alt Summit exists to bring together design and lifestyle bloggers to learn and share ideas and to connect with potential sponsors.

In other words, Alt Summit is for networking

For an introvert like myself, just the thought of networking makes my hands sweaty. So I called up Andrea Nierenberg of The Nierenberg Group for a pep talk. She may be the queen of networking, but she actually considers herself to be an introvert–which gives me great hope! Andrea graciously offered networking tips to help me prepare for three days of connecting with bloggers and brands.

… READ MORE!