A Girl Named PJ

One Heart Boston

April 19, 2013

Continuing to feel sad and angry since learning about the Boston Marathon bombings on Monday, I’ve been trying to determine how I can help my college town. I want to do something to help the victims whose lives have been forever altered and celebrate the rescue workers who showed undeniable heroism. But what could I do from Omaha? Give blood at my local Red Cross? Organize some sort of fundraising event?

Here’s what I’ve found: The One Fund Boston was formed by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Menino to raise money to help the families most affected by the tragedy at the Boston Marathon.

You can make a direct PayPal donation to The One Fund Boston, but several generous and talented individuals are now selling products whose proceeds will also go to The One Fund Boston. T-shirts with the slogan Boston Strong, now a widely-used hashtag on Twitter, are being sold by a small group of students from Emerson, another Boston college.

One Heart Boston comes from Hairpin Communications, a Boston-based agency. The cityscape graphic created by Hairpin Senior Designer Aaron Bouvier was initially shared via social media to friends but went viral. I first saw it on Erika’s blog, Foxtrot Press. Now the graphic is being printed on t-shirts, tote bags, and letterpress posters to benefit The One Fund Boston. I love this simple design (especially since it features the Citgo sign that stands so prominently on BU’s campus near Kenmore Square) and just purchased the letterpressed print.

CNN lists additional ways to help in the wake of the Boston bombings.

And now back to watching live coverage of the manhunt for the remaining suspect and possible accomplices. I’ve been glued to the TV all morning…

Would you try this babysitting app?

April 19, 2013

I never thought that our current system of hiring babysitters by calling (or texting) and then paying them with cash (or occasionally check) was particularly old school. Annoying at times, maybe, but not outdated. Besides, how could you modernize the process of booking and paying sitters? Turns out there’s an app for that!

The Sitterati app is actually pretty genius because it alleviates two major frustrations that most parents experience when planning a night away from their kids:

Tracking down an available sitter, and
Coming up with cash at the end of the night

Here’s what typically happens when JB and I try to schedule a date night. First, I text one of three potential babysitters. Then I wait for a reply. Sometimes I hear back immediately, sometimes I don’t. If she’s unavailable, I text another babysitter. And then the other.

Eventually we find a sitter and are able to enjoy a nice evening out of the house. Pulling into the driveway, JB will ask me if I have enough cash to pay the babysitter. (Admittedly, we should have thought about getting money while we were out and could hit up an ATM if need be. But the problem with going to an ATM is that you only get $20s, and what if you owe the babysitter $35? Do you ask her for change?) Usually we can find enough money between both of our wallets, but occasionally we have to write a check. I’m always so embarrassed when I have to write a check.

Now, here’s where Sitterati can help: Once you create a job in the app, you can blast it to all of your sitters at once rather than sending multiple individual text messages. (Just text your sitters to invite them to join Sitterati!) Your sitter will respond via Sitterati and you can book her right from the app. When the job is done, you can pay her from the app using a credit card that you’ve uploaded; the money goes straight into your sitter’s account!

Pretty cool, huh?

So, the app just went live, and the Sitterati team is looking for feedback from parents and sitters to help build it into a truly useful and beneficial app. Let them know what you think! And I’m curious — do you think you’d try an app like this? Or does it seem too complicated/techie/modern?

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

A year of change and goodbyes

April 18, 2013

photo by martinak15

When I agreed to move to Omaha with my then-fiancé, it was with the understanding that our time in Nebraska would be brief. That as soon as he could, he’d find a way for us to move back east, near my family and the big city lifestyle to which I was accustomed. Try as I may, I just don’t have a laid-back Midwestern spirit.

Seven years later …

Read the rest of my post on a year of change and goodbyes over on Lifetime Moms!

Toys for Toddlers

April 17, 2013

As Levi gets older, I find it fascinating to watch how he plays and interacts with his toys. At 21 months old, he’s doing a lot more pretend play, trying to simulate grown-up behavior that he observes. He’s also showing a renewed interest in toys that have been sitting in storage bins for the past couple of months — or perhaps he’s just finally growing into them.

Just this past week, for example, Levi began pushing his wooden cars across the living room floor, something he’s never really been keen on doing before. He also has a new affection for his wooden alligator toy that he received from grandma for Chanukah. Previously, he seemed afraid by its clickity-clack noise, but now he’s so enamored by it that he wants to take his alligator in the car and to school with him!

I try to limit the number of toys that Levi has out at any given time, but if I were to add to his toy collection, here are the things I would buy him now:

1.Hape Coffee Maker and 7. Plan Toys Microwave because his two favorite kitchen appliances are our Keurig machine and microwave!

2. North Star Toys Camera because he’s been trying to pull my DSLR off my neck and up to his eyes.

3. Melissa & Doug Shopping Cart because he loves the ones at the pretend grocery store in the Omaha Children’s Museum.

4. Plan Toys Build-A-Robot because he’s starting to understand the difference between happy and sad, and this toy might be a great way to teach emotions.

5. Little Tikes Turtle Sandbox because he loves playing in the sand, and this beloved backyard sandbox would keep the sand clean and dry.

6. Tegu Blocks because these magnetic wooden blocks can entertain him at restaurants and on airplanes.

What toys are your kids loving these days? Do you own any of the toys on Levi’s wish list? If so, are they just as fun as they appear to be?

P.S. – Nine favorite toys for toddlers, the top 10 toys for infants, and my favorite play kitchens for budding chefs.

Planning a family vacation

April 16, 2013

When Tea asked me to help spread the word about their first line of swimwear, I wondered if April was too early to start thinking about bathing suits. After all, it barely feels like spring in my neck of the woods.

But browsing Tea’s collection of brightly patterned swimwear, I began to daydream about Levi running and playing on the beach while I buried my toes in the cool sand and listened to the waves breaking against the shore. (Tea’s ruffled tankinis and colorful floral prints also had me dreaming about having a little girl…) No, we don’t need any swimsuits today, but we will need them on our family vacation to Hilton Head next month!

With so much happening in the now, I’ve hardly had time to anticipate our week-long trip to South Carolina. However, researchers from the Netherlands, who set out to measure the effect that vacations have on overall happiness, found that the largest boost in happiness came from planning and anticipating a vacation, not during or after the vacation. In fact, the simple act of planning a vacation could boost happiness for eight weeks, according to an article in the New York Times.

image source

Eight weeks! With our family vacation a mere five weeks away, I’m diving head-first into planning mode in order to make the most of this reported “prevacation happiness boost.” Since I’m sure there’s more to do in Hilton Head than playing on the beach with Levi, I asked one of my very best friends, whose family has been vacationing in Hilton Head for as long as I can remember, for her recommendations.

for breakfast… Southern Coney (“amazing pancakes”)

for dinner… Old Fort Pub (“my favorite restaurant anywhere on the planet”)

for shopping… Radiance in Harbor Town, The Porcupine at the Village at Wexford, and the new Tanger Outlets in Bluffton

for spa treatments… The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa and Le Spa in Sea Pines

I’m also looking forward to riding a bike around the island, playing a few games of tennis, and reading a book or two while lounging on a chaise!

Are you a vacation planner or do you like your vacations to be a bit more spontaneous? If you prefer to plan, how in depth an itinerary do you create in advance of your travels? Also, do you have any additional recommendations of things we should do, see, or eat while in Hilton Head?

P.S. – Our previous family vacation to South Beach last January.

Go Forward >
1
…
97
98
99
100
101
…
189
< Go Back