Splendid Stacking

One of Cal and Nanny R’s favorite places to hang out is the children’s room of the Russian Hill Bookstore on Polk (great resource for new and classic books and toys.) Nanny R has been buzzing about the building block sets there for weeks now. At first I was skeptical -  blocks are blocks right? As long as they can be stacked, and knocked down, any old model will fit the bill.  But, being that Nanny R is kind of super amazing baby whisperer, I figured we should probably let her guide us on this one.

I am so glad I did because these blocks from Uncle Goose are truly something special.  Handcrafted in Michigan, the embossed designs are utterly charming and printed with non-toxic, child safe inks on sustainable local wood. Although Cal isn’t ready to stack them yet, he is already marveling at the rich colors and eye-catching design.

We have the Classic Goose but there are lots of other specialty sets including foreign language, nursery rhyme and even the periodic table of elements set if you’ve got a budding scientist on your hands.

Happy building! 

The Urban Commuting Conundrum

Ah, city living. Seven years of monthly bus passes and packing myself into the sardine cans that careen down the San Francisco hills at 8am and wobble precariously back up at the end of the work day. Especially crowded commutes like the one I experienced this evening make me ponder moving to the suburbs and driving my car everywhere (sorry, environment.)

While I have absolutely no real interest in abandoning San Francisco, I am certainly not the only resident who bemoans their Muni (SF’s public transport provider) experience on a regular basis. Public transit is not this city’s strong suit and sometimes I really do feel too old to deal with the “quirks” of commuting downtown (excessive rush hour crowding, hopelessly indirect routes, generally smelly and grimy bus interiors.)

 I suppose this is a typical conundrum for all of us who choose to continue living in cities after we “grow up,” get married, and start families. I can’t be the only mother at my bus stop in the financial district planning my strategy to secure a spot on the next bus at all costs. Despite the growing crowd, I steel myself that my need to get on this bus far outweighs everyone else’s because I am a mom now and I have to get home to my baby.

Ultimately though, once I have reached my destination and elbowed my way off the bus, I always stop and take a moment to check out Coit Tower and the stunning view of North Beach below. Crossing the street home, I often smile at how quickly my frustration completely fades. There’s no denying I fell in love with San Francisco long ago and I wouldn't want to live or raise Cal anywhere else. The logistics involved with living in this city aren't always simple, but the best things in life don’t come easy, right?

From the Weekend, With Love

Fun visitors and funny outfits

Running errands and couch cuddle time 

Pizza and softball fields and boats, oh my 

Baby Talk

I did not think I would become a baby talking parent. In fact, throughout my pregnancy, I would listen in disdain as moms cooed in high pitched voices and babbled incoherently to their little ones, smug in my resolve that I would never demean my baby by talking to him as if he were a cartoon mouse.

As with most of my grandiose parenting philosophies pre-baby, this plan came to a screeching halt within the first month of becoming a mother. Squeaky voices, funny faces,  enthusiastic exclamations for absolutely no reason (“Isn’t it fun to sit in the bouncer and watch mommy make toast?!!”), and spontaneous, nonsensical song bursts to derail a potential meltdown in the car seat ('the traffic downtown is so silly isn’t it? Let's play with your sock! la la la….''') are communications strategies I now lean on daily.

For whatever reason, Cal is amused for longer and calmed more quickly when I throw a healthy dose of gibberish into the mix. And if I can get a big gummy smile or a melt-your-heart giggle out of channeling my inner cartoon mouse, I will do so every time. 

From the Weekend, with Love

The Weekday Dinner

Tonight’s field trip to pick up dinner in the neighborhood followed a pretty standard protocol. As much as I aspire to make it home at the end of a work day to whip up some masterpiece from scratch, I have to own that given everything else on our plate (haaaaa) - home cooked dinners on a regular basis just aren't in the cards right now. 

Considering Cal is still taking his evening meal by bottle makes me pretty OK with this reality - I figure we have a few more months to work a consistent dinner routine into the mix before he has any concept of what a fork is.

Fortunately for me, our neighborhood has some pretty good spots to pick up pre-made, genuinely good meals that taste almost as good as if they were homemade. And if we’re especially lazy, there’s always delivery….

Square Meals  (Polk and Broadway)

Pre-made, a la carte offerings by chefs who cook from scratch daily. We just order at the counter and carry out but they have delivery options and ongoing meal plans for super busy families. 
Highly recommend: Polenta and corn fries, turkey meatloaf, seared albacore.

Le Beau (Leavenworth and Sacramento) 

Thus cutsie neighborhood market has all the basics plus a great wine selection and an addictive deli, grill and rotisserie section.  

Highly recommend: Fried chicken Fridays

Cheese Plus (Polk and Pacific) 

OK so you may not exactly find a balanced meal at this personal favorite but in case you want picnic food for dinner – which I often do - this place is phenomenal. Specialty items from all over the place and the most amazing cheese and charcuterie selections turn even the most innocent sop by into an indulgence hazard– but it’s always worth it!
Highly recommend: Everything!

Nordic Baby

While I don’t claim to be the greenest mom on the block (In my defense, we do live in the middle of supremely eco-conscious San Francisco…) finding quality well-made and eco-friendly products at reasonable prices that don’t look hideous quirky is always cause for celebration.

I’ve been noticing recently just how many of our most-used and aesthetically appealing baby gear comes directly from our Northern European neighbors. Leave it to those Scandinavians to perfect the ideal blend of form and function in organic and sustainable baby gear design.

Here are some of the Nordic novelties we swear by: 

Duds from Denmark

I have a new crush on the Danish brand, Wheat. I was introduced very recently by my mom, the wonderful grandma Rosie,  who was out and about in Annapolis and happened upon Wheat’s first and only children's clothing concept store in the United States. Doting grandma that she is, the goodies below were quickly snapped up and I’m completely hooked on their adorable design simplicity and super soft and all-natural fabric. 

More Danish Delights......

Cal has been repeatedly soothed in record time by his Hevea paci ever since they were first introduced when he was three weeks old. In fact, the calming powers of the Hevea are so great that I admit to having developed some pretty strong attachment issues myself – on a fussy day we won’t leave a room - let alone the house, without one (stay tuned for a post on the joys of pacifier weaning -we’ll cross that baby bridge when we come to it….)

Made of 100% natural rubber, and ANS BPA free and with a sweet star and moon design, the pacis and all Hevea are products are produced sustainably.  

Scandinavia's Sweet Rides

Swedish design master, Playsam, is behind these sleek and punchy looking toys. The shapes are aerodynamic so little hands can get a better grip!  

And, of course, we are devoted to the Swedish Bjorn classics. Check out Cal’s adventures in his Bjorn carrier and bouncer. 



And possibly one step too far….

This is admittedly borderline ridiculous (and we have NOT made this purchase.) But honestly, how adorable would Cal look behind the wheel of this little  Saab Roadster? – Swedish design, naturally.  

Four Months, Hooray!

What a wonderful, crazy, and truly special time it's been.  We have loved more deeply and functioned on less sleep than we ever could have imagined possible and can't wait for what's to come.

Happy four months, Cal! We LOVE you!

And some close-ups of a few of my absolute faves....

Summer on a Schedule

What a week! A healthy dose of work craziness combined with a flurry of appointments, errands and sleep training the little one has me obsessing over the long, lazy days of summer. I am not sure where those elusive days are hiding out but I sure could use one right about now!

How YOU Doin'?

Last night I hit on a stranger at our local corner market. Two and a half years into a happy marriage complete with newborn might seem like an odd time to launch my career as a pick up artist but I am going for it. 

My attention was drawn to an early thirties woman cradling a young baby who was on an equally exciting mission to pick up sugar as I was to pick up chicken broth.  I eyed her carefully, weighing my opening line and then just moseyed on up and gave it all I got. Sure it started off a bit awkwardly, but ultimately we found our stride and were soon gabbing about  sleep deprivation, returning to work, and a myriad of other new mom phenomenon. 

Five minutes later I bounced out of the store with her number and an active baby date invitation!  I returned home announcing triumphantly to Nick that I had made a new "mom friend" with a son two months younger than Cal - and that she lives just down the street! We have wonderful friends, many with children, but to hit it off with another new mom who lives around the corner? – That’s a real catch.

Did she like me? Will she return my call?  Only time will tell but I am realizing more and more each day that mom friends are going to be an indispensable part of my new life  – and I will happily pick them up at any chance I get.  

From the Weekend, with Love

Brunch at Rick and Ann's in Berkeley 

Patiently waiting for their table 

Daddy and Cal at home and stopping by a few of Daddy's favorite spots from growing up around Berkeley. 

Late afternoon walk in the SF fog 

Saturday Visitors!

The New Spa Day

Before I became a mom, my guilty pleasures usually involved some kind of shopping escapade, a spa treatment, snacks in the form of dessert, US Weekly perusal or alcohol consumption (pre-pregnancy, naturally). These days, my secret guiltiest of guilty indulgences is an uninterrupted hour to myself.

My ambitions for this hour are modest. Just a little still time – a brief respite where I can be gloriously unproductive, move absolutely no pending action items along, and generally just sink into a small moment and “be.”

Yesterday was a long day and once we put the little one down for the night for the first time (we average about three to four “goodnight you are now going to sleep – no really, this time you really are” interchanges on a good night) Nick gallantly took sole ownership of the baby monitor and let me bask in a coveted window of “me time.”

Flopping into my carefully constructed pillow fort in our bed, I luxuriated in not one but TWO back-to-back uninterrupted episodes of The Newsroom. As far as I am concerned, there is no point in trying to watch a movie or series that you really enjoy unless you can commit to the full thing. And with unpredictable little one throwing baby wrenches in almost any sleep cycle he encounters, a double feature is analogous to the greatest spa escape I could ever dream up.