BBC Taking Over Entertainment

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We were a little late getting on the Downton Abbey bandwagon. We had no other reason for our delay other than we were engrossed in The Wire. We can only watch one series at a time. Transitioning from the grit of The Wire to the reform of Downton Abbey was refreshing. Now that we have finished season 2 of Downton we are in the cohort of those who are desperately waiting for season 3. I enjoy watching shows well after the season so I don't have to endure the wait until the new season, but it is fun to be timely and caught up in the hype. John and I have been polling our friends to determine if Lord Grantham married Lady Grantham for her money or because she was pregnant with Lady Mary. What do you think?

To quell my eagerness, I have been browsing other BBC shows. I just learned about another series that will air in September - something else to wait for! It's called Call The Midwife. What's fantastic about this series - beyond the premise of it being about midwives and nuns in the 1950s in London - is that it is based on a memoir that I have been trying to find for months, but is unfortunately out of print in a lot of places. How great, I get to enjoy a new series and knock a memoir off my list. BBC is my new favorite resource.

Personal Style, No Excuses

Each week that goes by Grayson is fleshing out his personality more and more. Thankfully, I really enjoy Grayson's personality. Does any parent not like their child's personality? I would imagine that would be very difficult. Any rate, Grayson is becoming his own little man. My dad told me that Grayson is like an old man because he has figured out his style and he just rolls with it. I agree.

This morning I caught a glimpse in the rear view mirror of Grayson dancing. I had to put precaution aside and video Grayson in his element. He was in the zone, lip bite and all.

Let's Get With the Times, London

In honor of the London Olympics I am working on a video montage. When I think Olympics, I think inspiration montages. I have been searching for the perfect music. I have some ideas I am strongly considering, but I tested the idea of using a London Olympics-specific song. I found this gem.

I have some questions... 1) Why? 2) I love the 90s, but why are the folks of the London Olympics clearly stuck in the era of the Lion King?

What do you think? Am I being too harsh?

Real Rules?

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I am a sucker for slide shows that give tips. I was a major sucker for this slide show with Instagram tips. I break some of the Instagram "rules". I am trying to decide if my Instagram misbehavior is a big deal or not. I am not in it for popularity and massive amounts of followers, but still.

Wednesday Giggles

I came across this picture today and it gave me an adolescent giggle.  For your enjoyment.

Thought-Provoking Thursday: A Glass in Hand = What Type of Mother?

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Here is a confession that is not likely to make me win awards in many mothering circles: I drank while pregnant with both Grayson and Lu. Maybe it is ironic that I drank during my pregnancies, given my background in public health. But I think my maternal health background is what gave me the confidence to know that my babies were going to be okay. I had read so much research about the effects of alcohol and knew the politics behind the Surgeon General's warning. Maybe I was cocky to think that my wine with dinner would not cause a problem, or maybe I was exactly right. My pregnancy drinking was never extreme, just a couple of glasses of wine a week after the first trimester. Sometimes I went as far as to drink wine in public. We actually had a special bottle of wine that we opened when I was in labor. Since my labor was vague and herky-jerky, we ended up buying replacement wine for the first bottle of the labor wine. 

I have wanted to market Labor Wine. Labor is such a fun and exciting time. It makes it all the more memorable to have a special bottle of wine to go with it. Can you tell that I have already devised a marketing scheme for this wine? Unfortunately, I don't think my Labor Wine would ever take off in the States. I would have some groups coming after me, and all the other folks would likely be too scared to buy the wine. Maybe this research would help my business.  

What do you think? Is alcohol during pregnancy okay, or too much of a risk?

We Invaded

This past weekend Lu and I crashed guys' weekend. John is such a good husband; when he was offered a guys trip to Colorado he said he would not go unless I was able to tag along. While the guys fly fished, I spent a day reliving my youth in Frisco with Morgan, and then Lu and I took on some high altitude adventures together.

I was expecting the weekend to be relaxing, which it was, but an added bonus that I did not expect was that I got to know Lu better. I hated to leave Grayson in Georgia while the rest of the fam was gallivanting through the mountains, but the trip was too short and would be too expensive to justify him coming. I am not a fan of taking trips without the entire family, but this trip may have changed my mind a little. It seems like everyone won. Grayson had a blast while we were gone, and I feel like I was able to bond with Lu even more. It was so great to see Lu's sense of adventure and curiosity. She is a very fun travel companion. Maybe our future does include some weekend getaways with one kid at a time.

Here are some photos.

Woman of Intrigue: Tao Porchon-Lynch

Have you heard of Tao Porchon-Lynch? I just learned of her today. The pictures alone are remarkable.

Playmates

It seems like each week keeps getting past me before I am able to post. There are actually a number of things I would like to post about, but time is a major factor. Hopefully sometime soon I will get back to fully rolling in the blog world.

One of the major factors in my time lately is the kids. No big surprise, yet for some reason I still catch myself being surprised at how much time and energy it takes to raise small children. A friend stayed the night at our house earlier this week and he commented, "Is this normal? Is every evening this busy with the kids?" John and I laughed. The evening did not seem too chaotic to us. I guess in some ways we have become immune to the chaos. I realized recently that I have become the woman who carries on a phone conversation with a screaming child in the background. I used to be so distracted when I talked to women who talked over their toddlers, but now I know it is the only way to have a conversation. I am also the woman who consistently goes to work with baby poop on her clothes, but whatever.

In the midst of the chaos and redirecting, there have been many great moments. Grayson and Lu have started playing with each other more. They both share admiration for each other that warms my heart. I love seeing their bond grow. I love the moments when Grayson follows his big brother instinct to make sure Lu is treated fairly. I love watching Lu gaze at Grayson and smile at every little thing he does. I love listening to giggles turn into belly laughter in the back seat of the car as Grayson and Lu share an inside joke. So many days I look at Grayson and Lu and I sit in wonder about what is to come for them.

Internet Finds

The breadth of my Internet travel is shameful. I lazily stick to about a handful of sites and call it a day. Honestly, the Internet wears me out. Thankfully, I have friends who have a much more expansive approach to the Internet, and they are friends who share their knowledge. Few things excite me more than receiving an email with some fun Internet finds. My dear friend Sarah recently emailed me these videos. Why are these girls not famous? Why have these videos not gone completely viral?

Marital Coordination

There has been another major lag in my postings. I see why blogging is a full-time career for some folks. It's very hard to blog and have another full-time gig. John and I have joked that we don't have just full time jobs, but rather a variety of side gigs. Sometimes I feel like my professional life is very a la carte, a little of this, a little of that.


This past weekend John and I coordinated our friends' wedding. This was the first time John and I have worked together in a job capacity. We did really well. John took care of the musical logistics, which included jamming with the bluegrass band, and he did a great job organizing the men. I took care of the decor, general concerns, and keeping everything of time. The wedding turned out beautifully. I was proud that we pulled it off, especially since the wedding was in the middle of a field, a mile away from the parking lot, with no easy electricity hookup for sound.

During the reception a few different folks suggested that John and I make a career of wedding coordinating. It's not really my field. John perked up at the idea, though. Over the past days I have watched the wheels turn as John is thinking about picking up another side gig. For some reason I can't help but laugh at the thought of John and I going into the wedding biz.

Here are some fun photos from this past weekend.

Another Song for Your Head

So this is Public Health, for sure. I want to write a book of comments on YouTube videos. There are some serious commentators to this video.

Song for Your Head

Here is an addicting song about the conflict of addictions for your Wednesday. So Public Health. Kind of.

What do you think?

Name That Baby!

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I understand that my recent posts have been simply reposting NPR content, but there have been a number of interesting features lately. Yesterday I ran across this  post about baby names. I have some anecdotal data of my own about popular baby names across socioeconomic groups. I worked with a number of women who looked to America's Next Top Model for their baby names. By the way, are the names on America's Next Top Model real? Or, does it really mean if you name your child something whild she is likely to make it in the world of reality television?

Coming up with the perfect name for a child can definitely be tricky. We chose names we felt gave enough wiggle room for our children to develop their own personality, not have their personality defined by their name. We wanted names that were known, but not super common. Both names we have chosen are starting to trend a little. I'm always fascinated how within one year a name can boom, especially if that name is not involved with some pop culture phenomenon (I'm speaking to you, all you Twilight babies!). I am not sure how common Grayson and Lucy are becoming, but on a regular basis I am told about other little children with the same name. It's not a big deal to me, just as long as there are not more than four or five Grayson's in his class. Interestingly, there were four Shannons in my kindergarten class. After elementary school I never had anyone in my class with the same name. Is my name for underachievers? Where did all the Shannons go?

I easily get sucked in to looking at name trends. The name mapper on the Baby Wizard is so fun! It turns out Grayson appears to be a name only folks in the deep South use, and Lucy spreads from the Midwest to West, with Utah taking first in favoring it. Trends!

What do you think about baby names? It's funny that we call it "baby names" when the term should be "person names".

Revisiting the Background to Snapshots

Have you heard of Dear Photograph? Today is the first time I have heard of this site, and I'm in love. I love simple snapshots so much more than intentional photography. I feel like there is more back story to snapshots. I love that this site creatively revisits photo locations and gives some commentary. Here is the story from NPR.

Enjoy!

Follow-Up on Communal Singing

There have been some blog comments and comments in person about communal singing. How fun would it be to have a city tour company that provided communal singing experiences? I would totally buy a ticket for that bus. I mean, look what communal singing did for all the down-and-out folks on the Almost Famous bus.

Maybe I should start looking for old school buses or church vans?

Music to Make You Sing

Every so often I come into contact with a band that has all the elements I love. The band to most recently hit me is The Lumineers. I cannot resist group singing. The Lumineers make me want to take a bus trip with folks who will sing along to every song. Don't you just love those moments when groups of people sing together? So communal.

What do you think?

Missing Vacation

This is the first summer in a while that I do not have a big trip to look forward to. Kind of a bummer. Actually, really a bummer. I have been thinking a lot about Colorado lately. I lived there as a kid. The last time we visited was two years ago for the wedding of one of my best friends, Morgan. Morgan just had her beautiful baby boy, Hayden, last month. What I would give to be able to go visit Morgan and her family this year!

As part of my reminiscing and daydreaming of Colorado, here are some flashback photos from two summers ago. It was such a great trip. Morgan had such a beautiful wedding.