Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone who has supported me, encouraged me, tolerated me, inspired me, loved me.  Thank you so much for being you, and I hope that 2010 is your best year ever!

And for the lady who gave me a nasty look when my 5 year old was vomiting on the airplane a few weeks ago, well, I wish you a Happy New Year, too.  In case no one else does.

Daily Photo: Full Moon at Dusk

A Great Green Exercise: Preparing A Last Will And Testment

Part of my journey toward a greener lifestyle was (and still is) to become better organized.  Whether it's the clothes closets, drawers, attic, file cabinet, garage, kitchen pantry or computer files -- greater organization leads to greater efficiency, which is central to green living. 

Along the way, I've also realized that there is a major organizational project I've badly neglected.  Maybe it's because it involves preparing for some unsettling possibilities - such as the death of my spouse, myself, or both of us.

My husband and I recognize the importance of having life insurance, mainly because we have children.  We want to make sure that if something happens to one or both of us, we have financially provided for their care until they are adults.  We don't want the surviving parent or the guardians to struggle financially when they should instead be focusing on our children.

We've taken care of the life insurance and have identified guardians but have yet to take care of some other important details, such as:

1. a Last Will (This is used to distribute property to beneficiaries, specify last wishes, and name guardians for minor children. It is an important part of any estate plan. Without one, the courts will make these critical decisions for you.), 
2. a Living Trust (This spells out how your assets are to be managed in the event you are unable to take care of yourself - and by whom (you should specify a Durable Financial Power of Attorney). In the event of death, it is used to transfer property to beneficiaries. But unlike a last will, a living trust is not usually subject to probate court, which can take years and cost thousands in court fees.), and 
3. a Living Will (This spells out your preferences regarding medical care should you no longer be able to speak for yourself.  It also typically includes specifying a Durable Health Care Power of Attorney, so you have someone able to make health care decisions on your behalf.)

In preparation for completing these tasks, I found a great form (click here for a word doc) to help me gather together pertinent information.  I plan to flesh it out by including every account we have, whether it's a utility, newspaper subscription, online account, whatever - with account numbers, userids and passwords.  I want the end product to be so detailed that the executor of our will will have a very easy job.  I will take this package to an estate attorney in our state (laws differ state-to-state, so best to get it done locally) and put our minds at ease.

I thoroughly expect that once I'm done with the form and my attachments, I will realize how much I should simplify the details of our life - which should make it a very green exercise, indeed.

As I move through this process, I'll leave updates here with any new information I find - and I welcome any advice you might have to offer.

Daily Photo: Because Christmas Snow Is Magic

My kids made a snowman out of the snow that fell on Christmas Eve...

They think that Christmas snow must be magic since the snowman did not melt along with all of the other snow.  I can think of one other explanation but I'm keeping my mouth shut.  It really does look magical :)

Daily Photo: A Christmas Miracle!

It's snowing in Texas on Christmas Eve! 

It was 70 degrees yesterday and my kids were running around sweating in their short sleeved shirts - now this!

Daily Photo: Texas Sky

It's 72 degrees and lovely in North Texas today - sunny with big, fluffy clouds that race across the sky.  It's a nice change from wading through snow drifts back east!

Navigating Air Travel After A Snowstorm with Two Small Children

In yesterday's post, I alluded to the ill-fated nature of our trip back east.  It was actually a really great trip except for the last two days.

We were all set to fly home from the DC area on Saturday morning, but on Friday afternoon, as the mother of all snowstorms moved toward DC, the flight was canceled.  We were fortunate enough to learn this before the snow even started falling (always subscribe to flight alerts!), so were able to reschedule for Sunday afternoon before all of the seats on that flight were filled.

This is what we woke up to on Saturday morning.  And it kept on snowing.  Total accumulation broke the record for a twenty-four hour period.

We spent Saturday shoveling out my mother-in-law's driveway so we could get to the airport on Sunday.  The kids had a very good time throwing themselves into snow banks.

On Sunday morning, I brazenly packed a cooler with nine juice boxes, 4 chocolate milks, two sandwiches and snacks.  It was the height of arrogance to think I'd get through security with all of that, but I was determined to try.  I knew we were in for a long haul.  My carry-on also contained 16 diapers, a complete package of wipes, a complete change of clothing for both kids, a bottle of hand sanitizer, my laptop with a lot of kids' shows, and an ipod with a movie my older son picked out for himself and was very excited to watch.  Both boys had small backpacks with toys that they'd packed themselves.  I didn't bother packing any amusement for myself since all of my focus would be on my kids.

As we pulled up to Reagan National Airport on Sunday afternoon, 3 hours before our flight was scheduled to depart, the line at curbside check-in was extremely long - and it was 24 degrees.  My husband left me with all of the luggage and took the kids to return the rental car.  I commandeered a luggage cart and decided to try to get in line inside.  I plunged into a wall of people in total chaos.  It took me 15 minutes to turn around and get back out the door.  By that time, the curbside check-in line was a lot longer, but I had no other logical option.  So I dug my winter coat out of my bag and hunkered down.  Forty-five minutes later, my husband and kids joined me.  An hour and a quarter later, through several bathroom breaks and snacks for the kids, we finally found a Skycap who gave us our boarding passes and took our bags, effectively cutting in front of the 15 passengers still in front of us.  We had 30 minutes to make our flight.

We got down to security and faced another log jam.  My husband hopped lines, cutting in front of some slow pokes, and I sheepishly followed him with the kids.  The security personnel saw the cooler with juice boxes and let us through with it, thank goodness.  Finally at our gate, we didn't see our flight on the board above the gate and we couldn't get a straight answer from anyone.  Utter chaos.

I resorted to standing on a chair and loudly asking if anyone else was on our flight and what they knew about it.  Five people spoke up and we exchanged whatever information we had.  We concluded that this was indeed the proper gate but there were several planes ahead of us.  We would be delayed.  So I set about finding dinner for the kids and found a table and two chairs that we turned into our base camp.  Four hours later, after dinner, bathroom breaks, purchasing one toy for each child at the gift shop, and many "tours" with the toddler, I saw some commotion near the gate and my husband investigated.  Sure enough, our flight was boarding.  In fact, it had been boarding for 20 minutes and we almost missed it.

We got to the front of the line and discovered that we did not have actual seat assignments.  We had generic boarding passes.  Good GOD.  So husband muscled his way through the shouting mob to the desk.  That's when they told him they'd been paging us for 10 minutes.  As if anyone could hear anything over the din.

We boarded the plane and found it completely full.  Our seats weren't together but we were at least able to pair one child with each adult.  I passed the ipod to my husband so my older son could watch his specially selected movie and the toddler and I settled in (we'd been using that movie as a carrot for good behavior the whole afternoon - it had worked like a charm).   Thank goodness for the CARES harness or my toddler would have been running down the aisle. 

Everyone on the plane was so grateful to be there and was very nice to each other.  Booze was free (which tells you just how bad things were!).  It was late, and I expected my toddler to fall asleep but he didn't.  After reaching cruising altitude, I broke out the last of the juice boxes and some raisins and he watched a Care Bears movie on my laptop while I rubbed his little feet.

Two hours into the flight, he became increasingly irritable.  He said his tummy hurt.  (Uh oh.  The older child had thrown up on the flight east after saying his tummy hurt.  An air bubble wanted to get out and it took his lunch with it.)  So I extracted him from his harness, laid him belly-down and told him to fart.  Yes, I really did.  I had no idea a toddler could produce so much gas.  But I'm guessing if the passengers around us could have chosen between a crying toddler and a smelly airplane, they'd take the smelly airplane.  He immediately felt better, stopped crying and had a pee pee accident.  So I changed his diaper and pants, cradled him, and he fell asleep.

As we approached for landing, I knew I couldn't wrestle him back into the harness without a really unpleasant experience, so I carefully strapped him into my ERGO carrier and let him continue sleeping.  We landed and I collected our carry-on items and, without waking him, exited the airplane.  Standing on the Jetway waiting for my husband and other son, I spoke with the pilot.   Turns out, the airplane almost didn't make it to DC.  It had been circling over Dulles for two hours and they were running out of fuel.  Wow, were we lucky!

We picked up our bags from baggage claim, reached our car, strapped everyone in, Purelled everyone and went home.  It was a fun trip, but I am very glad to be back in my own home.

My Quick Jaunt to Midtown Manhattan

These past few weeks have been very busy, consumed with holiday preparations, events at my son's school, preparing for and taking our ill-fated trip back east (more on that later), and my growing preoccupation with what I'm going to do once both kids are in school. Typically, from Thanksgiving to Christmas there never seems to be enough time in the day, and this year was no exception.

My brief jaunt to NYC left me really refreshed. I don't know if it was just being in the city or the fact that I got more sleep in those two days than I've had in years. Funny how small children completely transform every aspect of your life. Before kids, I used to work very long hours, stay up late and then catch up on sleep on the weekends. That strategy no longer works since my alarm clock toddler yells at me at 6am every day. So let's just say that on this jaunt, I submerged myself in the luxury which is sleep. When not sleeping, I met up with friends and wandered the city to see how it had changed in the five years I'd been gone. It was a nice time to visit since the city was decked out for the holidays.

I visited one of my old haunts, Rizzoli book store.  This is where I first heard of Robert Mapplethorpe.  A part of me died that day - that tiny scrap of innocence left in my 22 year old mind.

 

I window shopped on Fifth Avenue and found a nice gift for my husband.   No, not at Cartier.  I just like their decorations.

Check out the lady walking in front of Tiffany - this is how I realized riding boots are back in style - where have I been?  Oh yes - in the sticks for the past few years.  No one cares about riding boots in the sticks.

I walked through F.A.O. Schwarz and was underwhelmed by the assortment and overwhelmed by the crowd.  Seems that these days they only sell teddy bears wearing F.A.O. Schwarz t-shirts.   Cater to tourists much?

I stepped out onto Fifth again and looked up at the Plaza Hotel.  I've probably looked at the front of this building a thousand times and always think of Barbra (the voice that needs no last name) and Robert Redford in The Way We Were, "Your girl is lovely, Hubbell."  Makes me want to weep just thinking of it.

I crossed to Central Park South and walked past the Oak Room, where in my twenties I tried to look sophisticated drinking cognac and smoking a cigar but probably just looked like an idiot.

I looked at the carriage horses with pity and breathed out of my mouth while doing so because they smell so badly.  Seriously.  How does anyone take a "romantic" ride in a smelly horse carriage?

Then I visited lovely Central Park and remembered countless summer Saturdays in my twenties spent stretched out on Sheep Meadow trying to look cool despite the humidity because it was a place to see and be seen. I don't think I ever succeeded.

Cruised past Radio City Music Hall.  Have I ever been inside?  No.  

Walked around the corner to Rockefeller Center.  I put my Liz Lemon glasses on and walked up to the door saying "Hey, nerds! Who's got two thumbs, speaks limited French, and hasn't cried once today? [pointing thumbs at self] This moi."  Well, no I didn't, but I had fun thinking about it.

Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center? Check.  Pickpockets?  Probably.

 

Is Times Square still crazy?  Yes, yes it is.  And I take pride in the fact that a souvenir vendor identified me as a New Yorker, not "some tourist."  Tactfulness is not on the vendor license exam.  But like most NY taxi drivers, souvenir vendors seem to have an uncanny ability to identify where people are from.  Years ago, I had one NY taxi driver identify exactly where I was born on the eastern seaboard.  And I think he was from Pakistan.  It's crazy.

Am I mad that St. Patrick's had to schedule exterior maintenance during my visit, thus ruining my photo of it?  Yes, I am.  It's freaking Christmas.  You'd think they'd want it to look special.

 

I left NYC on the Acela, just as I'd arrived.  Pushed my way through the crowd of i-bankers in the bar car, then sat peacefully with a glass of wine and read - another thing I'm unable to do when the kids are around.  I reunited with my family completely rejuvenated.  Two days well spent!

I Love New York!

It was bracingly cold when I stepped out of Penn Station yesterday evening. It smelled just the same and I breathed deeply, letting the electricity and life of the city run through me.

NYC is a place I lived for 15 years but haven’t seen in the last 5 years. The last I saw of it was through the back window of our car as we drove into the Lincoln Tunnel with our newborn son. We didn’t want to raise children in the hustle and bustle, but that didn’t stop me from being a bit sad as we left. We’ve moved around and done a lot of living in the last 5 years, including having baby #2. But here I am, back for my first visit to see old friends. I traveled by Acela – a route I used to take very often. I don’t remember the Acela looking so beat up.

I am solo on this trip and that in itself is a strange sensation. My husband is taking the kids to visit his relatives in a nearby state and I took advantage of the proximity to catch up on some friendships I’ve neglected these past few years. We will reunite in two days. I need these two days for myself, or maybe for the person I used to be – I’ve neglected her, too. I am at a crossroads and need to start thinking about what I will do once both children are in school - career #3.

I have memories on just about every street corner of Manhattan since I moved so many times while I was living here through my twenties and thirties. I’ve lived in just about every neighborhood above 23rd Street. I enjoyed two distinct careers here, had been a grad student, fell in love, had my heart broken, fell in love again, threw some great parties with my roommates and made a lot of great friends. Some memories are happy. Others are sad. Living in NYC is certainly never dull.

The next two days will be full of visits with friends, wandering, remembering and shopping for the perfect Christmas present for my husband.

Check back here for some great Daily Photos from the Big Apple. God, I love New York.

EcoMeg on YouTube: Adorable, Eco-Friendly Alarm Clock

As every parent knows, a toddler is a most reliable alarm clock.

Homemade All Natural Beeswax Lip Balm

My 5 year old's classmates are crazy about Chapstick.  They think it's cool to bring it to school and keep it in their pockets, sometimes letting each other try the many unique flavors they find (I can't type this without shuddering).  So he naturally requested his own.

After extracting a promise (several times) that he would not share it and would not try anyone else's, I relented and bought a tube.  Then I noticed this...

"Lift for Drug Facts"

Curious about that, I lifted the label.  The adhesive ripped a layer of the label off and I wasn't able to read it.   So, I just cut to the chase and visited one of my favorite websites, Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep, a cosmetic safety database.  According to their evaluation of this product,  it ranks 8 out of 10 on the scale of concerns (10 is highest concern).  The high score is driven by its fragrance and an ingredient called methylparaben.  Parabens are endocrine disruptors and methylparaben, in particular, has been linked to breast cancer.  The Chapstick also contains artificial colors and saccharin. 

Right, so he's not getting any Chapstick.  Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm scored quite well but he didn't like the peppermint taste, so I decided to make my own.  Here's how I did it.

Beeswax Lip Balm

Clean out a Burt's Bees Lip Balm tube, wash it thoroughly and set it out to air dry.  Grate 2 teaspoons of all natural pure beeswax (it typically comes in bar form, or as "pearls").  Melt it in a small Pyrex dish in the microwave.  Do this in 30 second increments and take it out as soon as it is melted - you don't want it to burn.  To the melted beeswax, add 1 teaspoon of honey and 1 teaspoon of castor oil.  Mix thoroughly, allow to cool for a minute, then pour into the dry lip balm tube.  Place the tube in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.  (Note: you could easily add an all natural flavor extract (vanilla, lemon, etc) to create a unique taste.)

He loved the taste and texture, and I love the fact that it's really and truly safe for him.

I later decorated the tube with his name in script.  He loved that, too!

Exactly Where I Want to Be

My toddler is sick and is feeling yucky.  We're cuddled up together under his Diego blanket watching Diego (of course).  Every once in a while, he looks up at me, touches my face and smiles.  I am exactly where I want to be, where he needs me to be, and  I am so grateful that I am his Mom.

The Possible Etymology of A Popular Expression

One of my older female relatives came for a visit and my husband and I took the opportunity to go to a movie alone.  While we were out, my toddler had a messy diaper.  When we returned, my relative proudly exclaimed "and I was able to clean it up using only THREE wipes!" 

Needless to say, I was suspicious about the thoroughness of the cleaning given the paucity of wipes used, so I investigated.  I now understand the meaning of the expression "a half-assed job."  Said relative has been relieved of diaper patrol.

Daily Photo: It Snowed in Texas

Yesterday, we woke up to falling snow here in Texas.  It was beautiful and left me longing for my childhood home back east.

Real Versus Artificial Christmas Trees

When I was a child, we always had a real Christmas tree. We went as a family to the Christmas tree lot and carefully selected one, lashed it to the roof of the station wagon and brought it home. My Dad would get out the axe and trim the end so it would fit in our stand, then we'd haul it inside and decorate it. It was a joyous ritual.

When I graduated from college and moved to NYC, I continued to go home for Christmas so never bothered decorating my apartment. But once I had my first child, I decided we needed to live amidst the holiday cheer. We didn't want to deal with the trouble and mess of a live tree, so we bought an artificial one, and we've used it every year since then.

This year, as part of my migration to green living, I sought out information on the pros and cons of artificial versus real trees. I could elaborate on these here, but Kimberly Crandell over at ScientificBlogging already did all of the heavy lifting in a blog post titled "The Great Debate: Real Vs. Artificial Christmas Trees." I encourage you to read it.

Armed with my new knowledge, we may revert to a live Christmas tree next year - despite the huge convenience of our artificial one.