Stamford – Paige is Parenting

Putting down roots

Hello friends,

It’s been a minute since I’ve last written here, and that’s with good reason. Becoming a mama of two back in December turned out to be only the beginning in a year of changes for our family.

We bought some land in upstate New York and moved from our beautiful apartment in downtown Stamford, Connecticut.

A then two-year-old J, after we bought our land

We moved into a townhouse with our toddler and newborn, and then I went back to work, with a now three-hour roundtrip commute.

I got accepted to begin PhD level coursework.

I had two health scares that, with the second one being most recent and a major wake up call to prioritize my health and well-being again.

J began preschool. H is crawling and trying his best to catch up to his big brother. D and I are marveling at how fast life seems to be going and trying to make time for each other in the whirlwind of this stage of our lives.

Our house is now in the early stages of construction. By this time next year I will be writing from a room in our “forever home.”

It got me thinking about how we choose where to raise our children, and how much of that choice is based on where you can afford to live.

D and I had never had any intention to move back to upstate NY, as smitten as we were with downtown life and the conveniences it held. But when we looked around for a home for our family, we found that there just wasn’t anything we could get for our money that looked like the houses we had grown up in. So we looked further and further north until we landed back in our hometowns.

I had a conversation with an old friend last night that made me realize how prevalent this kind of move is. She had been born and raised in Westchester and intended to buy a house with her husband in the area, until realizing that they were priced out of the market. And upstate they went.

Even thinking back to why my parents moved here from the Bronx with my siblings and I almost twenty years ago. They wanted a yard for us to play in and for us to finally have our own bedrooms. Things that they couldn’t afford in the neighborhood they had been raised in.

I’m sure this is a tale as old as time (to blatantly steal a phrase from Beauty and the Beast). City populations grow and grow, so people begin to spread farther out to afford housing. But still, there’s a small sadness about not being able to afford a home in the place you’ve called by that name for so long.

I feel fortunate that our parents chose to move further north while we were young, even as the prices here steadily creep up as well. We have a home here and a safe place for our children to roam. I just hope they get to have the choice to raise their own children here as well if they choose to.

Playing our way to 1,000 hours outside

The weather is finally warming up here in Southern Connecticut and we are loving it!

To be honest, the beginning of 2022 hasn’t held a lot of outdoors time for us, with the temperatures falling so low. I know that some people don’t mind freezing temps, but I get too nervous to risk it, since my son can’t really speak yet.

One of our favorite places to go has been our local botanical garden. It’s been a great way to immerse ourselves in nature and gives Jameson plenty of opportunity to explore and climb.

Why use the steps when you can scale the rocks?

We’ve also had fun visiting our local nature center, which has an awesome outdoor playground.

The playground is built into the side of a tall hill, which makes it seem like a part of the landscape. It’s beautiful to look at and lots of fun for kids!

I’m going back and forth about actually committing to a membership to the nature center though. It’s fun, but we already have so many memberships to other places in the area. But maybe a few more trips will convince me!

We’ve also spent a lot of time at our local playground. Simple, fun and always a good time!

Is it warming up where you are, or are you lucky enough to live in a place with year-round warm weather?

What I read with my toddler this week: February 5th

It was a 4-day work week for me, which meant more opportunities to read with Jameson (and get some of my own reading in).

Here’s what we read this week:

T. Rex distributed by Smithsonian Kids

This is Jameson’s current favorite to skim through during diaper changes. He loves roaring like a dinosaur!

Also, the finger puppet aspect of it made for lots of giggles when we read it together. 10/10. Highly recommend!

On Mother’s Lap by Ann Herbert Scott

I loved this book for many reasons. The story was, of course, a big part of it. The takeaway being that there is always room on mother’s lap.

I also appreciate a book with beautiful pictures and diversity. This book checks both of those boxes.

Jameson sat with me for part of the reading and played nearby for the other part.

He seemed to like the pictures, as he kept coming back to peek at the next page.

Scholastic mini board books

Jameson has taken a serious liking to these in the past few months. We read one of these books at least three times a day!

Romeo and Juliet: a counting primer by Jennifer Adams

Full disclosure: I bought this book at a secondhand bookstore solely because of my love of Romeo and Juliet.

When I was in high school, I must have read through the play dozens of times.

I loved that each reading meant discovering something new in the story, and how beautiful the lines were.

When I sat down with Jameson to read this, I was pleasantly surprised that he really enjoyed this book! Maybe it was the beautifully contrasting colors on every page, or the counting aspect, but he loved it.

He even requested a reread, which I always count as a sign of a well-loved story!

What have you been reading with your child this week?

Happy to be here and anywhere

Jameson finally tested negative today! We took full advantage of the nice weather and went on not one, but TWO outings!

Our first stop: Honey Joe’s Coffee House

Having an entire indoor playground to himself is a pretty great way to end quarantine!

Jameson and I got up super early (not on purpose. Diaper leakage and soaked mattress at 5 AM. Blah.) so we stayed local for the first outing.

Thankfully, one of the many coffee shops in our neighborhood has an amazing indoor playground. J got to run around and play. Mama got to sip on an iced coffee. Perfection.

Stop Number Two: Stepping Stones Children’s Museum

Desperate to make the most of today’s good weather, since we’re expecting a snow storm tomorrow, we ventured out again after Jameson’s nap.

This was his first time at the children’s museum and he was a big fan! They have a gigantic dinosaur model that moves and roars, which J kept imitating even after we left. Safe to say we’ll be heading back soon!

We ended the day with a mixed bag. I expertly ordered Ubereats to arrive with dinner almost exactly when we got home (score). And the baby went to bed without a hitch. (Double score).

On a sad note, D is now stuck at a hotel in Jersey with flu-like symptoms and is too sick to drive home. With the snow storm coming, he might not get home until late tomorrow night. If he even feels well enough to drive by then.

Anyone else out there expecting a winter storm this weekend? Are you the kind of person who looks forward to snowy weather or do you dread it? I’m not a fan of the snow but I’m excited for Jameson to experience it!

Adventures in quarantine

Another day here in quarantine after the baby and I tested positive over the holidays. D had to stay in Jersey for work tonight and the weather was too crummy for a walk, so today was the definition of a stir crazy day.

“Hello, down there! What’s it like in the outside world?” – my toddler, probably

Jameson and I quickly ran through my list of fun things for the day and leaned heavily into the Disney channel for entertainment. We watched Encanto TWICE today. Yes. Twice. Yea, it’s a lot of tv.

He started the day off snuggly and ended it like this. #personalspacemom

But the truth is I don’t feel bad about today at all. We’ve done a ton of fun, crafty, Pinterest worthy stuff since we’ve been stuck inside from Christmas Eve on. Today was one of our last days in quarantine.

It was raining. It was Wednesday for crying out loud. And did I mention it was raining?

So anyway, tonight I am raising my cup of decaf coffee to all the mamas and the papas out there who ran out of ideas around noon and watched one too many animated musicals. I see you. I feel you. Hell, I am you. Cheers!

Paige is parenting

The last time I posted on here, I was just starting my maternity leave. As of today, my son is 18 months-old. So yes, it’s been a while!

The transition from pregnancy to parenthood was a whirlwind of change. Beautiful, chaotic, messy, perfect change. It probably wouldn’t be that far from the truth to say that it has taken this year and a half of being a parent for me to find the calm and the joy in it. The feeling of maybe, possibly, having a handling on things a bit more.

So, what’s new?

CAREER:

The one that keeps the lights on: Well, I have a new job for starters. I’ve changed from freelance tutoring and advocacy to homeschooling. Since the pandemic and virtual learning, I discovered that there are great, stable jobs for teachers willing to take the reins on the academic parts of homeschooling that can be overwhelming for parents. My student is awesome and the hours are flexible enough for this mom to a toddler.

The one that I’m striving towards: I am doubling down on my efforts to sell at least one of my books by the end of this year. My children’s book, Zamaya the Great, is in the querying stage (super exciting). I’m currently working on the second draft of my Fantasy Realism novel. Guys, I really like this book and I can’t wait for it to be ready for someone other than myself to read!

FAMILY:

D and I made it official and got ENGAGED this past summer! I’ll share the sweet story of that on another post.

We moved to a different apartment…and then a different apartment in the same building. We just love packing tape and cardboard boxes…ha. We’re still in Stamford, CT though!

Jameson was born! By far the biggest change since we last spoke is that I gave birth to my sweet boy. He is now a one and a half year-old TODDLER and I still can’t handle the off-the-charts cuteness that is my own kid.

I’m sure there are loads of things to mention as well, but I’m drawing a blank. It’s like when someone asks you what you like to do for fun and suddenly you can’t think of anything to say except “you know, hanging out”. Ah well, mom brain/life brain!

Peace out for now! -Paige