What My 3 Year Old Taught Me About New Year Resolutions.

     As we sat at the lunch table today, our conversation turned to the inevitable chatter of New Year's Resolutions.  Our table included 5 people ranging from 3 to 59.  It was easy enough to agree on the ever present goal of eating better and excercising more often...Planet Diet is now in orbit.  Once we cleared our minds of that certain universal truth, we came across the really interesting stuff.

    Setting goals or resolutions is a great way to reflect on where we have been, where we are and where we are going.  The goals we set say so much about our perspective on the world and what drives us.  Not only does it help us to understand ourselves better, but it also helps us to understand others.  

   This year, our 3 year old was ready to get in on the action.  When the conversation landed on her, she  informed us, with a fair amount of flourish, that she would like to be Belle and go to a farm in the New Year.  "Separately?  Or at the same time?" I asked.  "Seperately," she decidedly told her audience of adoring fanily (Fanily: Family who await, admire, and adore every action of a child or relation, with the same or greater fervor that would be awarded to a beloved sports team or celebrity.)  In the glow of her glistening cuteness, I considered pushing her for more info and more goals and more. More. MORE.  

     "Freeze!" I implored upon my impulse to project my own goals upon her .  This is great!  This is a mark of where she is at, how she understands the world and her desire to grow and do things she hasn't done before.  As an adult, those dreams and goals get wildly complicated and sometimes go out the window when met with any mite of adversity.             

     Therefore, in solidarity with my daughter's simple, well expressed desire for something of whimsy and something just beyond my normal everyday life, I am re-evaluating the way I make goals.  So many times we are measuring ourselves up to Nancy Neighbor (who is no longer just the Jones family who literally live next door.) Nancy is every Facebook post of smiling families, new jobs, vacations, engagements, and the like.  She isn't bad.  We just don't see her flaws.  She is that retouched, no dimension picture of a beautiful person made into something sterile and with a complete lack of uniqueness.  The blissfully simple goals of my 3 year old have not been tainted by the rounded off edges of social media...yet.  

     In the light of this moment, which took a fraction of a second to pass and 5 paragraphs to tell of, I am again washed over with a gratefulness for my daughter's unintentional, yet brilliant teachings.  

     My New Year's Goal will be to anchor all my goals and wishes in the beauty of simplicity.  A simplicity that isn't yearned for like something from a historical time long past.  A simplicity that isn't even contained by the holiness of childhood.  This simplicity is for the present version of everyone.  Empowering myself with this tool means that while I can be inspired by those around me, by technology and by events, the things that make me truly tick might be right under my nose.  

     Happy New Year!!!

   

     Lisa Marie Morabito Petersen

5 Reasons Why Cooking and Kicking-It With Your Kids is Cool.

5 Reasons Why Cooking and Kicking-It With Your Kids is Cool.

     As Thanksgiving approaches, we are planning a small meal at our house.  My 3 year old and husband went grocery shopping with me and she informed us that she "is a great idea maker!"  It took about an hour longer than usual as my team was distracted by anything shiny or sweet.
     And apparently, somewhere along the line grocery stores have had an identity crisis and are trying to be toy stores.  Stop it with the Barbies on the chip aisle!!! But that's a whole other blog.
     Back to my daughter's Thanksgiving menu, which includes chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes, and eggs.  She recently has navigated new territory in the kitchen.  Thinking outside the bowl now, she is very concerned with recycling and cleaning up. It's too much fun to see her really grasp the ideas that show up in the kitchen.  She wants to watch as the food changes in the oven and is super into the transformation of textures in mixing ingredients.  I just love seeing her process what we are doing together and the pride she feels from creating a great meal.

1. Mathematical, Scientific and Creative properties of cooking.  
Measuring, adding, dividing, separating, mixing, blending, dissolving, thickening, changing.  This is all terminology that crosses over from math into cooking and into science.  When you have a running dialogue with your kids in the kitchen, teachable moments arise and are in every fiber of your recipe.  Some parents feel they can't let their children help because something is sharp or hot.  Search for ways they CAN help.  My best stress-busting trick is to give my 3 year old a safe work space that is her own.  Setting up a place at the kitchen table or letting her stand on a stool next to me in the actual work-space of the kitchen creates pure joy in the eyes of my little girl.  Teaching how to use a measuring cup is one of the most useful tricks.  With precut potatoes, have them count how many pieces.  They are great at tearing off sprigs of rosemary or sprinkling on cheese.  With very little effort, there are plenty of important jobs that can be gifted to the children.  Let them get creative with their jobs! With their input, you may just come up with a surprise twist in a traditional recipe.  Or mess it up royally.  Then you've cooked up a great story, so...nothing lost!

2. Cooking up Convos with Kids.
When you do an activity together, you are creating lasting memories.  Cooking together creates a common experience that causes more than the dough to arise.  Taking the opportunity of waiting for something to bake, cool, or congeal is the perfect time to ask you kids questions and watch conversation arise out of these moments.   When it's time to chow down, we pile up the cell phones and I-things and look to each other for news.

3. Social Responsibility.
When the children realize that everyone has a part in creating the meal, it teaches them to appreciate the hard work that goes into it.  Cleaning up is an integral part in teaching social responsibility too.  In appreciation for the great meal, we all do our part to clean up and make a great environment in our kitchen for cooking once again.  We don't just use it up and move on to a new clean kitchen.  We aren't doing our kids any favors by cleaning up after them totally EVERY time.  You may do most of the clean up on heavy homework or game days, but kids have an opportunity to feel pride in having a clean house by making it that way.  I mean, who am I kidding?  My 3 year old pushes around a sponge which just evenly disperses the crumbs and gunk, but A for Effort. Affort.

4.  Love your environment.
Recycle.  Everything.  Recycle everything.  Teaching kids to appreciate the environment begins with a dialogue at home which manifests out of actions observed.  When you make recycling a habit at your home and infuse it with purpose, you can change the world.  The earth and your kids will thank you for it.

5. Saving $ and Gaining Piece of Mind.  
Listen, I enjoy the magic of eating out just as much as the next person.  We have long bouts when we are traveling, where eating out isn't as much a choice, but more of the only option.  I really do enjoy this too sometimes.  The catch is the expense and not knowing exactly what you are getting in that gravy.
     Our meals are not fancy, but the quality lies in the company as much, if not more than, the food.  Let's be honest though, if you are making time for dinner with family, no matter where it is, you are already accomplishing something great!

Everyday Storytelling in Families to Empower the Child.

Everyday Storytelling in Families to Empower the Child.

       Every parent tells the story of their child's birth through their perspective and that story is our evidence of the first impression we make on the world. My  mom's story for me was that she went to the hospital for a stress test and before she left to go home, she was in labor.  It was as if I said, "Welp, as long as your here...let's do this."  Thus me and , as my mother puts it, my cooperative nature were born.  I love this story and everyone's story of their children coming into the world.  It's  no accident that we start out the way we do.  Whether we remember it directly or not, surely the story has been told.  And whether it is the story in all it's gloriously simple reality or a broadened heightened version which serves as food for entertainment...the STORY itself surely shapes us.  Perspective has long been a potter of personality.  Being told we are something or did something has a lasting affect.  As adults, we discover that while it shapes us, it doesn't need to define us.  Interesting and complex, just when we have defined ourselves, along comes a new story, a new happening, a new experience that forces us to redefine ourselves.  

     With my own child, it becomes evident to me that she takes on stories we tell her and embodies traits defined by her past self in these stories.  We tell stories of her "great joke-telling abilities" to people and guess what?  This begets more jokes and increasing confidence as she tells them and tries new ones.  "A dinosaur rides in a car" is a Sophie original of her humorous imagery jokes followed by a slew of "Knock, knock" jokes.  Realizing the power we have in storytelling and the opportunity to encourage our children through positive reinforcement makes me absolutely tingle with gratefulness.  Knowing that power exists, we must use it wisely.  Telling certain stories around our children that we find particularly entertaining might not ALWAYS be the healthiest thing for their ego or growth as an interactive and social being.   It's important to weigh whether your humorous translation of "meltdown on isle 5" to an empathetic fellow mom is worth the laugh or if you child's radar on what's being said is going to make them feel embarrassment or a possible relegation to that behavior in the future because...after all,"This is just who she is or the way she acts."

     One of my daughter's favorite shows is "Super Why" on PBS.  The formula of each show has a character that "has the power to change the story."  She pretends to have this power as she makes up her own stories on the stage of our living room floor.  What a fantastic message to relay to our kids!

     Storytelling keeps traditions alive, families close, encourages positive experiences, provides tools for guidance, and broadens our experience by getting to know others by listening to stories.  So here's to encouraging friends and family to share their stories.  Give your child a culture through the storytelling experience...a culture and background to be proud of and to fill out in a positive way.   

      My family, like many of yours, is known for telling the same stories over and again.  This is a great tool to build character and relationships.   I love hearing stories about my grandfather picking cotton or running Morse code on a Navy ship, my dad training whales or serving as a small-town city councilman, my mom standing up for people and acting out compassion on a daily basis.  These stories weren't always told directly to me ,but were always floating around me.  They most definitely shaped how I viewed these family members.  Our little ones are all ears and very impressionable, so while storytelling might seem like it ends when you close the bedtime fairytale about "Jack and the Beanstalk", think again.  Stories are interwoven into our everyday life and become the fabric which defines us and holds us together.   

 

Parent Project: Magnetic Chalkboard

     At Sophie's dance studio, there is a chalkboard wall that calls to the children as they exit their class or wait for a sibling.  As I sat one day, watching the children play, I observed a young girl, who was barely 3 years old, take her chalk to the board and draw the letter A.  "You can do that at home," I heard her mother call from the exit,"Let's go."  She dropped the chalk and raced to her mom, leaving behind a bit of inspiration for me.  Hmm, I thought.  Where could I do a chalkboard wall?  The door seemed a perfect place for us, but you could really do this anywhere.   Just heed the warning from my friend who said, "Make sure your kids know that they are only allowed to draw on the chalkboard surface, otherwise you might end up with this..."

Hopefully you will end up with something more like this...

The items you will need to accomplish your goal are:

Sand paper.

Paint tray.

Small roller and two sponges to go on roller.

Painting tarp.

Two paint brushes for getting to the edge of the door precisely.

Magnetic Primer.

Chalkboard Paint (comes in many colors).

Chalk.

Eraser.

Directions.

Place tarp over floor.

Sand the surface.

Paint 3 thin layers of primer.  Each layer dries in 30 minutes.

Paint 2 layers of chalkboard paint.  Leave 4 hours between layers.

Once finished, leave to dry and set for 3 full days before using.

Do not forget to Treat Your New Chalkboard before using.

How to Treat Your New Chalkboard...kindly.  Ba, dum, ching!  

After the paint has set for 3 days, use the side of a piece of chalk and cover the entire board with a thin layer of chalk.  Then, wipe it down with a wet soft cloth. Create, draw, and play!

The Ballad of the Ballerina

The Ballad of the Ballerina.
A Sophie Petersen original work of live theatrical art, as depicted by her mommy, Lisa Morabito Petersen.

       My 3 year old and I have a weekly tradition of going to ballet class on Tuesday morning, followed by a trip to a neighborhood coffee shop.  Soph loves it because they have pink macaroons, bistro tables for two and a shop.
       My ballerina gracefully prances her way into the shop, which has an intimacy that recalls a French cafe.  In it, she looks like a living Degas portrait.  Her pink leotard and tutu bounce playfully and her giant round eyes bob with laughter and seem exceptionally large and beautiful today, as her hair sits in a perfect ballerina bun on top of her head.  The look is completed by a bedazzled mini tiara.
     We choose our snack and grab a table.  A steady stream of admirers pass by and remind Sophie how adorable she looks and inquire about her ballerina costume.  After we enjoy our pink and green macaroons, Sophie enjoys the freedom of choosing a children's book from a magazine rack at the front of the store..."All by her self." As Mommy, I love this feature to the shop because not only does it encourage us to bring our children to the quant shop, but to sit, read, and even stay a while.  Their selection for children are mostly books with heavy themes of being environmentally friendly and scientifically minded.  Oh, it makes me feel so smart and intellectual, I could squeak like a baby dolphin.  The book about invention is followed by a book about how aliens destroyed the world because they used all the resources irresponsibly.  Now that I have patted myself on the back for being such a great guiding mommy, we peruse the store.
     The store is filled with beautiful things...trinkets, candles, paintings, etc.  Deep in the store, one table is an oasis of children's books and toys.  Sophie is relieved when I give her the "ok" to touch the items on that table.  After she thumbs through a few books, she spots a notebook shaped tin with a picture of a ballerina on the front, containing (40+!!!!) magnets to design the dancer's scene.  She turns to me, with the tin hugged to her body. "Dress ups, Mommy!!! Can I take this home with me?  Please?" she says straddling a line of begging and sensibility just perfectly.  "We have so many toys at home Soph.  We just got some things yesterday at the store," I counter.  "But I want to play with this," she argues.  By this point, I am at the cashier prepared to pay for a friend's gift.
      As I turn to look at my daughter, she transports me into her tragedy.  All of the sudden, she becomes aware of the sad French song that is playing throughout the store.  She turns from me, defeated.  Her arms slump, her head hangs forward, and she drags her feet as she forces herself to return the toy to the table. As she gets a few feet from me, the music swells, she turns to me and holds out the toy with both hands, her eyes begging me to love her by buying her this.  She knows I have made up my mind, as she hugs the toy to her chest and dramatically turns toward the table.  She holds her position, as the singer quietly explains something in French.  To the beat of the ballad, Sophie does a trudge, trudge, trudge, trudge all the way to the table.  I laugh to myself, as I think that it almost worked on me. 
       As she lifts the tin, the singer and Sophie have clearly conspired against me.  She glides the tin over it's place on the table, spins to the neighboring table and places it down, with her mournful head on top. Sophie looks up, at just the right angle that might make you mistake her for a lost puppy.  She says nothing and although I don't speak French....I'm prrrrrrtetty sure the singer was narrating Sophie's dance with a "Why don't you love me.  If you loved me, you would buy me this."  Sophie continues her dance with the tin, to the French song.  I turn away, as I can feel my resolve melting by the soft ember burn of her perfectly executed ballet.
       "Bring it to the counter," I say still facing away.
       "What?" says a little voice infused with disbelief.
       "Well," I thought, "If she can't win a Tony for that performance, she should at least get a toy."
        In all seriousness, we, as parents, are constantly caught between the idea of wanting to give them the world and wanting to teach them how to deal with not getting everything they want.  It's a road well traveled and we all do our best.  Today, she showed me she had some real artistic determination and that...I just have to appreciate.  There's a lot of nuance in parenting...and apparently that is not lost on our children.  Enjoy it because, as they say, "It will all be over too soon."


*The picture is from last week's class, but it gives you an idea of what I'm working with here.  Pure cuteness.

Why This Mommy Decided To Get Schooled.

Why This Mommy Decided To Get Schooled.  
     Okay.  Now what?!  I read all the books on development during pregnancy, sleep training, and the anecdotal "make-me-laugh" books by celebrities with babies.   The What to Expect i-phone App gives you a little glimpse of Word Pictures, a track of where your child should be on average, but that just wasn't cutting it for me.  Baby Center offers their weekly advice and is a gathering of the minds and a cyber group where we can compare and contrast thoughts on what we are going through as parents.  I found that with each article I read, I was bogged down with different voices and many times these mommy cyber-hubs become stomping grounds for a virtual yelling match.
     As my search into educational programs for my little girl became more serious, I decided to take things to a whole. 'mother. level.   When it comes to life forms, there are always a number of scientific theories on developmental growth.  It will always be a study and never a definitive because there are so many variables with children that differ among the individual and environment.  Having taken my daughter to a number of classes offering different styles of learning, I was most intrigued by those programs that were yielding, what I observed to have the greatest impact on her social and cognitive growth.
     There was a program in New York City that had a great indoor playground space where we had an experience that made my question clock start ticking.  The lack of any structure at all and a teacher who waited for children to approach her resulted in many children being left behind.  I watched as my daughter tried to make a connection with another child using baby dolls.  The teacher rinsed brushes and then turned and sang a song with zero participation from her class.  As I watched the teacher with her stained apron and a vaguely absent look on her face sing from the corner, behind a desk, to a room full of 2.5 year olds, I wondered...how much glue did she sniff this morning?  We decided not to have Sophie continue in Ms. Sniff's class, but instead found an eclectic blend of classes and play spaces for our 6 months in NYC.
     The question that this experience caused me to raise to myself was, "What am I looking for in an educational environment for my daughter?"  The answer was...I don't know.  I was actually quite embarrassed by the fact that I wasn't privy to the new sciences or developments on education or school preparedness.  Well, I wasn't going to waste anymore time wallowing in my embarrassment.  There's no time like the present to start finding answers.
     Of course, there is the checklist of top schools or "feeder" schools (for those in a big city private school market).  This list only yielded more questions for me.  Why?!  Why are these the best schools or programs?  Is it because some celebrity kids went there?  Is it because it was a great school 20 years ago?  Is there something in the water?
     I had to go deeper.  I reflected on my own childhood.  30 years ago, there just weren't the options that we have today.  The social skills and cognitive learning that we acquired in preschool was often times a happy accident and less a calculated journey to what we now call school-readiness.  I was grateful that it was easy enough to acquire information about milestones from popular parenting websites, but I felt that there was much more to this nut.  I was merely scratching at the shell.
   I'm not sure how many times I read it before it really sank in, but here is the idea that sent me on my newest and most empowering journey yet.  I, as her parent, was her first and greatest teacher.  A while ago, a friend who works at a school in CA had asked if I would be interested in subbing.  I brushed off the idea because I thought I wasn't interested.  All of the sudden, I realized that maybe I needed to be. Maybe I don't need to make a career out of it, but I realized as we began to walk home from Ms. Sniff's disaster that I could acquire this knowledge simply to improve the quality of life and education for myself and my child.  I found a program with some classes that interested me through the UCLA Extension program and before I could blink, I had enrolled.
     What was this strange sensation?  My heart beat quickened.  My palms were sweaty.  This isn't what empowerment was supposed to feel like.  Ahhh.  Self-doubt, my old-nemises.  Long time no see.  What am I doing, I thought?  I've already graduated college.  I'm going to make a fool of myself.  How do you even attend a class online?  This is a joke.  I'm not going to really learn anything.  Arghhh.  I'm just wasting money and time.
     Log In.  As I signed in for my first classes, I began reading from the textbooks about Early Childhood Development and understanding the science of cell make-up, the forming of the child and the various theories and practices that have become widely used and appreciated in the world of Early Childhood Development.  Old Pouty Self-doubty had to retreat to some untapped recess of my now fully engaged mind.  The new information was exciting and I found that it wasn't simply acquiring the information that brought me enjoyment, but rather the fact that I could now, with life experience, bring something special to that information.  Nothing is more empowering than literally feeling yourself blossom from that Miracle-Gro blend of information and experience.
     Since beginning the continuing education classes, I have been able to help our family better define what is right for us in regards to school choice and we have an approach to "at-home" learning that works in tandem with what they do at the program where Sophie is now.  In September, I will have completed my Teaching Certificate through the UCLA Extension.  You don't have to become a teacher to access the information that I found so helpful through my continued education, but there is a world beyond what can be attained through "gut-parenting."  In this article, I mean to champion those who are out there who want more for your kids and are paralyzed or suffocating under a wealth of to-do lists and shoulds.  You don't need someone to tell you what you should do with your child in every circumstance and situation.  There is no perfect playbook.  What we can do is know our kid, know ourselves and teach them to reach...for greatness.

Have you ever thought about going back to school?
   

   

Spyglass Party Craft for Your Pirate Crew!

Mermaids and Pirates!
     That was the theme for Sophie's 3rd birthday party this weekend.  I'm a big fan of having a craft available for the kids to create at birthday parties.  Last year, we did mini canvas paintings for Sophie's Rapunzel themed party.  This year we decided on a spyglass craft for treas-arghhh hunting.  I, for one, think they turned out pretty darn cute.  They were a hit with our crew of 3 year old pirates too!  Here's how we did it.

Supplies

Toilet paper rolls

Paper coffee cups

Knife

Medium brown spray paint

Dark brown spray paint

Yellow 1inch wide ribbon

Hot glue gun

Glue

Tons of your favorite stickers

Directions For Parents.

1.  Cut a hole (smaller than that of the diameter of the toilet paper roll) in the bottom of the paper cup.

2.  Hot glue toilet paper roll to bottom of cup.

3.  Spray paint with Medium brown first, then with dark brown to add textured look.

4.  Hot glue ribbon in 3 places around either end of craft and in the middle.

Directions For Kids.

5.  Use letter stickers and other favorite picture stickers for to decorate the craft.  We suggest spelling your name with stickers first and then follow up with your favorite stickers.  Happy treasure hunting!

Tell us your favorite craft experience.  There are many more birthdays to use all your wonderful ideas!

Turbo: Family Summer Movie Must-See

     Race, Race, Mooove.   Turbo opens today and is the perfect afternoon activity.   And if your first question, like mine, is what age of child should watch this...the answer is 1 to 100.  The content is funny, driving and an ultimately positive message for kids.

     We saw a screening the night before Sophie's 3rd birthday and the message of "Don't give up" obviously resonated with her.  At the end of the night, she looked at Daddy and me and said with a gravely serious expression "My birthday is over, but there will be another one.  I'm not givin' up!"

     That universal truth sank in with a 3 year old because this movie encourages freedom in imagination and gives us a license to dream.  There are sweet truths brought forward by our unlikely hero following his heart and we all need to be reminded that success is in the colorful journey, not just the ending.  

     The characters are more bright and distinctive than anything you will find on MMC.  The crew of snails have a humanity...an ability to move you and make you laugh. During one of the touching scenes where two brothers journey to understand each other, the reflection in the eyes of one brother, layered with the glistening of emotion you would see in an Oscar winning Streep performance, gives uexpected weight to these characters.  

     One thing is absolutely for sure.  You. Must. Have. This. Soundtrack.  As I looked in front of me, I saw little heads bobbing up and down to the driving music of this racing movie.  The music is infectious.  How can you not feel cool when Snoop is chanting his lyrics and the beats are crazy good.  I will be using this as my summer anthem now, thank you.  So when you see a Chrysler Town and Country Touring Van roll up next to you, with a car seat in the back, and Snoop on my speaks...you'll know it's this mommy feelin' oh so fly.

     Don't take it from me though.  My 3 year old is the real expert and she says seeing Turbo in the theatre is "so so much fun!"

     www.turbomovie.com

What is your favorite family summer movie?  

Most Em-bare-assing "Mom"ment!!!

Most Em-bare-assing "Mom"ment!!!  
     We all have them.  They may be in the far recesses of your memory banks or in your future, but one thing is for sure...they are sure to be.  
     Allow me to take you back to a time that we liked to call "the trenches.". Sophie was 10 weeks old and we were leaving our third hotel.  For those of you who don't know or have forgotten, we spent the first year of Sophie's life on tour with "Shrek: The Musical.". I woke up early and put on one of those nursing bras that makes a valiant effort to be pretty, but is still a nursing-bra after all, a hot pink t-shirt that pulls down below your milk-makers for easy baby access, and a pair of yoga pants that were never ever used for yoga.  
     After breast-feeding Sophie in the hotel room, Soph and I headed to the luxurious breakfast at the Residence Inn in Dallas, TX.  Eric had packed the car while we fed and we planned to meet at breakfast.  The large room is open and bumping with people at 7:30a.m.  A few groups of businessmen, a family with older kids, and the people that worked at the Residence Inn are scattered about the tables.  I set our bags down and bring a, now sleeping, Sophie to the breakfast bar in her car-seat.  I struggle with the heavy car-seat on one arm and attempt to plate up biscuits and gravy with the other.  Everyone looks at me like I have four heads and I look at them like "Geez, you could help a sister out?!".   
     Finally, Eric walks through the entryway and exclaims..."Babe!". I look at him and put the car-seat down answering...."What?!". "Your shirt!" he gestures down at my hot pink t.  Breath. Gone.  Shirt.  Gone.  Only my lacey white nursing bra was out.  My hot pink t pulled down for quick access, never made it back up.  I had been walking around a hotel lobby for a solid 15-20 minutes with my goodies out.  Horrified, yet hysterical laughs take over my deliriously tired self.  What else is there to do?  Except, pull up that pink t, of course.  When I need to not take myself so seriously, I always think back to this incident.  Works every time.  What's your funniest or most embarrassing moment as a parent?  You know you have one!

Why Can't We All Just Get Along?

     Why can't we all just get along?
     Listen, I'll be the first one to say that I have cast silent and, embarrassingly enough, some not-so-silent judgments on other mothers.  I'm so ashamed because I know that, as a mother, judgment is lavished upon us.  You learn from the moment you find out you're getting a child that everyone ...and their mother, has an opinion of how to raise that child.  As a NYC cabbie pulled up to my building near the Lincoln Tunnel to drop me off, at 8 months pregnant, he turned and offered his unsolicited advise through the plastic sliding window that separated him from me, as if we were at confession. "You cannot raise that baby here.  Too many fumes.  Too much traffic.  You have to move," he cautioned.  I learned to substitute my thoughts of "Thanks, but I'm not taking any judgments right now," for the lighter and easier to swallow..."Thanks for your thoughts."  Somehow, I can stomach the judgments of strangers, like my NYC cabbie, a little easier than I can the ones that come from our fellow parents.
   As our daughter is pushing 3 years old, we find that helping her foray into the social atmosphere of life and making friends is tougher than we thought.  For the time being, we can choose her friends, being that she really has no control over the matter.  We've been cautioned to embrace this time, as there will come a time when she breaks out from the chosen friendships we have guided her into and forges her own friendships.  The challenges that have arisen in this test are more complex than I imagined.  A couple you know previous to children has a child too...Do you need to make overtures there, even if you aren't raising your kids with the same rules?  Do you focus on kids in her school setting and try to reach out there, even if the parents seem distant to the friendships you've known?  How do you deal with differences in raising children within the family (cousins, step-siblings, etc.)?  How different is too different?  By that, I mean, where is the line that another family isn't a great partnership for your family?  Why?  It's important to tackle these questions in privacy, with our partner.  Once we bring it to a more public forum, it becomes gossipy gook that is no more helpful than the gum on my shoe.
     Okay, Simon is too loud, James hits, Gail doesn't obey, Gabe isn't verbal, John abuses toys, and my daughter is perfect.  I'm pretty sure this is the way everyone sees the world weighed against there own child.  The truth is.  No one is perfect.  Let's stop holding everyone up to some moral high ground that dwarfs them and learn from our mistakes and theirs.  There is no more useful tool than reflection.  If all the experiences with kids and families outside our own are moving us one step closer to insanity....let's turn the looking glass on ourselves.  I, for one, could use a great amount of improvement.  Even when I haven't been the one doing the dishing, I've lent a "sympathetic", albeit "intrigued", ear to the parent doing the dishing.  Now, I'm not saying to subject our kids to an unsafe environment or allow their highly impressionable minds to be molded by people we don't see eye to eye with, but let's give each other a break.  By and large, we are all doing the best we can.  Let's encourage each other and set a great example for our kids by not fostering the judgments.  Those little eyes and ears that are busy tucking in baby dolls on the other side of the room are picking up everything I am saying, even when I'm not directing it toward her.  So, we are now on a judgment diet.  Leave your gossip cookies at home and join us for some organic fun!

The Art Of Pretend

    Sophie (2yo) pulls a long white scarf down from the hooks in the entryway at home. She wraps herself in the scarf and patters into the bedroom, where I am putting away laundry. "I'm Married(Mary)," she says. "You Jesus. There's a dragon behind you!". She hands me a hanger, with the hook as a hand and insists that I "Get him!". I slay the poor dragon and turn to celebrate..."We did it. Got him!". "There's another one!," she points over my shoulder. Playing the role of a lifetime...Jesus: The Dragonslayer, I'm proud to say that I slayed 6 dragons that morning.
     The Art of Pretend. Under the direction of a 2yo, playtime takes us on an exciting tour of the world as she sees it. We spend a few hours each day in this world. I normally like to be 100% present and leave the phone in the pocket, but after this particular game, I couldn't resist capturing a few minutes to share. Enjoy and please share how you encourage creative play in your home and family life! We love your suggestions!

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Oh Rats!

     We couldn't wait to get to our LA home to sit on our couch and not be on top of each other, to have the luxury of doing laundry in the house, and to cook in a kitchen that had some elbow room.   Rodger the Rat had other ideas.  This pretentious booger thought he had won the jackpot when he took up residence with our subletters.  Apparently, he went unnoticed by the young men who were kind enough to leave coke cans and candy wrappers under the couch, cookie dough in the sink and pressed into a kitchen drawer, as well as a few open containers of food in the pantry and on the countertop.  How inviting.  We arrived home wondering if a small dog had been in the house, as there was a hole in the couch and the carpet under the couch had huge chunks eaten out of it.  Then, we saw the rat poo...so much rat poo...and it was big poo...from a big rat.  Barf.  I threw in some laundry, as we waited for Pest Control and Animal Trapping Services to come out.  As I walked back to the bedroom, the sound of running water stopped me.  I ran back into the kitchen to see water flooding out from the bottom of the washer.   What? Is Happening?
     Pest Control did a full home inspection and estimated that from browning on cables and the amount of rat poop found under the couch, in cabinets, and in closets...the rat had been a squatter for a few months.  When the renters left, the rat took the opportunity to pee, poop on and eat the couch.  They advised that Sophie sleep with us until we had the issue under control.   We had live traps inside the house and snap traps under the house.  Within a day and half, we caught the sucker.  The trapper said that believe it or not, all this could be done by one rat over a period of 3 months or so.  What is so freaky through...is that I'm just not sure.  We replaced the couch and the rug.  We took everything out of all the kitchen cabinets, cleaned the cabinets and the contents.  Rodger Rat's favorite drawer just so happened to be the drawer filled with Sophie's cups and plates.  We just dumped the whole drawer in the trash, including a plate that had the corner chewed off.  Gross.  Vacuum.  Clean.  Bleach.  Clean.  We spent the first week just cleaning.  Oh, and that washer thing?  It turns out that Rodger found the hose to the washer a delicacy and devoured 4 inch long holes in 3 places.  It's been two weeks and we are still waiting on that special washer hose replacement part (for some reason we need an extra long one).  So we are back to taking our laundry out and boy do we have a ton of it.  With a two year old and returning from traveling to Eric's parents and across the country, our laundry situation is now at a code red.  After a surprise potty attack on Sophie and the discovery that Eric and I were swiftly running out of underwear, I turned to the kitchen sink and 1906 to wash the necessities.
     After a week, the trapping service said they felt confident Rodger Rat was working alone and gave us the go ahead for Soph to sleep in her own bed.  She was excited about her bed, but to be honest I missed her and wasn't altogether sure I could rest.  I watched the monitor through the night like she was giving an Oscar winning performance.  At the slightest crack of the house, I flew into the room, ready to take on Rodger's brother, who had come to avenge his untimely death.  Alas, I have yet to discover anything but a safe, sound, and snug toddler sleeping in her bed.
       I have found myself on high alert all the time.  In the grocery store, I yelled out for Sophie like a woman with turrets only to find her right behind me.  I'm on edge when I'm driving, positive that someone is not going to follow the road rules.  At home, I'm afraid that another rat is lurking and just too smart to get caught by the traps.  I've walked next to a rat in the subway in NY.  I've seen one go under a stroller on the subway platform.  I seen them on the street, but it is unnerving to have one in your home.
    Listen, there are definitely worse things that could happen in life.  With that in perspective, it might take me a few weeks to settle down and not imagine that the ponytail on my shoulder is a rodent trying to whisper secret recipes into my ear alla "Ratatouille."

Where Are They Now?

Goodbye City Life!  L.A., we are theeeeeeeeeeeeeeere!  For the past 5 months, Sophie has slept in the closet of our 1br apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.  In our quest to find a 5 month furnished sublet in a safe neighborhood, close to the theatre district, that was somewhere near our budget, here at 86th St. and Riverside is where we found ourselves...in a tiny one bedroom, but with tons of great city stuff around us to explore.  We had an elevator and a doorman, which made up for lost space.

This was our bedroom.  We each had one drawer in a 3-drawer dresser and there is an identical closet to the one Sophie slept in just out of frame (which we shared and stored our suitcases in.)

Yes.  This is the living room and kitchen in one.  We like to call it an open floor plan.  You can see the edge of the love seat to the right.  We got very cozy there.


Two stacks of boxes that we mailed to L.A.  How did all this stuff even fit in that tiny apartment?  Somehow it worked.  We set up a little, very, very, little play space for Soph and used cabinets and on top of cabinets for storage and ledges became bookcases for Sophie's library.   We got creative and having a small space forced us to get out and be a part of the city.  The Natural History Museum, the Children's Museum of Manhattan, Broadway shows, The Rockettes, Central Park, Times Square, Union Square, East Village Arlene's Grocery, Riverside Park, Hippo Playground, River Run Playground, Upper West Side Sunday Brunch, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, Trick-or-Treat on 87th St., Holiday lights and lobby decorations for Christmas...  The excitement comes at the price.    As winter closed in on us, we became increasingly ready to depart for sunny L.A.  As the January cold closed us into the apartment, we were all ready to say goodbye to our 5 month affair with our old flame, New York City.  It's been magical, but it's time to move on.
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The Princess And The Blog.

     I recently read something that awoke a new corner of me.  After I read about how a set of parent's are desperately trying to keep out princess culture, I realized that this isn't the first I've heard of parents hating on the princesses like some evil step mother, eager for their children to be successful rather than silly.  Their hypocrisy singed me, as fairytales had been a part of my upbringing and we allow our daughter to experiment with ideas and characters brought forward by the "princess culture." So now arises my inner warrior to protect the imaginations of children far and wide from being given walls to keep out imagination instead of tools to expand it.  I actually feel for those parents and hope that in there own lives, they learn to find purpose in things of beauty and innocence, rather than seeing them as a waist of time.  Stop and smell the roses!
     The idea that princesses fill our children with ideas of self-entitlement and privilege is as used up and archaic as you can get.   It doesn't make you a modern or cool or intelligent parent to fracture off a piece of magic because you are too short-sighted to see past the pretty dress.  A child's imagination is one of the most powerful tools they possess.  Giving them strict confines, by insinuating that their chosen play is inferior, deserves a finger wag toward the parent that does so. The confines and rules inflicted on pretend defy the rules of pretend itself.
     There are admittedly pros and cons to any stereotype.  Let's choose to extrapolate the great attributes that princess stories teach.  They are great for arming our girls with ways to deal with adversity.  Dealing with their own mistakes, understanding that there are consequences for their actions, building strong friendships, helping people and animals, seeing the best in others and learning to assert themselves are just a few ideas we can choose to highlight.
     Some have said to their children mid-play that being a princess is not a career.  This leads me to believe that these parents need a lesson in improv.  Giving your children an absolute no in the land of pretend is an absolute crime.  Maybe it isn't the game you want to play or an idea you want to promote, but give them some credit.  They pick up things in these movies that are far beyond romantic whimsy and entitlement.   When they do pick up those things, it is our job to help them see that those adjectives are usually left for the evil step-sisters who dream of more money and power, feeling they are above others.  I would actually say, on the whole, that the ideas of entitlement, greed, and vanity are villainized in most princess stories.  So, while being a princess may not be a career, we can certainly learn a lot from these young ladies who value education and service.
     Snow White was a princess that possibly grew up to be a veterinarian.  Her way with animals is unparalleled among the princesses.  She is kind, gentle, and caring.  She is a teacher to her friends the dwarves and although the film ends with true love's kiss, the majority of the story has themes that children can learn from.
     Cinderella is a wonderful cook, seamstress and designer.  In the most recent movie, she tried her hand at event planning.  That's a lucrative business in today's world.
     Belle is a researcher.  She loves reading and, as the story goes, has read every book in town, some of them many times over.  Pitching in a helping hand to her father, the inventor, I'm sure her research comes in handy.
     Ariel is most definitely a skilled scientist or archaeologist.  She collects things from the wreckage of ships and studies how they relate to a different culture.  She experiments with a fork as a hair comb.  Maybe she grows up to be a consultant for NASA.  I bet, she would have been a great contributor to the control room during the Apollo 13 mission with her quick thinking and fearless way of exploring the potential of objects.   She also is amazing in the sport of swimming, though she may have a slight advantage.  We have given her a lot of thought as this is my daughter's favorite world of pretend at the moment.
     Tiana is a Chef.  She spends her whole life saving money and working toward a well thought-out goal.
     Rapunzel is an artist.  Specifically skilled at painting, she uses her books, music, and imagination to get inspired.
     Let's not forget that Fiona probably teaches kickboxing and self-defense.  Have you seen her moves?

     We use the princess stories to inspire our daughter to do good in the world and be good to people.  Role playing gives us an easy way to arm Sophie in ways of dealing with adversity in life.  Haven't we all been a version of one of these characters?
     Has anyone ever been "awakened" by someone from their past.  Sometimes I see something inspiring from a person and it reinstates my faith in the human race and...walla...I have my Snow White moment.
     Have you ever had to deal with a boss that was just terrible to you and had to wait for just the right moment so that you could assert yourself and move on to a better job...Cinderella.
     Maybe you are made fun of by people because you are smart or just a little "off."  Belle was rewarded with love by seeing past the Beast's looks.  If we remember, she was afraid of the talking furniture too, at first, but was able to see that behind the facade they all were the same, in the fact that they were all trapped by their longing for the familiarity of their past lives.  This story teaches you to leave the past behind and persevere though adversity to a new life.
     Ariel (Sophie's favorite right now) makes brash decisions that put her friends and family in danger.  She has to "face the music," incurring the disappointment of her father and doing business with someone who almost cost her her life.
     Tiana is a strong girl with big dreams who has done everything "right."  In a moment of weakness, she tries her luck at a short cut.  The prince has done the same thing and they ended up in the swamp.
     Rapunzel follows her heart and finds strength within herself and the wisdom of discernment along her journey.
     Fiona allows herself to be redefined.  She dreams of one "happy ending" at the beginning of her story and then is changed by life and instead of holding on to a dream that is tired, she ends up awakened to the idea that a "happy ending" is getting to be your true self.  

     One of the biggest factors that must be noted is that we spend just as much time pretending to be princes swinging from sails on ships (bathtubs), crocs cruising for hands, pirates searching for treasure with a highlighter as a spyglass, or backpacked sleuths using a receipt as a map and a hand mirror as a magnifying glass.
     Our fairytale play is a family-tale.  We all work together.  When I play Ursula or the stepmother in our make-believe, Sophie asserts herself and bravely tells me that I'm "not nice.  That's mean. Stop."  Ever since my sister-n-law told Soph that she needed to take care of her "princess" teeth when brushing, I have been met with nothing short of exuberance on a subject previously scorned.  So, I'm going to propose that a little vanity can be construed as just regular ole hygiene peeps.
     As long as I'm proposing things, allow me to suggest... Let's stop being so anti-everything and find a way to celebrate our kid's interest, instead of wishing away the "princess" years.  Why can't we multi-task?  We dress up like princesses, chefs, or pirates and play with building blocks or put together puzzles or read books in our costumes.  Just because you are dressed like a princess or...whatever, doesn't mean you have to spend all day in front of a mirror.  As I recall, none of the princesses I have ever read about are slaves to their mirror.  For our children's sake, let's think outside the box.  If your kids do happen to be conventionally beautiful, don't make them ashamed of it by insinuating that throwing on a pretty dress is hiding a vapid, empty being.  There are endless treasures inside all our kids, no matter what they look like or "who" they're wearing.

     I am most certainly influenced by the fact that my husband and I have both earned our living as actors for the past many years.  We are both college grads and I am currently continuing my education with Early Childhood Development through UCLA.

To The Next Episode.

     Spanning the room, I take in the boxes, packing tape, and general mess, the all too familiar vision makes me feel like a woman on the run.  If you are a reader, you know that ever since before Soph was born, Eric and I have been traveling.  Most recently, we attempted to settle in L.A., buying a house, moving our things from various cities to our new home, and even putting some decorative touches on the place.  That, however, did not stop us from jumping on that plane to New York for Eric's next Broadway show.  Here we are 4 months later, boxing up our lives again and heading back across the country.  
     Only this time, it feels different.  Instead of looking up what coffee shop will be close at our next destination and what children's museum the city will have to offer, we are going home.  Just as the time in NYC was so needed to catch our breath, we are excited and grateful to be headed home.  What a journey the last 4 months have been?!
      The planning to get here, the search for subtenants at our LA home, the excitement of New York City at the holidays, and the new depths to relationships that illness can bring to a family.  When we set out for our time here, I knew it would be different.
     Are we excited about going "home?"  Are we sad to be leaving NYC?  Both.  We have many mixed feelings, but the one undeniable feeling is that it is time to go.  It has been a journey.
     From the time Eric auditioned to the time we got to NYC, life was a whirlwind.  He booked it!  We squealed with delight, like a Gather family harmony.  What tremendous things we had heard about the Broadway play he would be joining the cast of!  He desperately wanted to be in a PLAY on Broadway and here it was...his chance to do that.  The job I had taken to keep us afloat for a few months in LA was wrapping up, so I stayed on a week and finished my job, worked things out with Sophie's preschool, and finished getting the house ready for subtenants.  I was excited too!  It was a miracle that we got subtenants for exactly the time we planned to spend in NYC.  I was going to get to be with Sophie full-time again, which we all figured out during my days of working, that it was just too soon for her.  She still needed me home, as long as she wasn't in school.  And New York!  It was going to be  Fall and then the holidays!  These are the seasons that are the backdrop for so many romantic movies about NY for a reason!
     Maybe I'm saucing it up too much.  Allow me to expand.  When we tried to sublet, Eric planned for me to show a possible subletter our house.  When  a guy I will call "Gothic Creeper Joe" showed up at the door for the appointment, my heart dropped a bit.  As I answered his questions, I wondered if he would be back that night to try to drink my blood or something.  I shoved off that intuition and began asking him some friendly questions (i.e. Where are you from?  Do you work close by?) that were met with awkwardness and conflicting answers, leading me to believe that I had better set the alarm tonight.  Don't worry though.  "G.C.Joe" never came back and we rented to some recent college grads.  In our attempt to find a place in NYC, after much searching and the help of our friend in real estate, we found the perfect place (2br, across from a park, safe neighborhood) and, only after copious amounts of paperwork that NYC demands from renters...we lost it to a higher bidder.  That's ok, cause we ended up here...on the Upper West Side.  And now that we have had the experience of living here, I can't imagine this time anywhere else.
     We cased the neighborhood and I bought some books about New York, in relation to kids.  It's a different place with kids.  I say that in the best way possible because we have had an absolute ball.  We've seen Broadway shows, walked through parks, played in parks, visited museums, and have eaten at some wonderful restaurants.  If you are visiting NY with your kiddies and don't know where to start, check out these books.








     As magical as the holidays were, with all the wonder of the city, traveling to see our folks, and having family visit; The magic has begun to fade away and the coldness is setting in.  January 31st and the return to our home couldn't come soon enough.  Sophie's ballet class has ended and the weeks are long for her without her classes.  I'm feeling like I can't settle into or commit to anything long term (job, friendships, classes) because our eminent trip home looms over me.  Eric is growing tired of the monotony that can dangerously set in when doing 8 shows a week on Broadway.  We didn't see our friends as much as we hoped.  They have all moved on to different neighborhoods and different walks of life.  Things don't seem to change so quickly when you're in the middle of it, but when you come back to a world you've known and so much about it is different, it's a humbling experience because we see that we, too, have changed.  I feel like we were in a magic snow globe for a few months and now all the snow has settled and you can see the imperfections of the figures inside.
    Packing always does this to me.  It makes me feel sentimental and a bit dramatic.  Naturally, I guess. All the things that were once put on a shelf or stacked nicely in a drawer...um, I mean, thrown into a drawer never to be found again, are pulled out and revisited as we are forced to examine our life with a fine-toothed comb.  It's healthy, I think.  We have no choice but to rid ourselves of anything that isn't necessary.  It's Feng Shway. Fing Shwau.  Fung Schuay.  Whatever.  You get it.
    With Eric's new TV show on the horizon, things in LA seem promising.  We get back to our home on the 31st and are supposed to find out the next day whether or not the show gets picked up.  So, I guess no matter what, we are going home.  It's a new episode in our lives.  The adventure continues and we roll with it, baby.

HIM and ME: An Interview on Eric's World 2012.

HIM and ME:  An Interview on Eric's World 2012.

As I stand up from the computer, he quips a "That was fun!," from his position on the coach.  I felt a bit like a shrink for the last 20 minutes, while I asked Eric some questions that I would ask anyone I was trying to get to know better.  Difference is, he's my husband.  Some things I knew.  Some things I didn't.  Overall, I would totally recommend interviewing each other for New Years!  It was a super fun exercise reminding me who the most interesting man in my world is.

ME:  Okay.  Let's just start with a list of some fave things of 2012.  Favorite TV show?
HIM:  I gotta say Happy Endings.  I like that it takes place in Chicago and has lots of inside jokes about Chicago.  The comedy is really funny, silly and smart.  And it reminds me of a mix between 30 Rock and Friends and I like the fact that they can acknowledge that.

ME:  Favorite theatrical show?
HIM:  When we took Soph to see Mary Poppins at the Ahmanson Theatre in LA.  We were seeing our good friend Maddie Mullahey in the role of Jane Banks and she was wonderful and unbelievably nuanced, especially for a kid.  It was magical that it was Sophie's first full musical theatre show. She had seen me play Shrek, but she was just a few months old and would see the show in sections. At 2 years old, she was beyond her years as far as attention span and theatre etiquette.  She loved the whole thing, singing and dancing the whole night.  Because she had a great time, I did too.
ME:  Favorite website of 2012?
HIM:  The Fancy.com and Pinterest.com.  I really like the Fancy cause it's based on a guy-cenntric point of view.  Pinterest inspires both of us to think about our house and craft ideas to do with Soph.  I love the DIY attitude that Pinterest provokes.
ME:  I love the project we did together in our kitchen.  Every time I look at that wall, I feel like it's totally us.  Sophie's Christmas crafts, that were her presents, were all Pinterest inspired too.  And, if I'm not mistaken, they were all ideas found by you, daddy.  And speaking of daddy, you are the Ap-Daddy.  For anyone that doesn't know, let it be known that you are super skilled in the arena of modern, social technology.  Favorite App of 2012?
HIM:  Huff Post app.
ME:  Why is that?
HIM:  It's an online news magazine that is easy to use, easy to read, and totally current.  It's not super left or right leaning.  I love reading about media news.  News about the news, ratings and who's who in the news.  They have a great sports section too!
ME:  Favorite Kids App 2012?
HIM:  The Disneyland app and the Tozzle app.  Disneyland is a really well designed app.  It's beautiful how it guides you thru the parks.  The music changes when you go to different lands and she loves the interactive features.  Tozzle is a puzzle app. Seeing how active her mind is and how she has advanced at doing the puzzles is amazing .  They're pretty complicated puzzles with small pieces.  The things she was able to teach herself, as far as navigating and working the app was mind blowing.
ME:  Favorite movie of 2012?
HIM:  Midnight in Paris and Safety Not Guaranteed.  I never thought I had any interest in Paris, until I saw this movie.  Now, I really want to go there.  I just want to be able to time travel there in the 1920s.  Safety Not Guaranteed is with Mark Duplas from The League, the girl from Parks & Rec, and Jake Johnson from New Girl.  In a nutshell, a guy puts an add for a time travel partner with courage, strength of character and laser gun expertise.  It was just inspiring.  It was about having faith in an idea and people.  So....I guess I have a thing for time travel movies.
ME:  How did you decide to go back to NYC and how was that experience for you?
HIM:  My agent, Charles, called during the summer asking if I'd be interested in doing Peter and the Starcatcher.  I'd auditioned for the play like 4 years ago, before it went to Broadway and heard that it was a really magical, one of a kind, experience.  I'd always wanted to do a PLAY on Broadway.  So, you helped me make a tape and we sent it off to NYC.  They weren't acccepting tapes, but I emailed one of the directors and asked if they'd look at mine, because I had a conflict (TV shoot for a guest spot on "Pair of Kings").  I was suprised and exited at the possibility of going back to New York, but it was definitely a family desicion and discussion to be had.  You were working and making progress in LA and Soph had just started pre-school, which we had already paid an entire year for.  I felt like I had already dragged you guys to California and wasn't sure if it was right to drag you back to New York, after we had just settled in LA.  But after we talked about it, we both felt it would be an amazing opportunity.  We weren't sure if we would be happy in New York.  Would being with old friends feel totally different now that we had a kid?  Would we miss Cali?  Would we want to stay in NYC forever?  But once we got here it was sort of all of those things at different moments.  It was definitely in phases.  There were days when we felt we really belonged here.  Other days we really missed our home in LA...and the weather.  Other days were confusing and we didn't know where we belonged.
I think at the end of it all though, it was a good excperience to come here.  It made us a tighter family unit.  Soph experienced some cool cultural things.  It was good for us to see friends again, but all in all we are excited to get back to our house...and our bed.  Our bed here is a major downside to the NY experience.  It's binding my body like the ancient Chinese practice of binding feet.  I literally feel shorter when I wake up.
ME:  What would you say was your greatest personal victory of 2012?
HIM:  Booking Giant Baby for TVLand.  Even if the show doesn't get picked up (which it will because it's great and the cast is crazy-amazing), it was a very big step in my professional career and... in a way, validation of my dreams.  If you would have asked me 10 years ago what my dream was I would have said, "I want to be a lead in a classic multi-camera sitcom."  The fact that a studio and creators put me in that postion was a huge achievement for me.  I couldn't have met that goal without the help, sacfrice, and support of you and Soph though.  That's for sure!
ME: Umm, thank you.  Brownie points for that shout out, honey.  Prior to the big TV news, what were some other experiences, that helped you achieve this dream.
HIM:  Getting cast as Shrek in the 1st National Tour of Shrek: The Musical for Dreamworks was a huge turning point for me.  They saw me as an unconventional leading man and that opened many doors, subsequently.  Also, in this past year, I never really had an opportunity to thank the Disney Channel people for taking a chance on me.  I got to do Jessie, which led to Pair of Kings, which led to a recurring part for that show.  They gave me a lot of invaluable experience in working on a set. While I had some TV experience in NYC, I feel like I understand so much more from the amount of work I got to do there this year.  And they were just fantastic people to work with.
ME:  What was your greatest challenge of 2012?  How did that grow you as a person?
HIM:  Being a true stay at home dad for 4 months was definitely the hardest thing!  It was so hard to give attention all of the time, beacuse it's not just watching her to make sure she doesn't break her face.  It's actively stimulating her mind with games and new activities.  It was hard to re-adjust my priorities.  You only really have those 2 hours, when they nap, which is truly "you time".  I wasn't really great at keeping the house clean.  In fact, I even hired someone to do it once.  Paying bills and cooking in my free time where not what I had in mind.  Battling the "stir-crazies" was super difficult and I struggled to find things to do with other adults.  It made me really appreciate what you and other moms do.
ME:  Aaaaand another gold star!  Favorite family moment of 2012?
HIM:  Car wash day.  There were so many exciting moments in 2012:  going to Disneyland, visiting family, seeing shows in New York, etc. BUT my favorite was that moment.  A simple, warm summer day, in an impromptu moment, when we decided to wash both cars.  Soph enjoyed the responsibility of washing the tires and we all ended up completely soaked.  The cherry on top was getting ice cream on Ventura Blvd as a reward for our hard work.  It was just perfect family time.

I attempted to do an interview with Soph and it went something like this...
ME:  What is your favorite thing to eat?
HER:  No.
(Mommy cannot be deterred)
ME:  What is your favorite movie?
HER:  Ariel!!!!!
(Yes!  It's working.)
ME:  What is your favorite...
HER:  giggles and runs away

Well, It's a start.
I am making a resolution to do this more often.
What are some ways that you check in with your partner and kids?  We might take your suggestion for a spin!