Parenting 101

In the spring of 2010, one of my very best friends from college married her college sweetheart.

She was a member of the swim team. He played lacrosse. She majored in Government. He majored in Economics. She went to Northwestern Law School. He went to Harvard Business School. She is a practicing lawyer. He works for a successful consulting company. Oh, and I did I mention that they are ridiculously good-looking as well?

So when she told me last year that she was pregnant – I will thrilled. However, I was a little worried for their unborn child. Here was a child being brought into a home of high expectations. Both of his parents were Division I athletes. They both went to an Ivy League School. And they both went on graduate school to earn advanced degrees. They know what success was have grown to expect nothing less. I thought that if this kid didn’t come out of the womb faster than all other babies, he would be seen a failure from day one.

When the baby’s due date came and went, I fell for the kid. Already he wasn’t living up to expectations. Thankfully, he arrived in one piece on September 1st.

So now that Will has had time to adjust to his parents, “how are things going?” you ask. Well, let me just say, Will has certainly impressed us all.

He has learned to feed himself

 

He has already been drafted by an NFL team

And he has started to demonstrate his incredible swimming skills (be it in the bath tub)

 

But the very best thing that Will had added into his parents lives is laughter. It seems like every day he is reminding them, just how “not perfect” they are.

And man, what great parents that makes them! I can only hope that one day Matt and I are half as amazing as you two are.

Another Reason Why Yale Sucks

After performing in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, the Sing Off has returned to prime time.

While watching this, my reason for living was fulfilled. I was cheering, clapping and dancing around my apartment. And hundreds of miles away, Abby was doing the same thing. If I ever had any doubt before, I am now sure that we definitely are related.

While some could argue that making it onto this show is evidence enough that Yale is “better” than Harvard, I would regretfully disagree. However, if this is what is means to be the best, then I am certainly happy to sit in second place. Great job Whiffenpoofs (honestly, just the name makes me a gag a little…)!

My vote this season goes to the Backbeats.

4 more nights of competition. I am already a little teary eyed that the competition is so short…

Happy Hanukkah!

When I was in 1st grade, the one Jewish student in my class taught us about the celebration of Hanukkah. We played dreidel and learned the song “Dreidel dreidel dreidel, I made you out of clay…” He showed us a menorah and explained its significance. In ancient times, after the Jewish soldiers defeated the Greek army, the soldiers lead Judah Maccabee decided to have a feast. They looked everywhere for oil to light the menorah, but they found only enough ritually pure olive oil to light the menorah for one day. The story goes that the supply supposedly lasted eight days. Today Jews celebrate Hanukkah as a commemoration of the triumph of the soldiers. Every night for eight nights, Jewish people light candles in a menorah, thus commemorating the eight-day miracle.

While I certainly learned a lot about the Jewish religion and the celebration of Hanukkah, there was one thing that was significant in my appreciation for the Jewish faith. The potato latkes!

Now I didn’t go up with a specific religion being a major part of my life, but I have always been fascinated with the idea of religion. The idea that people came together to share their faith and beliefs is something I find to be truly incredible. I have attended various churches and places of worship over the years. I have attended multiple Catholic Masses (especially lately due to the number of weddings we attended), Presbyterian & Protestant services, and even a few Jewish Bat Mitzvahs. In college I would often go to the Sunday service at our non-denominational church on campus. The minister was one of my professors and an extremely well-spoken man. Plus, the church itself is to beautiful, you couldn’t help but feel inspired.

However, after all of my research and experience, I am convinced that if I had to choose a religion to align myself with, it would definitely be Judaism.

When I came home from first grade that day after we learned all about Hanukkah, I happily announced to my mom that I must be Jewish. I couldn’t get enough of the potato latkes, so I figured that this must be a religion that I could believed in. When you threw in the fact that you got to have a big party on your 13th birthday, my 6-year-old self was sold.

Today is the first day of Hanukkah. In the cafeteria of my school, the chefs served potato latkes. I had three :)

Lazy Weekend

Growing up in a cable free household, I cherished Saturday morning cartoons more than most children. Sunday through Friday, my tv was limited to Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, Square One and 3,2,1 Contact! While my peers were watching Rainbow Bright, Jem and Inspector Gadget, I was desperately messing with the rabbit-ear antenna to bring into focus Tiny Toon Adventures and Ducktails. After 5 minutes, I often gave up entirely.

But on Saturday mornings, it was a different story. The channels that normally only contained soap operas, Jeopardy and the news showed hours and hours of child-friendly cartoons. So after Saturday morning swim practice and quick stop at Dunkin Donuts, I would return home and drag my comforter from my bed downstairs and plop myself in front of the tv for hours. I would start off with Garfield and Friends, then Muppet Babies, and Carebears.

 As I grew older, the line up changed to Doug, Pepper Ann, and Recess.

 

I would become so absorbed in these shows, that I wouldn’t even realize that I had spent hours in front of the tv. I would come out of my cartoon coma as soon as coverage of various bowling tournaments started. Sadly, my day was 1/2 over and my brain was fried. I have said it before, but this is what happens when you don’t have cable and have to make up for lost time.

This weekend, I didn’t spend hours in front of the tv watching cartoons, but I did have a very lazy weekend. After 3 weekends in a row of weddings (all requiring travel) I figured I deserved it.

I started my weekend off by taking a 1.5 hour long nap on Friday afternoon. I should preface this by saying that I was pretty sick with a cold and certainly could use the extra sleep. Matt and I then went to see Social Network that evening. It was surprisingly good and I think they depicted two ends of the social scene at Harvard pretty well (a little exaggerated, but not much…)

Saturday morning I worked at the newly named TasteBuds (formerly Cupcake Kids) where I helped teach a Birthday party that had 45 two and three-year olds. Needless to say, even though I had slept for nearly 11 hours the night before, I needed a mid-day nap to recover. Saturday night, we went out for dinner with some friends and I went home early, getting another 10 hours of sleep that night.

Sunday was the pinnacle of laziness. Although I did leave my apartment for a low-key workout, I didn’t leave the apartment building (or go outside) all day. I spend the day relaxing, cleaning and watching a movie (Remember Me). While I don’t think I could do this EVERY weekend, I also don’t feel too ashamed of the quality pj time that I had this weekend.

Be Your Own Boss – Cupcake Kids!

When I was in college, I had a friend, Jessi Walter, who was a few years older than me, that I looked up to like a sister. She was one of the nicest people I had ever met, extremely smart, and would give me advice whenever I asked for it (which was probably too often!) I loved hanging around her room – it was clean and organized and she had the most amazing hand-painted furniture.  I always felt like I was in a real house, as opposed to a dorm room when I went over there. Whenever I was there, I just felt happy.

I am so glad that we have reminded friends over the years. She is still one of the nicest people I have ever met, extremely smart, and she still gives me advice on life. Now, instead of hanging out in her dorm room,  we hang out in the Cupcake Kids! kitchen.  Every time I walk into the space, I feel that same sense of happiness, that I felt when I walked into her dorm room many years ago.

The idea for Cupcake Kids! was born when Jessi Walter decided to combine her love of kids and food in a practical way. Jessi set out to create a company that would provide students with hands-on cooking experiences designed to provide them with the opportunity to have fun in the kitchen while learning about food and nutrition. Jessi believes that creativity and education in the kitchen play an important role in a child’s development and help kids to build self-confidence and independence. For 4 years, she has been giving this experience to the kids of NYC.

Formerly a Vice President on Wall Street, Jessi’s passion for kids and food and her entrepreneurial spirit have taken her on a new adventure. Jessi graduated from Harvard in 2003, where she earned an economics degree and was a member of the Women’s Swim Team. As one of the oldest of 23 cousins, she has a passion for kids and their development. In her previous life as a swimmer, Jessi started a company offering technique lessons for young swimmers and brought the same enthusiasm and fundamentals to the pool as she brings to the kitchen today.

What sets Jessi and Cupcake Kids! apart from other child-centered companies is the pride that Jessi takes in her work and ultimately in her company. I’ve had the pleasure of helping out with Cupcake Kids! for the past 2 years. Jessi’s focus is on coming up with lessons that entertain, as well as educate, the “budding chefs” who visit her kitchen. She wants them to walk out of the kitchen with a smile on their face and a new appreciation for food and a sense of accomplishment. They gain confidence through measuring, mixing and baking. By combining ingredients to make a delicious treat, these children are able to see their successes right before their eyes, and taste them too! The excitement that Jessi, and her teachers, have for cooking and food is passed on to the children.

 I am so proud of Jessi for all that she has accomplished. I am also honored to have been a part of it  and I can not wait to see what the future holds for Cupcake Kids!

Please visit the Cupcake Kids! website to learn more about classes and birthday parties and, visit Facebook to become a fan of Cupcake Kids!