I was at my Sip and See: sip champagne and see the new baby.  Because she is my fourth child, a traditional baby shower complete with games and a gift registry was unnecessary.  In fact, I begged for the invitation to read “No Gifts Please,” but was ignored by my gracious hostesses.   And so I sat in a chair amidst a pile of gifts and began to add to my already vast collection of baby gear.

At this point in my parenting career, I’m ready to purge. I can’t wait until the baby outgrows the infant car seat, so I can FINALLY give it away. I can’t wait until she’s too big for the swing, so it can cease being part of my family room furniture. As I opened my gifts, I thought, “there can’t possibly be anything this baby needs.” How wrong I was.

So, here in reverse order is my top ten:  all new items that I discovered on this, my fourth and final child. How did I ever live without…

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I love vegetables, and have recently begun experimenting with making soups out of them. What is great about soup is that it can be made in large batches. You can eat some for dinner, then freeze the rest. Soup is also great for getting rid of ingredients that are getting old. Lastly, soup can be a healthy and filling dish.

I have made several different soups out of several ingredients. I think after these attempts, I have the process down. Here goes…

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Monday morning.

A challenging day for most of us.

With memories still fresh of sleeping in, fun and exciting activities, or even just relaxation, getting out of bed on Monday morning is especially tough. Most people, however, have developed their own special routines. Let’s take a look…

There seem to be two different philosophies regarding Monday morning routines. There is the “Start off with a bang” tactic, and then there is the “Ease into the week” approach.

The “start off with a bang” people tend to put a lot of energy in to their Mondays. They may start off with a workout or a written to-do list, or even a hearty breakfast. The goal is to start with a bang, and let that energy drive you throughout the week. There is no time to waste, no time to sit still. You have your list, and the goal is to act upon it with gusto.

Pros:

• Get a lot done quickly

Cons:

• Difficult to get going initially
• Sometimes the energy is hard to maintain throughout the day

On the other hand, you have the ease crowd. These are the folks who recognize that Monday is a day to get re-oriented and make baby steps to full productivity. You might take some time to reflect on what you’d like to do this week, or look to other sources for inspiration. Instead of insisting on knocking out the toughest tasks immediately, the ease in to the week crowd might spend some time on social media or news sites getting information or networking.

Pros:

• Less stressful

Cons:

• Easy to be unproductive
• Time can get away from you

Whatever routine more closely resembles your life, one thing you’ll probably have in common with the other routine is the consumption of some sort of caffeinated product. Or, maybe not. Whatever your Monday morning routine is, the most important thing is that it works for you, and you’re better off because of it. If you’re finding yourself having a hard time getting in to your week, maybe it’s time to examine how you work on Monday, and come up with a new routine…you’ll love yourself for it.

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Again this year, I made the New Years resolution to be more organized. I was feeling as though I’d already failed miserably in so many ways, however today as I was sitting in the orthodontists office waiting for my daughter, I picked up the magazine Redbook. This is a magazine that I never read (which is amazing since my magazine pile is around 3 feet tall right now and it feels as though I subscribe to every magazine there is – another New Years Resolution waiting to be conquered!). Anyway, this article peaked my interest.
The best part? I do nearly all of these things already. For example: I just installed a cute basket at the bottom of the stairs which is meant to capture all the things that need to go upstairs (tip 22). Last year I whipped up this jewelry organizer (tip 18)

Jewelry Organizer in Nest

And our old TV armoire that I love, was rendered useless since the invention of the giant flat screen – I repurposed it as our ‘mid-range fancy china’ cabinet a couple of years ago (tip 24) Seriously, I could have written this article!

So, I have concluded that I might not be as disorganized as I thought and maybe I can now tackle another project as a New Years resolution…Now, should it be that magazine habit or the 9 years and GB’s of digital photos? – gulp.

How are you doing with your resolutions?

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It was a fine gathering this morning as the Bebe au Lait staff gathered to eat some bagels, drink some coffee, talk about our holidays, and see who won the coveted employee of the month award. As the discussion continued on, we got on the topic of Bebe au Lait sightings.

You see, for Bebe au Lait employees, seeing a Bebe au Lait or Hooter Hiders product outside of work is an exciting experience–even beyond seeing a celebrity in person.

It all started when one of our employees mentioned seeing a mom using an Aero Hooter Hider in one of her college classes.

Others chimed in: “I once saw a mom using a Shrine Aqua at Stanford Shopping Center”. Then our founders mentioned seeing moms using Bebe au Lait covers in a local park. We laughed at the times when we’d so badly want to approach someone using our covers, but then our better judgement reminded us that we probably shouldn’t bother people during this very intimate and precious moment. Instead, we smile and feel proud of what we’ve done as a company and for the breastfeeding moms of the world.

To get a better perspective on where people are using us, we asked our Facebook fans where they’ve seen Bebe au Lait products. The answers were interesting: Cafes, restaurants, at the movies, at church, at family gatherings, even during parades! The blogs provided us with more insight: We’ve read about people using our nursing covers on planes and on vacation, at theme parks, at parties, and so many other places where moms want to be.

The big question on everyone’s mind is….Where do YOU see Bebe au Lait products? We’d love to know!

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Fireworks over Copenhagen

The sky was crisp and clear in Copenhagen last night and the moon was as full as could be. At 12 o’clock the tradition is to go out into the streets and celebrate the beginning of a new year with fireworks. If you take fireworks as a measurement of a Country’s economy; Denmark is not in crisis. They went on for over an hour and were absolutely all around us. This was the first year that our girls managed to stay awake and see the New Year in with us, so it was a special night.

This picture was taken with my iphone, so its not the best, but you get the general idea. Moon, fireworks…the only thing missing was the sound of teeth chattering, at -8 degrees celcius…it was a little colder than our usual Californian climate!

We hope you enjoyed your New Year celebrations. May it be a very special year for you and your loved ones!

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As I wrote some time ago, I was due to take part in a half marathon in mid-November. I am happy to say that I completed the run in a very decent amount of time – actually quite a bit faster than I had anticipated.
A couple of weeks prior to the run, I twisted my knee at the end of a long run. I visited a physiotherapist friend of mine to get some treatment… she suggested I not run, which was, of course OUT OF THE QUESTION! I had trained so hard (well, sort of) and I had the comedian Eddie Izzard as my mentor during my training sessions. Though Eddie is not aware of my existence, I was so inspired by his feat this summer: 43 marathons in 51 days…how nuts is that!??
With Eddie in mind, I would like to say that I enjoyed the run anyway, but I really didn’t. 20 minutes in, I was in a lot of pain and I had to run one legged for the next 11.1 miles, which despite the beautiful views and the endorphins was about as fun as a kick in the shins.
1 Hour and 40 minutes later, I choked back tears of relief as I crossed the finish line and I chanted the words ‘never again’.
However, as we know the body forgets pain (think – child birth) and about a half hour later I had already decided that I needed to do that again, but this time with a normal knee.

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We are currently in Denmark with the family. The City has been buzzing with coverage of COP 15 ‘The Climate Summit’ and its been very interesting to listen to all the news broadcasts about the decisions being made (and not made) by so many world leaders all gathered in little Denmark.
On Friday, unlike a usual day at the office, Mr Obama kept us waiting. First we waited for hours to hear President Obama’s speech on Danish TV and then in the evening after seeing Eddie Izzard in Sweden we found the bridge between Sweden and Denmark closed for a short time while Obama’s plane took off from Kastrup airport.
Denmark has always been a very green place to live. To be honest, it was a bit of a culture shock for Ronnie and I, when we first arrived in the U.S to see how people lived; Tumble driers on constantly, air-conditioning pumping, huge cars. However, I think things have changed in the last few years. We, like most people we know are steadily becoming more conscious of how we live and how we consume – electricity, gas, products.

For most, this last year’s economic climate has only strengthened this. There is irony in that silver lining!

Giant Globe in Raadhuspladsen

Coca Cola Poster Designed by Andrew Bannecker

What Global Warming?

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It’s that time of year again. Early fall and time for Teague’s annual check-up. The three girls have summer birthdays, but Teague’s mid-September birth puts us right on the cusp: some years, we schedule early enough to miss it and others, we are just in time. This year, we hit it right on the nose: flu shots had arrived.

My ambivalence towards the flu shot is evident from my children’s medical records. There are years when all three got the shot, years when no one got the shot, and years when the one who happened to be at the office got the shot. However, I suspected that this year might be different. Our new pediatrician happens to also be my neighbor. Although not as convenient as the kids assumed it would be when they believed we could now walk down our driveway to appointments, it brings me great peace of mind to have a professional so close. But now my flu shot indecision would be exposed. And I was quite confident avoidance would not be an option.

I double-upped on appointments: Teague’s seven-year and Jase’s two-month check-ups. I arrived with all four kids. When my five-year-old Reese asked if Teague and Jase would be getting shots. I gave my standard disclaimer, “I don’t know, we’ll have to see,” while dreading the inevitable.

The doctor asked, “Have they had their flu shots yet?” as she perused their files. She commented on the irregularity of their flu shot history and added, “Well, since you’re all here, why don’t we just take care it today?” And here we go…
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We’re really lucky to work in a building that is nestled at the bottom of a hill. The view from out of our window is full of trees, making for a peaceful and unusual place to work. It also makes for a perfect playground for our new friend Bob, the bobcat.

Bob sat outside my window last week for a few hours as he thought about how to catch a squirrel or a mouse or perhaps even a leaf that caught the sunlight. He was pretty serious about his stalking, he crept deftly along the ground as the hair behind his ears stood to full attention.

After some serious scientific research and calculation, the office is divided between thinking that he weighs 40 lbs (us) and 20 lbs (them). Let’s just say that Bob is a big ole cat. He did seem really friendly, and at the end of the day, I think he just wanted to lay in the sun for a bit. I can’t really blame him.

I don’t know if bobcats can read, or even if they would read a blog if they could…but if you’re reading this, Bob, you are welcome back anytime. I would have left a snack out for you if I had known you would be here…

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