Motherhood Mondays: Would you find out if you were having a boy or a girl, or keep it a surprise?

My darlings, if you were pregnant, would you want to find out if you were having a boy or a girl, or would you keep it a surprise?When I was pregnant with Toby, I was on pins and needles; I would never have had the willpower to wait to find out the baby's sex. I'm a huge gossip by nature (never tell me a secret!), and I wouldn't have been able to wait patiently for nine whole months for the

Motherhood Mondays: The sweetest book

Have you seen My Quotable Kid? The book gives you a place to write down the funny, sweet things your child says and save them forever. What a brilliant idea.P.S. I just bought one for Toby and am excited for him to get talking :)(Via Unruly Little Things)

My balance of work/baby/life

My lovelies, last week, seven amazing mothers shared how they juggle work/life, including the ups and downs. It's so wonderful to be honest and normalize what that all mothers are going through. Thank you again to those brave and lovely bloggers!Now I'd love to share my own juggle post. I have to admit, it feels strange to be sharing my own routine because I didn't have a decent schedule figured

Back from England

Hi, my darlings! We got back from England last night, after a wonderful, dreamy, windy, sunshiny week visiting our relatives in Cornwall. I keep gazing at this photo, which my cousin took while we were on a boat to the beach. I wish I could beam myself right back there. :) How was your week?P.S. My own work/baby juggle post is coming up today. Thanks to the amazing mothers last week, and love to

My balance: Jenny Rosenstrach of Dinner: A Love Story

Jenny Rosenstrach writes the fantastic food blog Dinner: A Love Story and is writing a cookbook memoir; she and her husband also write a column for Bon Appetit. And fun fact: Jenny has a diary listing every single dinner she's made since 1998! They lives in Westchester, New York, with their two daughters. Here's how she attempts to juggle it all...*****1. What's your work schedule?It isn't the

My balance: Amanda Hesser of Food 52

Amanda Hesser co-founded the addictive website Food52 all about home cooking. A former New York Times food reporter, she has written cookbooks and memoirs, including Cooking for Mr. Latte about her adorable courtship with her husband. (Have you read it? I'd highly recommend it if you want a great, fun read this summer). They live in Brooklyn with their twins, Walker and Addie. Here's how she

My balance: Jenna Park of Sweet Fine Day

Jenna Park writes the incredible blog Sweet Fine Day (don't you love her photographs?) and works as a freelance graphic designer. She lives with her pastry-chef husband and two young daughters in Brooklyn. Here's how she attempts to find balance...*****1. What's your work schedule?During the school year the mornings are quite hectic: getting lunches made and the girls dressed and fed and out the

My balance: Elizabeth Antonia of The Littlest

The beautiful Elizabeth Antonia writes the blog The Littlest, runs an online vintage children's shop, and works as a freelance art director. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two-year-old daughter. Here's how she attempts to juggle it all...*****Intro:My day-to-day life as a sometimes full-time, sometimes part-time working mama has run the gamut over the last two years. I was

My balance: Jenny Komenda of Little Green Notebook

Jenny Komenda writes the design blog Little Green Notebook and runs a fabulous interior decorating business (she actually gave our house a makeover last year!). She's one of the most charismatic people I've ever met, with an easy laugh and contagious smile. She lives in Manhattan with her husband and their three young daughters. Here's how she attempts to juggle it all...*****1. What's your

My balance: Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen

Deb Perelman writes the mouthwatering blog Smitten Kitchen, featuring delicious recipes and heartfelt, funny thoughts on food and life. Happily for us, she’s also finishing up a cookbook! She lives in the East Village with her husband and toddler son. Here, she tells us how she attempts to juggle everything...*****1. What's your work schedule?My husband and I switch off nights/mornings with Jacob

My balance: Jordan Ferney of Oh Happy Day

Jordan Ferney writes the blog Oh Happy Day about parties, crafts and all things pretty. She usually lives in San Francisco with her husband and two sons, although they're lucky enough to all be spending this year in Paris! Here, she talks about how she balances it all...*****1. What's your work schedule?Now that we’re living in Paris, my schedule is much different than when I was in the U.S. My

New series: Balancing work/life/motherhood

When Toby was a couple months old, and I started to work again, I was shocked to discover how hard it was to juggle everything....We found a beloved babysitter, but when she would leave in the afternoons and Toby would cuddle up in my arms, my mind would still be whirring with tasks left undone. Instead of nabbing a few hours in the evenings to finish up work, Alex and I spent all our extra hours

Precious moments

Ever since Toby arrived, I've found myself feeling nostalgic for certain things even as they're happening. This morning, Toby was playing with water in the bathroom sink, and, as my heart swelled at the sweet sight, I simultaneously felt sad that one day soon he won't fit in there anymore. Ahh, a mama's heart is a strange and moody thing.

Motherhood Mondays: 8 confessions of a new dad

For today's second Motherhood Monday post, I'd love to talk about new fatherhood. On the three-hour drive home from the beach this weekend, Alex and I started talking about parenthood, and he revealed a few funny and surprising thoughts on our first year with a baby. Here were his eight revelations, in his own words...1. "I didn't bond with the baby right away."The experience of fatherhood is

Motherhood Mondays: Has your style changed since having a baby?

My lovelies, for today's Motherhood Monday post, let's talk about style. I've always had a pretty low-key look (cardigans, flats), but after Toby arrived, my style became even more relaxed (read: worse!). I didn't have time to do much for my own look, and I sort of forgot about myself in that way. My focus was so much on sweet Toby. But now that Toby's a year old--and we feel much more

Motherhood Mondays: A funny tip about sex...

My darlings, for this Motherhood Monday post, let's talk about...sex! Recently I heard a genius tip about how to have a sexy date night with your husband. Want to hear?Esther Perel, the author of the fascinating book Mating in Captivity, says that when you get home from a romantic night out, the key to having a sexy rest-of-the-night is simple: Let your husband pay the babysitter.Why?When the

Motherhood Mondays: Ten tips for traveling with a baby

For today's Motherhood Monday post, I'd love to talk about traveling with a baby (and hear your tips). We just got back from a week in San Francisco, and we also took Toby to California last Christmas. During those long trips, we learned a few things (on the fly!) that helped us travel more smoothly and with fewer freak-outs. :) Here are 10 things that we discovered make traveling with a baby

My favorite baby carrier

My sweets, hope you had a wonderful weekend! We're back in New York now, but already missing San Francisco (and shrimp tacos). Photos coming up!Meanwhile, I'd love to do two Motherhood Monday posts today. First up, have you ever worn a baby carrier? The comfiest one I've found (by far) is the Ergo, $135, which is really easy to put on. It's great to walk around the city (and into stores) while

Motherhood Mondays: Do you kiss your babies on the mouth? Or your parents?

On this Motherhood Monday, I'd love to talk about kissing babies.First, here's a little story: When I was sixteen, we went to visit my grandparents in England. One night, I was saying good night to my grandfather. "Good night, Dilly," I said, standing next to his armchair, and then I leaned over and gave him a peck on the mouth. We had always kissed my parents on the lips, and I figured that was

Motherhood Mondays: On babysitters

My lovelies, for this Motherhood Monday, let's talk about babysitters.Our very first babysitter was Naudia, who is still with us. (In the photo above, she's reading Toby his favorite story--he was only 3 months old.)One thing that really surprised me was how hard it was to leave Toby with a babysitter for the first time. (How old were your babies when you first got a babysitter?) For us, Toby was