Speed Bump

Are your New Year's Resolutions set? This year I'm setting some healthy resolutions for the whole family that are pretty simple. Move often. Eat (more) veggies. Drink water (and wine , for the adults). I think it's doable and I'm excited for a healthy New Year. To wrap up 2013, I thought I'd include some links to some of my favorite posts from the past year. Hard to believe this is where we were with the new house at this time last year. What a difference a year makes! I wrote this post last year on Charlie's birthday . Is he really going to be 5 this year? Our annual trip to California was very memorable for the wrong reasons. We thought we'd never get home ! We endured a few sick days in the winter months, like this one when Iz played on the floor while I taught class... Spring finally arrived, bringing Easter and Charlie's first soccer game !  Iz was baptized on her second birthday, on St. Patrick's ...

Someone in our household has been sick almost the entire month of December. We limped into Christmas with colds that knocked each of us on our backs for days, and then lingered for well over a week. It's been 10 days since my cold hit full force and I'm still draining and stuffy. Poor Charlie held out the longest and was the last to get this monster cold. He was sick two days before Christmas and we had to cancel our Christmas Eve plans with family to keep him home. He rallied for Christmas morning, but he was still only about 60% that day - you can see it in his eyes. Nevertheless, we had a very nice Christmas Day with family - and I think the kids got all they wanted from Santa. Lovely, I forgot to put the vacuum away for pictures... Unlike Charlie who changed his mind daily about what he wanted from Santa, Izzy only had one request - a guitar. I found this little yellow ukelele and she was happy as could be. She plays for us and sings - it really is t...

This basketball goal and court have existed in my parents' backyard since 1957. My grandfather poured the concrete court, experimenting with a slightly different concrete mix on each section and keeping a detailed record of his efforts (which is framed and hanging in my parents' basement). Three generations of Geigers, our friends, and neighborhood kids have banked, bricked, swished, and dunked baskets on this industrial-strength metal rim - until today. Today this rim came down to make room for a major home remodel - good change, but nonetheless sad to observe. I spent countless hours practicing on this court - shooting morning and night with the benefit of a bright external light that did nothing to endear our neighbors. I've heard stories about my Aunt Susan battling my Dad and his friends on this court - they never wanted to let the girl play. Growing up we had epic games with my three cousins on 4th of July and Labor Day holidays. These 4-on-4 matches (6 cousin...

For a little throw back Thursday (#tbt) today, I'm revisiting this post from last year. I am currently at the same meeting in Chicago where the events described in this post transpired. Being here brings it all back and makes me think about all the same issues. I still have the same feelings of not measuring up as a scientist or as a mother, and not giving either my work or home life the focus they deserve. There was the same chaos before this trip (a sick kid, a sick dad, frantically calling sitters to patch up care for the kids during the day, and don't get me started on Christmas being NEXT WEEK!) I don't have any answers that make me feel better about these issues one year later. But here's hoping this trip is not as eventful. There's no place like  I want to be home. I'm finishing up 8 days of work travel in the last 14 days, and all I want to do is be home with my babies - make pumpkin bread, carve pumpkins, catch falling leaves, and snuggle. ...

Could music be in her future? She loves to sing and check out how she holds her guitar (ukulele) - like a pro. It was too noisy to hear her singing in this video, but she still captured her cousin's attention. This little crooner is getting her own ukulele for Christmas!

Lucky because his birthday is on the 13th, and so is mine. Lucky because he is mine. Lucky because he is their Dad. Just plain lucky. Happy birthday to the best friend, husband and Dad we are lucky enough to know and love. 40 looks good!

I don't want to be a Wall Street Mother . WSMs make a lot of money, keep crazy hours, traverse the globe, and give up a lot of time with their families. I have no desire to earn that much money or reach the top of the ladder if it means I miss out on back-to-school night, class trips and occasional play dates. Some might say I'm not ambitious. I think I just want to be happy. The problem with this article about Wall Street Mothers is that it is just more of the same - sacrificing all to get to the top - except this time they are highlighting women at the top instead of men. The women succeeding on Wall Street are the ones that have husbands that stay home full time. That shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. Managing an intense career would be a hell of a lot easier if you were free to focus on work and not experience the constant pull from home and family - whether you are a man or a woman. Success requires immense hard work and dedication, of course. But does it have to co...

Ryan's surprise 40th birthday party. Check. Tree up & decorated. Check. Star family gifts delivered to the church. Check. December birthdays with my side of the family celebrated. Check. If I had even a quarter of Charlie's energy, I wouldn't need a weekend to recover from our weekend. This is such a perfect picture to depict our moments at home, no matter what we're doing. Charlie never stops moving. 

Guess who has basically potty-trained herself? This girl. I put it off as long as I could. Her teachers kept telling me she was ready. Finally, I bought some of the cutest little Hello Kitty undies one weekend, and that was all it took. She hasn't had an accident yet. Way to go Iz!