Politics, Stories
Sarah Holland
Campaign Update: March

"How's the campaign going?"

It's the question I get most often. It's also the question I'm never quite sure how to answer.

Good? ... Great! ... Your guess is as good as mine. ... We'll see May 17th!

The truth - I suppose - all depends on what you're measuring. 

Campaign Update: March
Celebrations
Sarah Holland
Felix's Winter ONE-derland

This weekend we hosted a Winter ONE-derland party in honor of Felix's first birthday. Considering this child was born during a snow, it seemed like an appropriate theme. Well, the weather had other plans and it was 70 and sunny! I could have hosted the dang party outside! 

Felix's Winter ONE-derland
Stories
Sarah Holland
Ruby

For my 30th birthday, I created a list of 30 things I wanted to do. One was to write a historical fiction short story. This is the story and as Ruby keeps calling to me here lately. I thought I'd share it here. 

Ruby
Food
Sarah Holland
Nicholas's Freezer to Crockpot Meals

One of Nicholas's New Year's resolutions was to try freezer meals. He'd prepped meals for the week on and off through 2015 and wanted to see how it would work to prepare an entire month's worth. Then, we could just pull a meal from the deep freeze, throw it in the crockpot, and on a busy day dinner would be waiting for us.

Nicholas's Freezer to Crockpot Meals
What I Learned
Sarah Holland
5 things I learned in January

Dear 2016, Slow. Up. I just picked my word for the year and finished off my New Year's Eve champagne like five minutes ago and now it's two days until February!

Whew.

5 things I learned in January
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A Perfect Pair Baby Shower

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Not only am I pregnant, but two of my closest friends from college are also due within weeks of me – one with twins! In an effort to save our friends multiple car trips, we scheduled both Aimee’s and Erin’s baby showers last weekend. It was a party planning bonanza and I thought I’d share some of the adorable details.

First up on Saturday was Aimee’s shower celebrating the arrival of twin boys – Noah and Charlie. Our theme was “A Perfect Pair.”

Brown and green were also the colors in her nursery and we tried to use baby items she could take and use in their room – blankets,  onesies, and a name banner. The adorable invitations above were from Paperlicious. We played a Twin Baby Babble Word Game that I designed to match the invitations. We also had a “Pear Tree” where everyone could write their hopes for the babies on little paper pears to hang on the tree. The momma-to-be took them all home in a little book at the end of the shower.

Everything went beautifully and we passed out Doublemint gum as party favors as everyone was leaving.

Just in case you have a twin shower around the corner – I’m sharing a free printable version of the Twin Baby Babble game with all of you!

Enjoy!

Why you can't spoil an infant

I love holding my babies. I've always felt like holding a sleeping infant is a form of meditation and I can feel my heart rate slow and my body relax as Felix naps on my chest.

I don't get to hold him enough. There are chores to do and places to go and I feel like I'm always rousing him to shove him in his car seat or his swing. I hate it and I get downright weepy when our snuggle time suffers.

And yet...

Since the week he was born I've heard the same message.

“You need to put that baby down.”

Amos's Nursery

The centerpiece of the room is the wall decal by Designed Designer. I wanted the main palette to be a soft gray and white with pops of orange so I painted the walls Sherwin Williams Grayish.

We've been so happy with Griffin's Baby Mod crib that we went with Baby Mod Modena 3-in-1 Fixed-Side Convertible Crib for Amos. My mom sewed the crib skirt out of Waverly Cross Section in Charcoal, which also makes an appearance on the pillow in the rocker and and the closet curtain. My mom made all of these and I'm so grateful! The gorgeous hand crocheted blanket was a gift from my friend Annie.

The bookshelf is an original built by my stepdad. Griffin has an identical shelf, which I partially credit for his passion for books. I love how it makes books a part of the room and how easily accessible they are. The birdhouse nightlight was also crafted by my stepfather from a basic birdhouse bought at Michael's. I cut the little squirrel and bunny decals on my Silhouette using white flocked vinyl.

I got my Eames (ripoff) rocker as planned and added a grey knitted pouf from CB2 andMarius stool from Ikea. One of my favorite pieces in the room are the limited edition Heather Ross prints hanging above the rocker. (I had them first, btw!)

Beyond my original palette of gray, white, and orange, I brought in a light blue and green using the Give a Hoot Shower Curtain from Target. I bought one curtain to hang in front of the closet and an additional one for the rocker pillow and window shades. For the shades, I simply cut out some of the owls and used spray adhesive to adhere them to my roller shades.

The changing table was a generous gift from a friend which I painted blue to match the owls in the curtain. The color is Sherwin Williams Liquid Blue. I love the way the yarn initials fit above the table.

This tree is one of my favorite touches. I decided at the last minute to move one of the decals in to the corner of the room and then I added a black vinyl decal (cut on my Silhouette of course) that make it look like Nicholas and I carved our initials in the tree. Nicholas thinks it's cheesy, but I don't care

Below the tree is a table and chairs my grandparents gave to me as a child. As far as the closet, since I never EVER close Griffin's closet doors I decided to remove the doors in Amos's room and make it part of the room. I painted the inside of the closet the same orange as the birds. It was scary at first but I really like the way in turned out.

In fact, I love the way the entire room turned out. It's so serene and is one of my favorite rooms in the house. We took Amos's newborn portraits in there and I have to say he seemed pretty at ease there as well.

One year later

Although memories may bring pain, they also bring comfort, for as long as you remember, this child is still part of you. 

I don’t know the exact moment our baby died. It’s a strange thing the not knowing. It seems like something I should know. I should know the precise moment everything changed. It seems like that is the moment I should take to remember the passing of a year.

I know the day I found out the baby was gone. 

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Do Sex Offender Registries Work?

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Last week, my husband and I were watching Our America with Lisa Ling. In an episode titled “State of Sex Offenders,” Ling spent time in Florida, a state with some of the toughest sex offender registry laws in the country. She interviewed men forced to live in tents in the woods due to zoning laws, a sex offender who helps other sex offenders find places to live, a sex offender recently released from prison, and Lauren Book, one of the state’s high profile survivors of sexual molestation and the driving force behind many of Florida’s registry laws.

During the show, I found myself feeling something that as a mother you are never supposed to feel—sympathy for sex offenders.
 

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The science of parenting: Is it safe to play outside?

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In this series, I’m examining the science of parenting. In Part One, we discussed the the importance of the quality - not quantity - of time we spend with our kids. In Part Two, we looked at the science on what types of activities can be considered quality family time. In Part Three, I look at how our children spend their time, our perception of those activities, and what the science actually says. 

Last week, I took the boys to our local park after school. I had just read an editorial making a strong case for free-range parenting. This quote in particular left me wondering if I give my own children enough opportunities to explore.

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The science of parenting: What does "quality time" mean?

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In part one of this series, I discussed a recent study that found increased maternal time was not necessary for happy kids. In fact, it was the quality of time - not quantity of time that counts. In this post, I ask what does the science say about quality time?

I'll never forget a conversation I once had with a close friend about being a work-at-home mom. She was bemoaning the hours she spent during a recent snow day keeping her kids entertained by playing My Little Ponies.

I was sympathetic to her plight but told her I couldn't really commiserate. 

"I don't really play with my kids," I told her.

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The science of parenting: How much time should I spend with my kids?

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At least once a week, I have the same conversation. I’ve had this conversation with working moms and stay-at-home moms. It is usually during a meeting or other week night obligation and it always begins with a mommy friend expressing guilt about being away from her kids.

Despite encouragement and reassurance that her kids are fine, I always get the same response, “I just feel like I should BE there.”

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