My mind has been an insane jumble of to-do lists, to-do lists I need to make, to-do lists I’m completely ignoring and panicking over, and then…packing. Welcome to an admittedly schizophrenic post about so many of the things on my mind this week that you may like too.
*After seeing a presentation from Slavery Footprint at the Social Good Summitc and checking their site, I’m blown away. Go there. Now. Seriously. It’s not there to make you feel horribly guilty, but to inspire you to make more conscientious choices about a lot of purchases. Starting with your morning coffee. So I love this post at Cool Mom Picks by delilah on Fair Trade Coffee, why it’s important, and brands that support it — including two of the biggies.
*My ONE Moms Ethiopia trip is coming up (eep!) and I’ll be there a week from today. Follow the #ONEMoms hashtag on twitter to keep up with us. And get ready to read wonderful posts like this from my friend Asha Dornfest. How lucky I am to get to experience this with women like this; and this and this and this and this and so many more I can’t wait to meet. (You all make me want to be a better woman. Sniff.)
As hard as it will be to leave the girls, this week I heard Sage say to our sitter, “next week Mommy is going to help babies in Africa so while she’s there helping babies, would you take us to our dance class?” Oof, my heart.
*Sage is quotable this week. She told me after work, behind polka-dotted cats-eye sunglasses, that she wanted a new name. A foreign name. A food name. How nice that that made Huffington Posts’s favorite parenting tweets this week.
*One of my new favorite blogs is Grown and Flown. If you have ever panicked about anything parenting-related ever, please read this post. It’s about learning how to say yes.
*Here’s the girls’ new favorite picture book. Not counting the Oz series, of course.
*I’m really honored to officially be among the newest Friends of Baby Buggy. While it’s wonderful to go out into the world and help mothers in our global village, I like being able to do it right at home too. They’re remarkably effective as an organization and if you can donate any products in the NY or LA area, I can assure you it’s going to outstanding use. Like to 16 year old dads who can bring home diapers, even if they can’t afford them, thereby solidifying their connection to their child and empowering them to feel like they’re contributing. Good stuff. Good people.
*Remember Go the F*ck to Sleep? Now there’s Wake the F*ck Up with Samuel Jackson. It’s a video probably just for you Democrats and undecideds with a sense of humor and an affinity for the F word.
*Pop culture junkie though I am, I still cannot bring myself to pay attention to anything remotely related to Honey Boo Boo or 50 Shades of Gray. I’m starting to feel alone here.
Thanks for the link to the article on Grown & Flown. I forwarded it to the girls who, I’m sure, will be delighted 🙂
Thanks Doug. They will or they won’t. Or maybe they will but not now?
Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to give us so many interesting links! (I also enjoy Grown & Flown.) How do you even know what to pack for Ethiopia? I have enough trouble deciding what to take with me one state over.
I am having total packing anxiety. I never do but ack…I’m like, is this too fancy? Is this too casual? Will this get ruined? Is black impractical? Are these shoes going to give me blisters? Do I really need a hat?
I could go on. But I’ve already embarrassed myself enough already.
Watch you get it all figured out and then they lose your bag. (My husband never got his bag the whole time we were in India together, so he slept under a table cloth, bought clothes at a street market, and shared my malaria medication. Keeping my fingers crossed for you that whatever you go with you get to use!)
Can you wash it in a sink or plastic washbasin? Will it show dirt? Light brown? Will it be too hot? Too cold? Too revealing (can you bend over to pick up a child without showing the girls off)? Could you imagine wearing it on a plane for 14 hours, then another 4 or 5 hours on the way to someplace else? (That’s the “is it comfortable” question.) If you have no iron, will you still wear it? Will it roll up into your duffle/carry-on? Take a layer or two. Hot during the day, cool at night and air conditioning in some places. Yes, you always need a hat & sunscreen. Take blister block and moleskin. Leave jewelry & nice watch at home. Buy something there to remind you of the trip from someone who could use the $$. Maybe take the outfit from your 2012 pic near birthday picture with Isabel. It looks comfortable and in-between dressy/casual.
Try to get to the Ethiopian National Museum (it’s good). Pickpockets (some young kids) around the airport and in local transpo lines for taxis – watch wallet/phone/bag.
Oh, having lived and traveled in Africa, this is spot on! Less is more, you’ll probably leave most of it behind anyway so don’t take anything you’re attached to. I always left wearing my last set of clothes having given away everything else. Don’t know exactly where you’ll be but longer skirts are really practical – they catch the breeze when it’s hot, they provide some privacy if you’re squatting in a ‘not-so-private’ toilet area (I won’t go into more details!) and they’re modest in any culture.
Thank you so much Sarah! That’s one skirt use I hadn’t considered. Sold!
I’m with you on both HoneyBoo Boo and 50 Shades of Gray. You are not alone. My philosophy on many pop culture things is to know “of” them but not actually have to experience them. So I can feel smart when answering Jeopardy questions, of course.
Liz, you are so, so, so not alone. So.
So.
Phew!
You are not alone. I proudly stand with you!
You are not alone. So not interested in either one. At all.
Ditto on Honey Boo Boo and 50 Shades.
I like that Sage girl. I think that she and I have a few things in common. Have an amazing trip. I can’t wait to follow along. Oh… and I have no idea what Honey Boo Boo is (I’m kinda thinking I need to look it up), but did you see the RHNJ reunion last night? WHOA. I could talk about that for way longer than in acceptable.
Ditto again on 50 Shades and Honey Boo Boo. As a southerner, I can’t bear to watch. Will have to find the book at the library…looks so cute.
Liz! You are NOT ALONE with the Honey Boo Boo or 50 Shades of Gray. There are at least two of us. 🙂 (Also, I never read that horrid Dan Brown book.)
In other, sycophantic, news, I seriously love your blog so much. I have been trolling around the early posts (since I am a new mom who has just started blogging myself), and I have been so impressed and inspired. So, thanks.
I just checked and thank gosh, my morning coffee is sourced ethically so I don’t have to change 🙂