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There’s a New(ish) Sheriff- Er, Uh, Baby In Town

 Mellow Little Person now owns 3.5 years. This means that the kid talks like an attorney but really still feels like a baby sometimes. Coinciding with this transition is another grand transition. Mellow Little Person now has a plaything, I mean, a playmate, or as soon as Captain Bright Eyes gets crawling, a target. Let me clarify; MLP seems as if experimenting on the new babe, absent any malice. The new babe seems mesmerized by the glow of a sibling’s attention, even if there are toes and toys flying about. Now you may wonder, are Lowdramamama and No Fuss Dad still all facts and no freakouts? We are hanging in…

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The Winter That Just Ended

 I kept up a positive attitude until right about the second week of March. I had a pretty low drama kind of attitude about it. You know, it’s just a long winter, we’ll get through it, no big deal, just wait until it’s 90 the first time; can’t wait to hear all the mumbling complaints then… Well, that second Tuesday in March it was TWELVE degrees. That is NOT A LOT OF DEGREES. It is a particularly low number of degrees. It is the kind of number of degrees that generally encourages you to stay inside, no matter how positive and/or low drama your attitude generally is. So I waited…

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Never Delay the Afterschool Snack, or How Not To Bang Your Head Against the Iron Will of a Fickle Toddler

 Last week I took Mellow Little Person straight from pickup to a restaurant, thinking, in great error, that food and zen would arrive fast enough to soothe his ruffled feathers. Amateur hour, kids. Three things. Your toddler will want to sit “over there”. All that means, by the way, is “not where I am now so fix it”. French fries may provide up to 30 seconds of peaceful sitting at a time but beware, French fries can be sharp! Sharp, people! Sharp! You have got to watch out for the sharp fries. They can ruin (your whole afternoon) the whole bowl. If said toddler places a hunk of bread in…

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Pickup, the Best Pick-Me-Up.

 Most days I am not the one who gets the Mellow Little Person ready for his school day. I or No-Fuss Dad or both of us go get him from his room, have him “brush teeth” and “try potty” and make him e-mil (oatmeal). It his Loving Nanny who dresses him, because there is no point in dressing a toddler prior to breakfast, at least not one that I have learned. It is she who walks him to school. Lucky for me, it is I most days who receive the gift of pickup. Pickup is the best. MLP is a hungry tired tornado at pickup and also has a giant…

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Take My Stroller, Please!

 Oh my. He is cracking jokes. It is amazing; well it is amazing to us. It’s one thing for him to cackle when tickled or when we make goofy faces: it is another world entirely now that he is making the jokes. Joke 1) Place anything on your head (hold it there if it doesn’t stay on its own), wait a second, and then say ACHOO and let the thing fall off. Instant hilarity. Joke 2) A simple consonant switch. If the words are “milk, please”, say “gilk, gease” instead. See? I told you he was funny.

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Magic Words

 Mellow Little Person is learning please, thank you, you’re welcome, and excuse me. He tries an occasional “I’m sorry”; the “I’m sorry” is linked with him tumbling over, as if he is sorry to the floor. His loveys get hugs and tickle him, and he wants to share his meals with them as well. Watching his wheels turn is fascinating. Thank goodness we are working on please and thank you, because the MLP is a Bossy BossyBug. I am pretty sure that “hug Mommy” means “change my situation because I am unhappy with it”.

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What Exercise Works?

 Well this is such a complicated question. Not. What exercise works? The exercise you do is the exercise that works. I like to be a Low Drama Fitness Professional. Clients frequently seem to expect that I will dismiss whatever form of exercise they are already doing when they come to me to do Pilates. Nope. Won’t happen. If you are off the couch, up and moving, I am thrilled for you. I want you at least to vaguely enjoy if not outright love what you are doing, or at least the way you feel after the workout.  This is where a quote from the incredible Maya Angelou comes in: “I’ve…

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