Tales of Me and the Husband

5 tips to being a super mom or at least a mildly efficient one some of the time

{an oldie but goodie}

since being a mom of a little one, there’s a few things that have been clutch for me.  this website has come in handy more times than i care to count (speedy shipping!) and… a few more things.  but, let’s be clear: i still have a heck of a lot to learn (or, at the very least, a heck of a long way to go in terms of consistency.).  but, nevertheless, here’s a few of my tried and trues:

number one: don’t run out of diapers.  easy right?  wrong.  so wrong.  i order diapers in bulk, always, so it’s easy to keep assuming, “oh there’s more in the upstairs closet” until… there’s not.  when will i realize they’re not the loaves and fishes?  there is an end to them.  and how about a blowout in the last diaper in the house?  that’s actually a sort of scary place to be and i’m not even kidding.  you ever put a kid with a blowout in a car seat?  he ain’t happy about it.  and good chance that car seat is gonna take a beating and then need washing and then guess who’s not going any place at all until that car seat dries (and mine is this crazy squishy material that dries approximately 8 days after i wash it, no biggie!)??  me.  that’s who.  well, me and parker.  i’m pretty lucky though, i’ve only been out a few times and my local grocery store is not far, praise be.  but, yeah, keep ordering and then order some more.  (not to mention, there’s a million other things here–clothes, shoes, sunscreen, etc.–and seriously, the shipping is fast which is awesome.  plus, you don’t have to go anywhere.)

number two: a diaper station.  this was huuuuge for me.  i think my sister meghan told me this one and it was like a lightbulb moment and i hadn’t even given birth yet.  on each floor, there’s a diapering station.  preferably one in a cute wicker or wire basket (i have one similar to this one!).  at least ten diapers stacked neatly, wipes, a changing pad (though, i’ll readily admit, sometimes i skip the changing pad which is wrong) and some diaper cream/spray.  keep it stocked at all times, everyone knows where it is, all is well.  (and when they’re old enough that you can actually send them to fetch the diaper and wipes?!  well it’s both adorable and very handy.)

number three: go to sleep.  i’m terrible at this.  i won’t pretend that i don’t stay up late and then regret my late nights almost every single morning of my life.  occasionally i wise up and go to bed early and wake up refreshed and like myself and everyone else so much better but usually… no.  i get sucked in to some crappy television show and, well, tired bridget wins again.  but it’s actually a lose.  a huge one that i pay for all day.

number four: baby carrier!  baby carrier!  baby carrier!  can i say that three more times?!  parker lived in one allowing me to be hands-free and, quite often, with some semblance of a meal on the table for the family.  we both loved it.  i got to have him close and he got to be close.  it was a win-win-win-win.  this is the one we have.

number five: utilize your crockpot, folks.  i mean it.  i’ve sung the praises of my crock pot time and time again (here’s one!) but really, it can’t be sung enough.  no more handling raw meat, no more “dammit, it’s five o’clock and the chicken is still a rock in the freezer.”  the reasons are plentiful.  the possibilities are endless.  a crockpot is a cook’s best friend.  and especially a busy cook.

thanks to huggies for sponsoring!  head over here for $12 off any box of diapers on the page for first-time purchasers.  $12!  that’s like 40 free diapers, friends.  use code WOWHUGGIES at checkout!

any tips for me?  i’ll take whatcha’ got.  namely… when can i hope to not be buying diapers anymore??

travel series, no 2.: ashley’s guide to davis, california.

Ashley is a long-time blog friend.  I followed her before she and Aron added two kids to their family and before their move straight across the country.  Her blog is an incredible resource for travel, both with and without kids (I took some of her advice for this NYC trip!).  But you’ll find a lot more than just travel there.  Ashley’s here today to introduce us to Davis, California.  Thanks Ashley! 
I’m Ashley and I write Hither & Thither, a travel and lifestyle blog, from our home in Davis. My husband and I moved here—to his childhood hometown and the place where we first met and fell in love during college—two years ago with our then one-year-old son Hudson. We had spent the previous five years in New York City and were so worried about moving to a (relatively) small town, worried that we’d miss the pace of the city. But we love Davis. We’ve since had a daughter (Skyler is four months old!) and it’s an ideal place for young families. I chronicle much of our life—and write generally on topics ranging from food and family and fashion and wanderlust—on Hither & Thither. You can also find me, @AshleyMuirBruhn on Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter.

Some things Ashley and her family love to do in Davis:
Davis is such a small town (particularly as compared to the other places we’ve lived, like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York), so it’s hard not to think of the entire place as one’s neighborhood. I love that we can walk downtown, bike anywhere, and that we will usually run into friends or acquaintances (or family, because now my parents live here, too!) when we’re out. There are hundreds of miles of bike paths. One of my favorite routes is the Arboretum loop on campus. It hosts a wonderful collection of native plants—and even has a redwood grove.

Click to read more!!


People are really friendly here. And, probably because it’s a University town, most people have come from elsewhere or at least lived elsewhere and have an appreciation of other places and cultures—and of education! I’m grateful for that. Davis is often described, pejoratively, as a farm town; it is, but I love that we can look forward to produce from our neighbors at weekly markets. If you drive just a few miles in any direction, you’ll find farmlands, orchards, and—in the spring—wildflowers.
Thankfully you can spend time outside pretty comfortably year-round in Davis, but I always think about the true range in terms of the months the Farmer’s Market hosts its weekly evening picnics. Markets are also held every Saturday morning, but from March through October, every Wednesday, there’s also a picnic night with live music and things like pony rides and a rock climbing wall beside the farm stands in Central Park. It feels like the whole town comes out to sit on the grass. Sometimes we pass a troubadour playing beside one of the tables piled with strawberries and laugh that we’ve stepped into an episode of Gilmore Girls. I would suggest any visitor plan their day around a morning at the Farmer’s Market.
While I think one of Davis’s best features is its proximity to so many other fantastic places (Tahoe, Napa, San Francisco and, of course, Sacramento are all possible day trips), it’s also just a really sweet place to slow down. I love that our local food co-op hosts cooking classes, new parent meet ups, weekly barbecues, and has pint-sized carts for young shoppers.

Rapid-fire questions: 
// How long have you lived in Davis?
Two years as of September
// It’s Saturday morning and you’re starving.  Where do you go?
Fat Face (Sandwich stand at the Farmer’s Market)
// It’s Saturday night and you’re looking for fun.  Where do you go?
Bike to the Varsity.
// And finally, it’s Sunday.  You need to work off yesterday’s food.  Where do you go?
UC Davis Arboretum

Thank you so much, Ashley!  Any other Davis/Northern California tips?  Leave them in the comments!

graduation day (times two).

yesterday was such a whirlwind.  running to one school, running to the next, a quick stop to the grocery store for lunch-fixings, sitting in hot auditoriums for graduation ceremonies, parker catching short naps on the go, rushing here, rushing there, curling hair and painting nails… and on top of it all, a day of milestones!  graduation ceremonies and some teary eyes.
phew.  
it was crazy but it was good.  william graduated from 8th and lindsey from 6th.  (remember when they were this big?)  it was emotional.  i cried when the 8th grade processed in.  the music and everything did it to me and william!  he’s enormous.  i look up to him now (literally.  he’s taller than i am.).  it just felt like one of those big moments.  i remember them well from my own life and i can’t believe i’m here watching these two go through these milestones themselves.  how did we get here so fast?
i am really, really proud of them both.  they are really good kids, sweet kids who make good decisions and i’m so glad i get to be here for them.
we love you william and lindsey!

our scene.

so the other night, steve and i took a sunday night date to cambridge to see william fitzsimmons.  i may have had the lead of this particular date, but having listened to him enough when i’m playing him, he certainly wasn’t protesting.  it said doors open at 8, so we left our house (too late) around 7:20 or so.  do you know how hard it is to get out of the house at that hour?!  kids fed???  pajamas on???  you know.  so we get there about on time, park the car, show our tickets and walk in to a fairly empty room.  steve laughs and pokes fun at me, “wow bridge, this concert’s packed.”  but at the sinclair, an empty concert is like basically a serenade in your living room so WHO CARES STEVE.  but then i realize, maybe this thing isn’t starting right at 8?  the ticket said that’s when doors open.  i assumed an opener would be imminent but it didn’t even seem like that was happening.  we walked to the doors and i asked the guy, “do you know when this begins?”  “opener at 9, headliner at 10.”  10:00!  i’m usually half way to bed by 10.  this was gonna be a long night.  steve jokes that he’s going to run across the street and get a big caffeinated something.  we walk around cambridge which we really didn’t mind.  sunday was lovely, if you don’t remember.  got a bite at borders and eventually made our way back to the sinclair.  the opener was on, and eventually out came william fitzsimmons.  if you know his music, you know he’s very relaxed, very soothing music.  his voice is almost a whisper.  it could, if you had one too many, lull you right to sleep.  he’s funny too.  at one point he couldn’t read his set list and he said, “i think the whole thing just reads sadness.”  the nature of his songs.  they’re all feelers.  it was a really good concert.  anyway, by midnight he was wrapping things up (and the hunts were still there!  the hunts were still there!) and he and his bandmates came out onto the floor.  it was incredible.  “tight circle!” they said.  i mean, he was taking selfies with people and as people were leaving they were saying, “goodnight william!”  so casual, so fun.  his last song was finally my favorite (good morning–the first song in parker’s video!).  and there we were, maybe 30 of us?  practically in a trance from his whisper-singing, the late hour, and the mood in the room.  and then, what do you know, there’s a clatter behind the group, an “f*%$ you!”, a bouncer running past and throwing (literally, he threw a man) out the door.  it was… misplaced?  william said, “this happens at all my concerts.”  we all laughed, he finished his song, and we went home.  but steve and i looked at each other, nearly 1 am, like “this is sooooo our scene.”

strawberry picking.


these pictures feel so quintessential summer to me.  especially that one of strawberry juice running down parker’s chin and sunscreen all over his nose.  summer!  it’s really here!  we’ve had quite a few beautiful days in the last two weeks, so i’m starting to accept, no, embrace it.  i think it’s here to stay.

today we went strawberry picking (you probably noticed that?) with rachael and her girls lux and joan.  parker’s favorite thing in the entire world is strawberries (and blueberries, actually.  fairly typical, yes?) so to discover the plant!  that grows hundreds of sun-ripened beautiful strawberries!  it was a little bit of an a-ha moment for him i think.  at one point i looked down to at least three strawberries with nibbles out of them.  he enjoyed himself thoroughly and we got to bring home two pints of strawberries (for $5 no less!) to enjoy at home.  i always have these high hopes of making something with them, but we eat them all plain within about two hours of returning home so it never happens.  does this happen to you too?  rachael said she’d make a pie with them.  i’m skeptical.

this age is so fun.  he’s so communicative and so excited about these little outings we take.  as i put him to bed tonight, the last thing he said to me is, “pahkah wake up, go strawberry picking ‘gain.”

you got it, buddy.

happy father’s day!

happy father’s day to this dad, my own dad, my father-in-law and all the dads.
i seriously married up and have been reminded of it even more lately than ever.  this man works incredibly hard, loves deeply, and acts more graciously than anyone i know.  myself and our kids are so lucky to have him.
we love you, steve!!!
but seriously.  we’re so lucky to have a lot of great men in our life.  my dad, my father-in-law, the kids grandfather on their mother’s side.  they all have loved us so well and there should be more days to recognize that than just this one.  thank you so much, for all you do.  we love you denis, george, and tom!

what’s in my diaper bag. it’s totally interesting.

soooo… fair warning.  this is a sponsored mom-post if there ever was one.  but, let’s make this as fun  and painless as possible.  i trust it can be done!  and honestly, as i went to shop for these puppies and came along them in the target aisles i was like, “ok.  huggies.  you’ve impressed me so far.”

i’m the gal who’s usually lugging the three-pound (costco brand–is anything they sell not large?  trust me–package of wipes around in my non-diaper bag (it’s a baggu bag, and has been since the beginning!  nary a suitable diaper bag could be found and so, i made do.) and wishing i had a cute little ditty to carry them in instead.  i was definitely given one or two for my shower but… never took to them?  it sounds like some serious bonding is necessary to commit to a little wipes case and, well, i guess that’s what i’m saying.  the step of removing wipes from one container and inserting them into another was… too much for this mom?  whatever, it was one step that got swiped and so three-pounds of wipes came with us everywhere.  not ideal, but we got by and parker had a clean bum and that’s what mattered.  plus, some of them don’t seal properly?  and have you ever tried wiping a bum with a dry wipe?  no?  it doesn’t work well.

now, three pounds of wipes, plus a water bottle, phone, wallet, diapers, various lip accoutrements (yeah i said it), hand sanitizer, sunflower seeds and/or cashews, fruit leathers, almonds, altoids (coffee breath is real)… well, we’re looking at 10 pounds of bag and thirty pounds (these days) of child and one tired mom-bicep.  we need to cut down everywhere we can and swiping out my industrial-sized wipes for a sleeker, cuter, and lighter one?  okay.  i’m all ears.

but wait, we need to elaborate on the wipes.  i’m sure i’m the first to think of their multi-purpose use.  clean bum?  as though that’s all wipes are for?  please.  my favorite purpose for wipes is when i am doing a quickie clean-up and i use them on the stairs to capture all the gracie-tumbleweeds and other hunt dirt.  one wipe and i do a whole staircase, oh yes i do.  i turn and turn and fold and fold until that thing is covered in filth.  and don’t get me started on hands, faces, and dirty restaurant tables.  how about sweaty armpits?!  (just kidding.  i’ve actually never done that though, i’m not sure why.)  does anyone just use wipes for their true intended use?  is that a trick question?!?!

i feel like with posts like these i wish you could see me, my hand raised, “i solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth…” but i actually do like these huggies clutch wipes.  i had them sitting on the desk for the last few days, reminding me to write this post, and as i kept passing them i was doing a double take thinking, “okay, i really do like you, clutch-wipes.  and i really am going to continue buying you.”  it doesn’t scream “wipes!  mom alert!”  it’s just the right size has both a zippered opening AND the click opening on the front which i think is pretty clever.  and it has cool designs (i’m partial to the one pictured above).  plus a little snap thing for attaching to the stroller (or attaching to the strap of the bag on the inside if you have a mary poppins diaper bag where things disappear like i do!).  basically, good product all around.  nicely done, nicely done huggies.  a-plus.

your diaper bag?  what’s it weighin’ in at these days?  need yourself some clutch ‘n clean wipes?  oh yes you do.

a fault in our stars, lindsey, & cat stevens.

i saw the fault in our stars this weekend with two friends.  i remember crying through the end of the book on the front lawn wrapped in a blanket (a sorry sight, i’m sure) so you’d think the movie would have made me really weep but… at the risk of sounding like a terrible woman with a heart of stone but here i go anyway… it didn’t.  which is so weird for me.  i think i just wasn’t in the crying mood?  maybe augustus’ cigarette habit was throwing me off (it was.)?  i totally thought, several times, ‘bridget, you should be crying right now.’  i mean, i am pretty sure i heard sobs drifting through the theatre.  the kind that can almost be mistaken for laughter.  but not me.  (that’s not true.  for some reason the part that made me cry most was when they were coming home from amsterdam and the dad starts crying and embraces the mom and you just know that two parents going through what they are going through are a serious team.  and they’d only been gone three days.).  if anything really hit me in that movie, it was definitely seeing it from the parent’s perspective more than augustus/hazel.  not cause they didn’t do a good job.  on the contrary, i think shailene woodley did a bang-up job.  do we still say bang-up job?  i did.  alright, let’s move on.  i promise i do have feelings.
i’m listening to my most recent playlist and on it there’s some cat stevens and this one (the above) is really hitting the spot lately.  he reminds me of my childhood a little.  steve thinks he’s weird (why, steve?  care to elaborate?) but moonshadow and the like will always be late 80s for me growing up in new jersey.  so listen on, i do!
we went to a talent show at lindsey’s school today and they introduced each act before they came out and, what do you know, we hear: “next up, lindsey hunt singing a song she wrote.”  i looked at steve, mouth wide, like “did you know she was doing this????”  neither of us did.  she has sung the song for me in the kitchen, but definitely did not tell me she was going to perform it for the talent show.  i only knew she was singing a different one with her friends.  suffice it to say, she knocked it out of the park and has a million times more bravery than i ever did and probably than i still do.  grade school, singing a song, without music, that one wrote themselves???  i just can’t get over it.  oh, and i did cry a little, so remember i do have feelings.
this evening the two of us went dress shopping for an end of the year dance at her school.  we left after dinner and didn’t get home till after 9 (which is basically her bed time so… rebels we were.).  we checked a few places and ended up finding a keeper that we both agreed on (!!) at kohl’s.  i was willing to walk away with something that was less desirable to me that she loved but was more than pleased to find one we both liked.  it’s really quite cute.  and then as we were meandering through target for a last errand i said, “your black flats with it?”  and she slowly sort of squeaked out, “what about heeeeels?”  dead face emoticon.  heels!  singing solos in front of the school!  what’s next?!  i guess it’s sort of par for the course with these 6th grade dances.  so, we agreed on a pair of those too–a small heel.  really, a wedge if we’re getting fussy.  and they’re really cute.  she’ll look fabulous, i know.  and i might cry again.

mediterranean orzo salad.

I’ve talked about this salad twice now without actually sharing a legitimate recipe or picture.  I’m sure both suffice even so, but here I am, having made it a fourth time in… two weeks?  It’s just so good, sooooo easy, healthy, summery, insert any positive adjective and it’s that!
So, I’m sharing it.  For a third but sort of first time.  But sort of third time.
And bonus: whole family loves it.  We all fight over the leftovers.  It’s good room temperature or cold, you can change it however you want (like bacon?  I almost added bacon to it this past weekend. Why I didn’t was… I am a stupid woman.).  So on and so forth and so on.
I’m thinking it’s perfect as the main dish, perfect as a side.  Great for a backyard BBQ.  You get the drift.  Perfect, perfect, so good, so good, blah blah.
Mediterranean Orzo Salad
serves 4-5 as a main dish
2 red bell peppers, chopped
1-2 cucumbers chopped
1 1/2 pounds orzo, cooked
a generous handful of feta
a splash of balsamic vinegar
a splash of olive oil
a splash of your own homemade dressing (or Newman’s Balsamic!)
optional: pulled chicken, chick peas (they are in the pictured salad), black beans, 
crumbled bacon, grape tomatoes, blanched broccoli, a handful of spinach…
I chop all the veggies and add them to the bowl.  Then, when the pasta’s cooked, I throw it right over after draining it.  I never actually cook the veggies, but it ends up slightly warm/room temperature based on the cooked orzo!  Then I add the feta and dressing.
I foresee myself having the ingredients for this on hand all summer long.

taking stock / 01

Call me a copycat.  I’ll understand.  And here goes!

Making: play-dough creations (or watching them be made, if I’m being perfectly honest)
Cooking: steak tips and string beans and eating them on the porch on warm nights
Drinking: water with lemon and Arnold Palmers
Reading: East of Eden, yes, still (slowly because I’ve been busy, not because it’s not awesome!) and My First Farm Book (Parker wanted me to include that one.)
Wanting: these shoes (did I hurt my ankle jumping on that bandwagon?  Why yes, yes I did.  But I don’t actually own them, and probably won’t.  The price tag hurts a little.)
Looking: out the windows at how green everything is.  SO GREEN.
Playing: outside every chance we get (at non-mosquito-prime-times)
Sewing: really?  Nothing.  This list wasn’t exactly made with me in mind.
Wishing: for all warm weather all the time
Enjoying: the warm weather we’re given
Loving: Van Morrison, all the time lately.
Hoping: to perfect homemade pizza soon (your tips were amazing)
Needing: some new summer clothes (This is probably a want more than a need.  Probably.)
Smelling: brewing coffee in the morning
Feeling: like school shootings are becoming all too commonplace in this country
Wearing: sweatpants!  Don’t look so surprised!
Following: some amazing instagrams (this one & this one are favorites lately)
Noticing: how many words Parker adds to his vocabulary every day.  Mind-blowing.
Knowing: life is good
Feeling: reminiscent
Bookmarking: this book which is next on my list (a tip from my friend Ryan!)

Saw this first on Sydney’s blog, but originally from here I believe!

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