mommy bytes mommy bytes Software geek and mom blogs about her life. I blog about the trial of parenting and work. I also review books and classical music, keep up with many podcasts and send along fun things I find on the internet. 
Articles
The Naked Nirvana Baby Is Now 17
2008-08-15 05:34:00 Image Geffen. Do you remember when Nirvana released the Nevermind album? Well the baby on the cover art, Spencer Eldon, turned 17 on July 9th. Seventeen!! He was interviewed by NPR recently and I love this quote: Life in general isn't quite as "cool" as it was when he jumped naked in the pool in the early '90s, though, he says. These days, his peers are too stuck on the Internet and video games. Ironically, he yearns for the era that gave Kurt Cobain, the lead singer for Nirvana, so much angst. These days, Elden says, his peers concentrate on "playing Rock Band on Xbox, like, that's not a real band! That's the difference between the '90s and kids nowadays; kids in the '90s would actually go out and make a [real] band!"My birthday is within two months of Kurt Cobain's, so we were 24 when the Nevermind album was released. Needless to say, that makes me "wicked" old. I never much got into the music of Nirvana, although I always loved this album cover.&n... More About: Baby
Thursday Thirteen - Ways My Kids Differ
2008-08-14 03:31:00 Sure, my kids have lots in common, in their features, build, and intellect. But they are also different in remarkable ways. Dova eats fruit, Adam doesn't. Adam absolutely refuses to go near fruit. At first I thought it was my fault, but when Dova came along loving just about every fruit imaginable, I realized it was a kid problem not a parenting one. Dova loves all sorts of food, Adam has an extremely limited palate. Adam's diet can be summed up with chicken nuggets, pizza, ramen noodles and Joe's O's. Joe's O's is Trader Joe's brand of Cheerios, which is the only brand that he will eat, not even real Cheerios will do. He eats them dry with his hands like he has since he was six months old and goes through two boxes a week. Of course, Dova doesn't like them at all. And yes, he's eating some in the picture above. Adam is extremely mechanical, Dova isn't. I don't think this is a gender issue, as I am quite mechan... More About: Kids , Thirteen , Thursday
WW - Beach Fun
2008-08-13 02:20:00 Dova dances in the water. She looks like she's doing gymnastics. . Building sand castles. Watching the waves roll in. Adam buries his feet in the sand and then jumps out. --> More About: Beach
PageOnce, The Serious Aggregator
2008-08-13 00:56:00 You know how most social networking sites are completely fluff, where you can collect thousands of virtual friends, pretend to hob nob with celebrities, etc? There is one social networking site that is different from the rest, that comes across as a serious networking site, where you would only add your real friends. And that is LinkedIn. It is so serious, I don't even link to it from my blog because I use my real name. The same goes for web aggregators. There's iGoogle, MSN, My Yahoo! and Netvibes, which attempt to aggregate everything that matter to you on the web. But that falls flat because the big three (Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo) won't support the each other's email. And Netvibes is buggy and often slow. But now there is PageOnce. PageOnce is the serious net aggregator, much like LinkedIn is the serious social networking site. Not only do they seamless integrate all your email, and fluffy and serious social networking sites (including L... More About: Aggregator
Ruby Tuesday - Mission Candles
2008-08-12 04:40:00 I don't have a Tuesday Toot or a Silly Monkey Story for this week, so I thought I'd put my first entry in for Ruby Tuesday. Why are there so many Tuesday memes? This photograph was taken at Mission Capistrano in California. --> More About: Candles , Ruby Tuesday
Not Really an Old Lady After All
2008-08-11 16:29:00 Before the summer whittles away to nothing, I thought I'd put up my new "old lady" swimsuit from Lands' End. I was inspired by Mommy's Martini and others that sported new suits this year. What, my picture is too small? So sorry, gotta slim down somehow. Plus, I swore I would never wear a swimsuit on my blog! At the beginning of the summer, I thought I lost my old swimsuit, so I had an excuse to buy a new one (the old one showed up a few weeks later). Being able to go to Sears to try them on was a lot better than guessing from the catalog. I would never have thought to get a halter top! The only bottom they had in stock was the old lady skirted one, so I bought it because I've been checking the 41-50 age box way too many times lately. I much prefer the 35-44 range. It's bad enough being 41, but having to be in the same box with 50-year-olds? *Sigh* No offense, of course. My first test run with the suit was at the Hilton Garden Inn... More About: Lady
Photo Hunters - Dark
2008-08-09 01:13:00 There's nothing dark about Las Vegas at night, but I took this shot of the massive dark sky just after dusk. You can even see two airplanes flying by. --> More About: Photo , Dark , Hunters
The Olympics, Geography, and the Seven-Year-Old
2008-08-09 00:42:00 Photo Doug Mills/The New York Times Adam and I watched part of the spectacular opening ceremonies for the Olympics on the super lucky day of 08.08.08. He was fascinated by all the Chinese drummers, many of them who looked just like him. Just when I thought I was having an intelligent, educational conversation with him... Mom: Athletes from every country in the world come to the Olympics (OK, not true, but close enough). Adam: Even from Egypt? Mom: Yup. Adam: Australia? Mom: Yup. Adam: Turkey? Mom: Yup. Adam: The South Pole? Mom: No, no one lives at the South Pole. Adam: The North Pole? Mom: No one lives at the North Pole either. Adam: Santa does! Mom: Oh yes, you're right.Foiled by the Santa police! --> More About: Geography , Year
Angela Needs to Get Away from Her Kids
2008-08-08 04:56:00 I was looking into the meme where you Google your name with the word "needs", as in "Angela needs", and I came across this hysterical video. Luckily, I haven't totally flipped out at work and I hope Doug won't resort to this behavior when he returns to the workforce. --> More About: Kids
I will be at BlogHer Boston!
2008-08-07 04:50:00 I missed the big shindig at BlogHer in San Francisco this summer, but really I'm too anti-social to be able to enjoy such an event. I just viewed the awesome photos from the Alltop/Kirtsy party at Guy Kawasaki's house, saw the bathroom at the People's Party, listened to the interviews at 5 Minutes for Mom and read the keynote speaker posts, all from the safety of my computer. I'm totally not cool enough party like that. But since I have no previous engagements on October 11, and BlogHer Boston '08 will be less than 30 miles from my house and costs only $100, I really don't have an excuse to avoid it. I even threw my hat for a panelist spot. Eek! Forgot I was INTJ for a second. So if I survive this, and Blogher '09 is somewhere within driving distance next year, I may just attend next year. Please help my cause by voting for NYC in their poll: <div>&a mp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.micropoll.com/akira/mpvi ew/456366-1...
WW - Sparklers
2008-08-06 04:28:00 I totally failed to capture any decent fireworks photographs this year (mosquitoes, couldn't see the manual focus ring, etc.), but I did get these shots of Adam working the sparklers. I purchased them at Walmart in New Hampshire on a whim, "just because I could". The whole week before the Fourth of July, the traffic sign on Rt.3 from New Hampshire into Massachusetts read "Warning! Fireworks are illegal in Massachusetts". But of course not in "Live Free and Die" New Hampshire. Afterward, I learned from Prevent Blindness America, that sparklers are the second leading cause of firework injuries that require a trip to the emergency room, with most sparkler injuries seen on preschool-age children. Um, thankfully Adam is wearing glasses, and that's the last box of sparklers that we'll buy. You can see from the trails that the sparks travel quite far. So much for being wordless this week! -->
Tuesday Toot - Rock Climbing
2008-08-05 05:57:00 This year, Adam nearly made it to the top of the rock climbing wall at Atlantis Marine World. Last year, he made it about half way up. Dova made a valiant attempt in her first try ever, but this is as far as she got. You'd think with that stance and determination she'd climb right up, but I think the harness weighed her down. She was actually less than the 45 pounds minimum weight, but was heavy enough to descend while testing it out. On the playgrounds, she loves to climb everything, so she'll be climbing this wall soon enough. Last but not least, here's Doug near the top. I, of course, am too chicken to try climbing the wall and prefer to stay behind the camera. --> More About: Rock , Tuesday , Rock Climbing , Climbing
Photo Hunters - Clouds
2008-08-02 07:46:00 This cloud looks like New Hampshire's Old Man of the Mountain. This landmark has since fallen in 2003, but here's a composite picture of it before and after. All the state road signs have his profile on them as well as the New Hampshire quarter and it's a shame that the younger generation will never get to see him in person. As Quentin mentioned in the photo comment, maybe he has risen and become a ghost in the clouds. --> More About: Photo , Clouds , Hunters
Summer Photo Contests
2008-08-02 07:30:00 Dova absolutely loves the beach, and I was glad to capture her jumping in the waves. She is always so carefree and enjoys life to the fullest. This photo is my entry for not one, but two photo contests about summer. Check out them out at 5 Minutes for Mom and Write from Karen. --> More About: Photo , Summer , Contests
Happy Birthday J.K. Rowling
2008-08-01 05:35:00 . I learned from my Brainiversity game that today was J.K. Rowling 's birthday (who says video games are useless?). Have you pre-ordered your copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard? The Collector's Edition looks beautiful and probably even smells wonderful being leather bound. But for mere mortals, the Standard Edition is also sure to please. I am currently around page 170 of Harry Potter's fourth book. This might sound way behind to all you literary types, but remember that I am reading all the Harry Potter books aloud to Adam in quiet times without Dova (she has no interest yet!?!). This book is decidedly more advanced than the first three books. Obviously, breaking the 700 page mark allows for a much slower pace, more details and more backstory that isn't necessarily action-packed every moment. I am enjoying it much more on an adult level and Adam is still enrapt by the series. Have you stopped by contest bytes recently? I have a giveaway ... More About: Happy , Birthday , Happy Birthday
Blogging Goodness - Email Form and Mobile Site
2008-08-01 01:11:00 After doing the super easy route of using Contactify for a while (and getting a handful of complaints), I decided to put a real contact form up on the site. I actually signed up with 10 services or so before I found one that met all my criteria (free, configurable, ad-free, captcha, etc.). The only thing it doesn't have is access for the blind, but my email address can still be found on my Blogger profile. So you can benefit from all my research by going straight to 123Contactform.com for your contact form needs. Name:* Email :* Subject:* Message:* Verification No.:* Powered by 123ContactForm . For the mobile version of this site, I had been using Wirenode, but I found MoFuse to be much cooler. Their button fits perfectly in my Subscribe section and the iPhone site looks darn slick. var mf_siteid="mommybytes"; --> More About: Mobile , Blogging , Site
Thursday Thirteen - Travel Trivia
2008-07-31 01:25:00 The average cruise ship burns approximately 1 gallon of fuel to move just 6 inches.The Queen Elizabeth 2 burns 433 tons of fuel in one day.Carnival Cruise Lines puts more than 10 million chocolate mints on their guests' pillows every year.Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas is the first ship ever to have its own zip code (33132-2028).Voyager of the Seas is 42,000 tons larger than the US Navy's largest aircraft carrier.Voyager of the Seas features a 15,000 square foot fitness center, 9-hole golf course, 200-foot rock-climbing wall, two-story library containing over 3000 books, and a regulation-size ice skating rink. The wingspan of Boeing's 747 is longer than the Wright brothers' first flight.American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first class.The Eiffel Tower uses 7,500,000 kilowatts each year with over 500,000 for illuminations. By changing the lighting for the Jefferson Memorial to LED and metal halide, ... More About: Travel , Trivia , Thirteen , Thursday
WW - A Walk Through Avalon
2008-07-30 04:01:00 "In Size Order" "Looking Both Ways" At Avalon Park & Preserve in Stony Brook, NY. --> More About: Walk
Silly Monkey Story - Adam is always making faces
2008-07-29 05:39:00 It must be hard growing up with a camera constantly in your face, so Adam has a store of silly faces to put on. Here are some recent ones: I'm a monkey. I'm so bored... I'm so ticklish. We're tongue-curling kids. --> More About: Story , Monkey , Faces , Silly
Be Buddies Not Bullies
2008-07-29 04:44:00 This awesome anti-bullying t-shirt was designed by an 11-year-old student and is sold through verimeri.com. Three percent of proceeds from this tee go to Free Arts for Abused Children. All the tees from verimeri are designed by kids through school, camp and non-profit fundraising contests. You can also vote for your favorite designs for their online contest. Meri Zeiff founded verymeri with the thought of promoting positive messages for children. "As a teacher, I was incredibly surprised that I never saw clothing that expressed the joyful, whimsical things I was hearing my kids say every day. I decided to launch a t-shirt line, using kids' designs that gave voice to their unending creativity with positive messages, beautiful colors and inspirational ideas." So go check out verimeri.com! --> More About: Bullies
Photo Hunters - Hanging
2008-07-26 00:58:00 This week's "hanging" theme was a piece of cake because we must be a family of monkeys. Besides, the family that hangs together stays together right? Here I am hanging upside down and blind-folded for a "leadership" off-site training course. For the low-down on this experience, check out this post. Here's Doug hanging upside down at the playground. Here's Adam hanging upside down at the playground as well. Did I mention that we were a family of monkeys? Dova was so proud that she jumped up and caught the bar to hang from. --> More About: Photo , Hunters
Tees For Change - How Green Are You?
2008-07-25 03:46:00 Being green is all the rage these days, but how green are you really? The Environmental Leader Daily lists the green segments of the population according to Mediamark Research & Intelligence?s Survey of the American Consumer:Un-Green : These consumers place little value on preserving the environment and they put convenience and price before pro-environmental factors. They don?t buy organic food, don?t recycle and have no involvement in environmental groups.Green at the Supermarket: Members of this segment are Green, but not always because of the environment. They often ?buy green? and eat organic foods, most likely because of health concerns - not necessarily out of concern for the environment.Green in Theory: Members of this segment are Green by self-description, but not in practice. They say it?s important to protect the environment and to be in tune with nature, but their choice in products doesn?t necessarily back this up. They are not involved in environmental groups or caus... More About: Change , Tees
Sex and the City - Good to see the girls again
2008-06-10 14:04:00 Sex and the City : Amy Sohn: Books It's extremely rare that Doug and I go out for a movie and I've been lucky enough to choose the last two (No Country for Old Men and SATC). We were fans of the TV series almost by accident only because our cable package included HBO for about a year around 2003. HBO was always running marathons of SATC and we watched practically all the episodes and became quite fond of the four stylish gals. In April of 2003, I had a week-long training course that was held onsite in my company. The instructor broke the ice by asking us to tell the class what our favorite TV show was. This was actually quite revealing as I learned a few things about my co-workers. No two people answered alike. There were answers like Survivor, Fear Factor, Trading Spaces and a book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad. And when it came to me, I racked my brain for something other than Sex and the City, but in the end, that was my answer. So what does that say about me? Being a fans of t... More About: Girls , Sex and the City , Good
WW - Misunderstood Anti-Hero
2008-06-10 01:35:00 When I bought Adam's Mario game case, I also spotted this one for Wario. I saw the tag line, "Misunderstood Anti Hero ", and I knew it was for me.--- Thanks for reading this feed. Please stop by to comment!
WW - Dova Plays the Piano Expressively
2008-06-08 15:40:00 This is my first try at using my new Canon Speedlite 430EX flash. The only room in our house with a white ceiling is our living room, so Dova posed next to the piano. She can't play yet, but she seems to have the "moves" down already. --- Thanks for reading this feed. Please stop by to comment! More About: Piano , Plays
Meeting Nate Ball of Design Squad
2008-06-08 05:10:00 Back in April (can you tell I'm way behind in blogging?), we went to WGBH's Science Saturday at their new Brighton studios for an awesome kids event. The main attraction was Nate Ball of Design Squad with a live demonstration of his Ascender. Check out the video and you can see why he is the perfect host for the show. I actually sent in my resume for the casting call because I heard they were looking for a female engineer to co-host the show (I think I was way too old and was never called). You'd think that I wouldn't be so star-struck in front of a fellow MIT alum, but no, I was more comfortable hiding behind the camera while Doug talked to him. Perhaps a career in TV isn't in my cards!We met other PBS characters like Arthur and Ruff Ruffman, but the kids wouldn't go near them for a picture (they obviously take after their mom). We also met Jory Squibb, the creator of Moonbeam, a 100 mpg microcar: I couldn't believe how he let all those crazy kids climb all over his car!... More About: Meeting
Photo Hunters - Bad Hair
2008-06-07 01:17:00 My hair is always flying in the slightest breeze, as shown on the swing here. Adam always wakes up with the worst bed head and he refuses to brush it. I have better things to do in the morning than to chase him around with a brush. He got the best of both Doug's and my hair, slightly curly and extra thick. This should more aptly be named "bad corn in the hair" from when Dova was a toddler. Here's Dova on an extremely windy day on Cape Cod. If you noticed that Doug doesn't appear with bad hair, it is because his hair is always perfect. We were once up at the top of the Empire State building and the picture of my hair looked like above, and his hair still picture perfect. Maddening! --- Thanks for reading this feed. Please stop by to comment! More About: Photo , Hair , Hunters
Thursday Thirteen - My Favorite Firefox Add-ons
2008-06-05 07:12:00 Another geeky Thursday Thirteen . Here are thirteen Firefox add-ons that I use all the time: 1-ClickWeather - With current conditions and forecasts always shown, and radar at the click of a button, it even beats even the TV for getting weather information. Tip: Use it in the menu bar so it doesn't obstruct automatically sizing windows when it is in the status bar. Adblock Plus - Need I say more? Ads magically disappear off of sites. Wish I had it on the iPhone Safari browser. Commentful - I use this if I want to be informed of updates on an interesting post that I comment on. I also tag my own profusely written comments so that I can find them again (usually grabbing the text for my own blog post... It isn't plagiarizing if you are the author of the comment right?). Del.icio.us Bookmarks - I live and breathe del.icio.us. Plus I am always using more than one computer. Can't live without this one. Download Statusbar - The default Firefox download int... More About: Favorite
WW - Jumping is not limited to the snow
2008-06-04 06:24:00 OK, I have to admit that I actually encourage these wild ones to jump off the slide to I can post these awesome pictures to the blog. This was actually the first time that Dova dared to jump off the top. And if you don't know what I mean by jumping in the snow, here is a small example from a few short months ago: Brrr!--- Thanks for reading this feed. Please stop by to comment! More About: Snow , Limited , Jumping
Happy 4th Blogiversary - Dona Nobis Pacem
More articles from this author:2008-06-04 02:40:00 What could be more appropriate than to celebrate my blogiversary on the day of the BlogBlast for Peace!! Isn't it finally time for peace in the world? Check out the official site for more peace globes.And it is my fourth blogiversary! Here is a delectable I found on Flickr:Image from kylie lambert (Le Cupcake-Australia)In honor of my blogiversary, I did some sprucing up around the blog, with a happy, hippy flower background, a real about page, real comments, and a more comprehensible post footer (I know this only means something to me, but it did take a while to get everything just right and resurrect the broken quick-edit pencil). Finally slapped a CC license on the blog along with my photos, because I'm a liberal hippy kinda chick (but don't steal because I'm watching you!). I'm very happy to see my feedburner count finally hit the 100 mark (although a lot of it is probably me syndicating myself ad nauseum). But most of all in the last year, I'm grateful for being part... More About: Happy 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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