Rock Shic: January 2017

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January 2017

01/31/2017

#789 Year of the Rooster

Yowza! I can’t believe that a week and change has already gone by and it is now officially the last day of January. (In my defense, like a typical mom with a three year old and a newborn – all of the days just basically blend into one big mush).

However, in spite of my semi-zombie-like state half of the time, this weekend still marked something quite special in the Rockshic household… it was Chinese New Year!!! More importantly, it’s the year of the Rooster, which is MY YEAR (i.e., the year of my zodiac sign).

For those of you scratching your head, the Lunar calendar is synchronzied with twelve different types of animals (with the exception of the cat, but that's a whole other story), all of whom are organized in a certain order. Legend has it that this specific order was based on a “race” that the emperor made all the animals in his kingdom run, and thus the animals are ranked based on who came in first, and so on. There are several fun books that you can purchase for your little ones to tell them all about the Chinese Zodiac, and this mamma got them all! (Now that my oldest is three, he can really grasp some of these concepts, plus it makes for excellent bed-time reading material).

Tradition also has it that when it is your zodiac year, called “ben min nian” (literal translation = “same life year”), it’s quiet monumental (i.e., life altering events occur).

If this is anything like my “ben min nina” twelve years ago, when I: (1) met my hubby; (2) got engaged; (3) got my first job straight out of graduate school and thus sealed the deal that I would be moving to New York – then yes, this year – the year of the Rooster – is going to be MEGA!!!

P.S. Did I mention that it’s also customary that you should wear red undies all day, every day when it’s the year of your zodiac? Or, at a minimum, you must wear something red that’s permanently attached to you #alldayerryday… and what better means that your cheeky intimates? Yes, yes, I know – this all sounds a bit superstitious for your modern-day fashionista, but better safe than sorry right?

Besides, this little lady here does not need *any* excuse to go out and buy some fun lingerie!! Just in time for Valentine’s day no less.

Happy Lunar New Year to all – may this be a great one for everybody!!!

Posted on 01/31/2017 at 07:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

01/20/2017

#788 Milestone Baby and Rockshic

Happy Friday!

Today my little hunny turned 6 weeks old!!!

It’s crazy to think, also, that 3 whole weeks have gone by since we’ve been in Southwest Florida – and not just any weeks… we’re talking NEWBORN weeks.

They say that the first few weeks (and months) in a baby’s life are the most critical, and they’re not wrong – this is why we have companies like Milestone Baby to capture all of those magical moments for us. Time during those initial days carry on a different meaning, a more momentous one, if you will, considering everything that you’re going through. For a mother, it means dealing with changes in your newborn, bringing a new life into this world, acknowledging and tending to changes to your body, and giving yourself a solid pat in the back just for making it through another day. This is why newbie parents love to document and celebrate the first weeks and months of their child’s lives. “We made it!!” It screams, “we made it through another day, another week!!!” Those weeks then add up to months, and eventually… years.

The beginning days are also the most important, medically speaking… this is why we have doctor appointments up the wazoo (some might argue too many), which then eventually slows down as your baby gets older. My three year old only goes to the doctor once or twice a year now, and only when he’s really sick, or when he just turned another year older. The last time we went (for this three-year check-up), we no longer got an update on what percentile he rests on the growth charts. Instead, we received the equivalent of a manful hand-shake from Soho Pediatrics, and the exaltation that our three year looks, grows, weighs, and acts like a four-year old. Just like that, all those years of anxiety and over-servicing went straight out the window.

I suppose having the wisdom of all of that from my first-born, ought to make me calmer with my second. While my rational side certainly feels more confident as a parent – my all-encompassing, every-day and emotional self is still the amped up worrywart mummy that I’ve always been. Perhaps I treat my little Nuke #2 more delicately because of our first week experience at the NICU (an encounter like that would shake any parent to the core, me thinks). Even though he is growing just fine (he’s now 12 pounds and stretching too big for many of his 0-3 months footies!!), I still fuss over how much milk he’s drinking, the way he drinks, how frequently he drinks, and all that good stuff. Perhaps I do myself a disservice by constantly comparing him to his older brother and how well my first-born grew over the course of those initial few months, but I still can’t shake the fact that perhaps something is amiss. (All of this back and forth led to our discovery yesterday that perhaps our little man has acid reflux, which is quite common in newborns and also very treatable).

All to say, at the end of the day, in spite of my apprehensive tendencies, I am still extremely proud and ecstatic that we’ve made it this far!!! I suppose I’m not alone in feeling this way as a new mommy. Thank you, Milestone Baby, for helping me chronicle my little munchkin’s progress and joy every step of the way! Here’s to many more special “firsts” to experience, and I can’t wait to share all of them with you, my darling readers.

At his first well-visit in Florida!!! He was exactly 4 weeks old at that stage and we had just been in Naples for a little under a week. Doc said that he was growing like a champ, and sweet pea weighed a whooping 10 lbs 11 oz at his visit.

The moment when we finally brought our little Rockshic Baby #2 home from the hospital!! See the video below of his big brother finding him in the bedroom for the very first time #PureGold

Posted on 01/20/2017 at 10:04 PM in Rockshic Baby #2 | Permalink | Comments (0)

01/18/2017

#787 Flowers, Books, and Coffee – A Girl’s Best Friend

Next week, I’ll be jetting back to NYC for a quick, 24-hour whirlwind trip. It’ll be difficult to leave my two little munchkins behind (the little one will be six weeks by then!), but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. Mamma’s got to a doctor’s appointment to see about her c-section recovery (do these stitches go away by themselves or what?). Plus, we’re currently in the midst of a bunch of real estate deals, moving houses, etc – all of which I’ll go into more details later, but suffice to say I still do have some business to take care of.

Lastly, and possibly the most fundamental aspect being, well this little New Yorker is just plain homesick.

As much as I love the sun, sand, sangrias, and palm trees (and believe me I am positively obsessed with all of the above), I do miss that metropolitan city vibe that you just can’t quite get in the Gulfcoast (nor would you wish to, might I add). You do you Florida!!

For one thing, you don’t really get a lot of independent coffee roasters… nor do you see a combo of coffee and flowers (and books) as delightful as this one!

This all took place the week before munchkin #2 was born, mamma was a couple of days past her 38 week mark, and she desperately needed a haircut. So off I went to Flatiron to the Foster Glorioso Salon and en route, wouldn’t you know it, I came across this little gem of a coffee shop called Toby’s Estate (160 5^th Avenue btw 20^th and 21^st street). Amazing coffee and pastries (they even carry my beloved Doughnut Plant!) What’s better, it’s attached in the back to a little outpost of Strand, adjacent to the ever effortlessly-chic Club Monaco flagship store, AND it had this beautiful display of flowers by Putnam and Putnam. These days, I am all about flowers and terrariums, and just about anything green. Ask hubby, I can’t seem to walk past orchid plants without taking something home (they do grow extremely well down here in Southwest Florida you know!).

That said, and perhaps with a mixed sense of both nostalgia and anticipation, I’m sharing a few photos I snapped from my excursion at the Flatiron. Perhaps I should have titled this post flower, books, shopping, and coffee… all the things a girl can wish for really!

Related:

New York On My Mind features Rockshic

Coffee Styling In Jamaica

Posted on 01/18/2017 at 09:44 PM in Weekend Style | Permalink | Comments (0)

01/11/2017

#786 Gelatos in the Sun – the Perfect After-School Treat

So… we’ve been down here in Southwest Florida for exactly 10 days now (not counting the first day of arrival, which I’ll have to chronicle another time re: flying with two bubs in tow). Slowly but surely, we’re settling into a routine of sorts, though the details are yet to be completely hashed out. Overall, it goes something like this:

Mornings for mummy generally start around 5-5:30am. I know, brutal. Prior to this, my little munchkin would wake up anytime between 2-3am for a middle-of-the-night feed (this guy’s a real snacker!). I can’t be too cross with him because at roughly 4 weeks, this is what he’s meant to be doing.
After powering down on caffeine (thank you Nespresso), dressing my older munchkin (and making sure that all of this apparel have his name on them…), I then somehow manage to usher him into a car, and drive him to his Montessori school. This process sounds quite straightforward on paper, but in reality can actually be more complicated than navigating major-league dissenting Board Room politics if you ask me. Why it take a three year old 20 minutes to get dressed, aka “dress himself,” I’ll never know.
After drop-off (combined with more coffee), I then desperately try and do some much needed personal/professional admin (such as answering week-long e-mails and other critical follow-up's). Then I pump – usually in the car whilst driving (yes I get funny looks on the road but I just smile and wave). Finally, I come home to my munchkin #2, and the rest is history. I still need to work out what exactly happens between that chunk of time, which theoretically can range anywhere from five to six hours, but to be perfectly frank, at this rate I simply have no idea. If I'd venture a guess, it goes something like -- feed, burp, sleep, cry, wash... repeat.
Then around 4pm I get ready to turn around and pick up munchkin #1. In theory this should also be a rather straightforward process, but for some reason I can never manage to get out the door in time, and then if I leave anytime later than 4:30pm, then I am doomed to hit horrific traffic on the way. Win! #Momlife

This gets me to the actual theme of today’s post, which is all about “mommy and Nuke Baby” time after school. I won’t lie, I do harbor some guilt for “leaving” my little man in school for what is effectively a very long day (his hours are theoretically 8:30a to 5:30pm – a full 9 hour work day for most folks). I suppose this guilt will never really go away as life will only become more complicated. In fact, shouldn't this current stage be the "easy" bit?

Given all of this, I always try and plan something special for us to do after munchkin's school pick-up… be it a quick trip to the beach, or dinner and a treat, or – as was the case yesterday, a jaunt to our neighborhood promenade in Bonita Bay for some shopping and gelato (can you believe that he actually has a "favorite" gelato spot?). Okay, so it ain't exactly the school of hard knocks here. Though I must say, the amount of adjustment my three year old had to do over the past week has truly made me one proud mamma!

P.S. It's hard to believe that this is the SAME young man from almost two years ago! (See my last post here of us taking a gelato break). One thing we can all agree on – time certainly stops for no man!

Related:

The perfect gelato break

Starburst Kisses in the Sun

Posted on 01/11/2017 at 01:35 PM in Gulfcoast Living | Permalink | Comments (0)

01/10/2017

#785 Personalized MAM Pacifiers – the Perfect Bespoke Baby Accessory

Happy Tuesday! We are getting into a better sleep routine here in Casa Bonita Springs (still not missing that pesky NYC winter), now that mamma’s properly fortified herself with coffee and sugar. I still need to work on my post-partum series, given that we’re into Week 4 already, so please stay tuned.

In the meantime, and continuing my love affair with all things MAM (see: www.MamBaby.com) – I wanted to update you on a fabulous new feature that MAM USA is offering! Personalized Pacifiers!!! You can find them at ShopMamBaby.com.

Perhaps you’re not as excited about this as I am, but they make the cutest gifts, and are absolutely fabulous for a munchkin as unique as yours. I, for one, a pretty darn pleased that my little guy is finally starting to take to his pacifiers (he was spitting them out left and right ever since he came home from the hospital – leaving hubs and I perpetually perplexed).

This is my second time dealing with a newborn (although sometimes I swear that I data-dumped half of my knowledge bank from the last time!). Some things remain ever constant though, see my prior feature on fuss free babies and MAM here, circa 2013! There are many things that are quite different between my two boys (my second one is a big snacker, for one, unlike his big brother), but one thing does seem to remain true, which is that both my boys seem to love their MAM pacis, with their soft silicone and curved shields that rest comfortably on the baby’s face. I must say that having been well accustomed to the company since my first baby, and dealing with a well-established baby care company that dates back to 1976 in Vienna, I can at least rest comfortably knowing that my baby is I good hands. As a matter of fact, I even included these puppies as part of "essentials" for sleep-training your baby, see the full guide here.

Now, if only my three year old toddler would stop stealing his little brother’s pacis, that would be fantastic!

Related:

MAM and Fuss Free Babies

Rockshic Guide to Sleep-Training Babies

Baby Blanket Music -- Soothing Composition for Bubs

Posted on 01/10/2017 at 01:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

#784 Mammas’ First Museum Outing in an Enchanted Forest

Even though we are no long in NYC (and despite the fact that it is mercilessly cold there), a piece of me still misses the city. When it comes to culture, dining, and nightlife, you really cannot beat it! Although let’s face it, the only kind of nightlife that I’m getting these days is 1-2 hours sleep (if I’m lucky), interspersed with feeding, burping, and changing, but that’s a whole other story.

In the meantime, I’m here to let all you NYC-dwellers (and visitors) know that you have exactly FIVE MORE DAYS (until January 15, 2017) to see the Pipilotti Rist exhibit at the New Museum before it closes for good! Mamma was lucky to take BOTH her munchkins (plus her bestie and HER new bébé) to the museum during the last week of December, when Rockshic Baby #2 was just 2 weeks old! Tip for young shavers, it is always best to team up with one mamma whose kid is about the same age as yours, particularly during those early days when you can encourage each other to get out of the house and feel like a real person again. This sage advice was first passed down to me back in 2013 from a colleague of mine over coffee, when I was still preggars with Rockshic Baby #1, and it couldn’t have been more true.

Lucky for us, we only live a block away from the New Museum, so really, there was zero excuse to not have seen this amazing installation exhibit! It took place over three floors of the museum, and the interactive nature of it all is perfectly suited for the wee ones and their aesthetically-conscious grown-up chaperons.

My favorite were the lights on the third floor, a kaleidoscopic dreamscape that truly took my breath away. It made me think of a star-lit, cherry blossoms festival, with psychedelic magical powers… if such a thing existed. The fourth floor ain’t bad either, lots of comfy cushions and beds for you to lie down and admire the moving, ceiling art. Of course, my three year old toddler was busy switching beds and taking his shoes on and off. I think the highlight for him was that he got to jump on “all of the beds! Especially the HUGE one!!!”

Oh, and it’s also not a bad experience for sleep-deprived mommies such as ourselves, as your entire life is like one big blurry dreamscape anyhow at this stage. Just don't forget to fuel up with coffee... lucky for us there is the Hester Street cafe downstairs in the museum lobby, reminiscent of the Hester Street Fair, featured here!

So yes, as I said, please please please do go before it’s too late! Just be sure to purchase tickets on-line so you can skip the queue.

The good news is, if you do happen to miss this amazing New Museum exhibit, you can also catch a video by Pipilotti in Times Square every night this month at midnight. Though I assure you, this mamma will be asleep by then!

Posted on 01/10/2017 at 07:05 AM in City Baby, Museums and Such | Permalink | Comments (0)

01/09/2017

#783 Return to the Beach - His Happy Place

Happy Monday! Yes, it's just as manic as ever...

By now we've already spent an entire week down here in Naples Florida, and what's more, my precious baby bundle is officially one month old! One month!!! Seriously, where has the time gone?

As I said in my earlier post, we've been settling nicely down here, much better than I had anticipated. No complaints from any of us, particularly as it's getting so darn cold down in the Northeast! Hubs flew back last night and shared a photo of the snow-covered airport runway with me, suffice to say it didn't look pretty! I am quite happy to have both of my munchkins down here in sunny Florida with me, thank you very much -- even if it's not quite beach weather today as the temp has dropped massively (but still in the high 60's and 70's!!).

Speaking of the beach, these photos were taken earlier last week after we picked little man up from school and went to our favorite local neighborhood spot (aka Gumbo Limbo at the Ritz Carlton Naples) for some dinner, sunset cocktails, and of course, sand and beach time! Little man calls it "sha sha" (砂砂), and I just find that beyond adorable (I'm a bit biased of course). My first munchkin has been going there every since he was a wee little thing (see here), and our love affair with this joint is as strong as ever.

Good thing we squeezed in some beach time, as the weekend was also pretty chilly, interspersed with rain. My mum called it "New York"' weather -- though clearly she hasn't seen how much snow actually landed in NYC. Needless to say, we'll take that as a win! There will be plenty of future opportunities for sandy beaches with powder white sand.... For now, we can relish on our memories on Vanderbilt beach at the Ritz Carlton Naples (#rcmemories2017) and enjoy the "sha sha" at his school's playground. As he exclaimed to his grandma over the weekend, here he gets "sha sha everyday!!!"

Mamma will take that as a massive win.

Related:

Holiday Brunch at the Ritz in Naples

Reminiscing -- Walks on the Beach

A night at the Ritz Carlton Naples -- Reimagining Romance

Sunday Chills with Rockshic Baby

Mi Familia -- Beach Style

Beach Style Baby -- Bonita Springs, Florida

Our #familyselfie turned out quite well, if I don't say so myself! Thanks to hubs' orangutan arms.

Posted on 01/09/2017 at 12:04 PM in Gulfcoast Living, Ritz Carlton | Permalink | Comments (0)

01/04/2017

#782 Back in Sunny Florida

Well hello there! I am typing away on my patio overlooking the waters as we speak, and I must say – so far so good, no complaints from this mamma here, not even about sleepless nights!

Looking back on my last post in Florida (circa 2016), I was pretty spot on when I said that it’s hard to bid adieu to something that you truly love. As much as I was torn about leaving NYC (and let’s face it, it will always be my first love), there is something incredibly magical and relaxing about our lifestyle in the Gulfcoast that I can’t quite put into words. Somehow, things are just a bit calmer here, the days become a bit longer and more manageable, and the overall environment simply helps to center me.

Maybe that’s it, I simply need to revitalize myself after the frenzy that was 2016. Again, I wasn’t kidding when I wrote, at the beginning of 2016, that the year was shaping up to be INTENSE!!! I was so dead-on (more than I cared to be), and perhaps Mercury in retrograde did have something to do with it after all!

In any case, today marks our third full day in sunny Naples, and I couldn’t be happier or more pleased with the way things are going. We’ve managed to set up the house nicely (there’s still a lot to be done of course but at least we’ve got the basics down), and our three year old has even settled in quite well at his new Montessori school. There’ll be growing pains of course, but at least this means that our active little munchkin will have plenty to do during the day – because there is absolutely no way that hubs or I can keep him occupied ourselves, not even for a full hour. My mini newbie is also adjusting well. I need to finish setting up his “nursery,” but he seems to be liking the sunny weather (who wouldn’t?), and we’ve even set up his first (ONE MONTH!) well-visit this Friday… at the same pediatrician his big brother has been going to since 2013. So yes, things are happening...

I suppose it helps that our family has been wintering in Southwest Florida for the past few years (I still remember our initial arrival here circa December 2013) -- certified snowbirds that we are.

This trip marks our fourth winter spent in Naples, and the first as a family four! We pretty much know our way around town like the back of our hands (hubs less so as he hardly ever drives when we’re down here but he’s been learning fast!). That said, mamma’s certainly not shy of new discoveries, so any recommendations, please bring it on!!

Related:

Bidding adieu to Florida (sort of)

Florida-bound for Christmas

Posted on 01/04/2017 at 12:09 PM in Gulfcoast Living | Permalink | Comments (0)

01/02/2017

#781 A Family of Four!

Happy New Year and hello from Southwest Florida!!! We just arrived yesterday... and yes, the last few days have been nothing short of a whirlwind experience.

This post marks Rockshic's FIRST ONE for 2017, and it couldn’t have been a more momentous one. Our little Rockshic Baby #2 arrived a little over three weeks ago (yes, I can't believe that three weeks has gone by!!!), and we couldn’t be more over the moon with our little bundle of love. I have to say, having two kids is far more difficult than I had ever envisioned (surprise, surprise) – but also so overwhelmingly rewarding! I never realized how my perspective would change so fundamentally from having one child to two, but I've quickly learned that love is truly multiplicative, even if your priorities shift based on what is immediately in front of you.

In short, it now feels like our little family is more complete than it’s ever been!

To give you a sense of our initial days... well, it was real touch and go at the very beginning, something I will go into further detail later on when we get more settled. Suffice to say, our little baby munchkin had to spend a full seven days post birth in the NICU, largely because he had a potential bacterial infection of unknown origin (to this day the doctors still don’t know what caused the fever, and they’ll likely never know). It may not seem like much now, but those days of separation from my newborn baby boy were tremendously painful -- some of the more difficult moments I've had to experience as a parent. Oh yeah, and post-partum!

Never mind all of that now, I just can’t believe that our little Nuke Baby 2 is home with us and it’s already been more than two weeks! We’ve done quite a lot since, which I’ll definitely catch up on over the course of the next few days… but for now, I just want to share a few treasured photos with you all from the first few days. They really grow so fast these little people – my guy was born 8 pounds and 13 ounces (NOT SMALL! Though decidedly smaller than his bigger brother) and is now nearly 11 pounds strong. Growing like a weed and I just wish that time would stand still so that I can savor every moment of this.

I also wish that I would get more sleep and have a constant supply of coffee pumped through my veins, but that’s a whole other story.

Related:

Rockshic Baby #2 Announcement

Milestone Baby and Rockshic