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How to Enjoy a Trip to Mammoth Lakes (With Kids!)
The snow reminds me that Mother Nature has not completely forgotten to give us water.
The fresh air reminds me to breathe.
The cozy cabin reminds me to bond.
And the fireplace reminds me to drink something hot and sweet (with Baileys in it?).
My family travels to Mammoth Mountain many times a year, taking a grateful sigh of relief when we see the jagged outline of the Minarets, looming behind Mammoth Mountain — our welcoming committee.
Ten minutes later, we turn off the highway and cruise into the chic, yet cozy, Mammoth Lakes village.
The town is intentionally kept quaint, but has an obvious layer of modern influences and a thriving youth culture.
9 Amazing Things That Happen When Adults Start Coloring
Coloring in the outline of a trendy owl will make you a better person.
The hardest part of coloring is starting. My initial thoughts, upon setting my adult coloring book and colored pencils on my little TV tray, was, “Shouldn’t I be doing something more adult? Like scrubbing a toilet? Eh, it says ‘adult’ on the book so I’m good. But what if I suck at coloring inside the lines? Embarrassing.”
And then I started and didn’t look up for two hours (except to get a glass of wine, because wine makes you better at coloring). Here’s what will happen when you start.
- You slip into a vortex known as “the zone.”
And it feels amazing. Instead of grubbing on a tub of frozen sugar or binge-watching Bravo, you can make your escape through a classic childhood pastime. The zone (sometimes known as hypnosis) feels so fabulous, it’s like an emotional massage.
White House Video Montage!
Healing Through Altruism
Gratitude Break!
What If An “Easy” Day Isn’t So Easy?
8 Truths About Having a HypnoBirth
It’s basically like creating your own personal fantasyland.
The idea of pushing a human out of the vagina is incomprehensible, even if you’ve already done it. The foreign woods between pregnancy and the postpartum experience, childbirth, are a fantasy land where the body, mind, and spirit are pushed past their limits to a space where they’re floating in timeless (sometimes painless) amnesia.
If you’re having a natural birth, without the aid of a childbirth preparation method, you must move through the bowels of pain before you reach the fantasy land.
If you’re having an assisted birth, sans childbirth preparation tools, you must wait for the needle to be injected before you flow into the fantasy land.
If you’re having a hypnobirth, you create your own fantasyland and get yourself there as soon as possible.
A hypnobirth consists of mixing the ins and outs (emphasis on “out”) of traditional childbirth preparation, like conscious breathing, uterus and perineum education, and how to not pulverize the birthing partner emotionally or physically, with the real gems like affirmations, visualization, and the crown jewel: self-hypnosis.
How to Stall Labor Interventions
Many doctors have places to go and other patients to see, so they like to move things along. But guess what: if you’re pregnant, you’re not sick — you’re not even a patient. You are a client of the doctor, moving through a natural and extraordinary transition in life. If you choose to accept a bit of intervention during the birthing process because you feel it is the right choice, I think that’s great.
As a doula, my frustration enters when interventions are pushed on women that do not want them — women who are comfortable and content with the progression of their labor, but have overzealous care providers pushing unnecessary needles, apparatuses, and drugs on them because the care provider wants to “get that baby out” pronto.
I don’t believe these care providers push medical assistance on birthing women to complicate their situation; I believe they do it because it’s what they know, and it’s what they were trained for. Many obstetricians who practice in hospitals were primarily educated to manage births that are flush with special circumstances — and that’s fabulous, I’m so grateful women who need that specialized care can receive it.
The Pregnant Woman’s Guide to Disney World
Are you pregnant? Do you like to tap into your childlike wonder? Do you enjoy the occasional giant cookie and churro? Perfect. You’re going to love Disney World.
You may not be able to free fall in the Tower of Terror, but you can still get your kicks on Safari (with real animals!), watch Broadway-level performers flip around while belting out a Disney ditty, or quell your pregnancy hot flashes in cool and comfy capsules that transport you through the Haunted Mansion.
Come to think of it, all of my favorite attractions (and the attractions my toddler can attend) are all pregnant lady-approved.
But before you hop on a ride …
Why I Celebrate My Honest Postpartum Body
Tell her she’s beautiful. Tell her she’s perfect. Tell her she deserves to feel at home in her body.
Remember the ditty “Do Your Ears Hang Low”? Well… Do your boobs sag down, do they jiggle to and fro? Do they swing to the right and then reach down to the floor? Mine do. At least, I think they’re mine.
The postpartum boob transformation occurred quicker than the flick of a baby finger. My old breasts were small, perky, and fluid-free. These new things attached to my chest are droopy bags, albeit fabulous droopy bags. They fill with and distribute milk, but they’re just so different and devoid of perkiness.
And “my” stomach — where did that come from? It’s flattish, wide, and different. It’s so different from the stomach I came to know so well. Come to think of it, the only parts of my naked postpartum body I recognize are my knee caps. They’re not saggy … yet.
How We Deal With Post-Baby Sex Guilt
Having a baby sent a surprising jolt through my sex life. I was expecting that aspect of my life to be as dry as the Mohave until my child left for college, but I was wrong.
Sex became a forbidden fruit I constantly craved. The strange sex dreams pregnant women often have started for me after the baby came out.
Before the baby, sex was a daily staple in our relationship. It was lovely and relaxing–and it was totally expected. Throughout pregnancy it did slow down a bit, but could still be done on a whim and without limits, with the exception of my protruding belly.
The constraints of a baby spiced things up and taught us to pre-plan our sexcapades, which was actually sexy. And while the anticipation was delicious, there was also another feeling: guilt. The guilt was horrible.
11 Things You Never Thanked Your Grandmother For
Is your Grandmother cooler than you? Mine is.
Who doesn’t love a trip to Grandma’s house? The presence of a grandmother (even if she’s not your own) is nurturing, grounding, and full of random bouts of wisdom. There are so many gems grandmothers offer, and we often forget or never get a chance to thank them for all the goodness they bring to life.
One of my grandmothers passed away many years ago, leaving a trail of love, laughter, and greatly-appreciated kookiness in her wake. The other one is still partying and creating serious change across the United States via Amtrak trains. They’re the epitome of badass.
If your granny is still around, call her up and thank her for the following. She’ll brush it off with her old school humility, but it will warm her heart.
I’m A 27-Year-Old Mom and I Still Don’t Feel Like An Adult
Here’s to being an adult while feeling like a whimsical child still trying to figure it all out.
I usually look around for an adult when my son is misbehaving. It’s like I’m the babysitter waiting for the sage parents to come home and properly parent. Then, I would go home and be properly parented by my adults.
I thought having a child would be my prerequisite for feeling like an adult. “When I have a child, I will feel like an adult.” But I didn’t — and I don’t.
Where’s the omnipresent wisdom, pant suits, financial security, maturity, self-confidence, autonomy, clear decision-making, practicality, belief that I know what the heck I’m talking about, and cocktail parties? Where have all the cocktail parties gone?
I’m living the motto of “fake it ’til you make it” — I’m good at simulating those adult characteristics (I rock a stellar pretend pant suit), but when will I officially make myself into an adult? Is there a course I need to take?
What Happened When I Stopped Taking Selfies for a Month
I started living when I stopped taking selfies.
If I stare at my picture long enough, all of my positive features begin to fade to the background while my imperfections zoom in and laugh at me. I love selfies, but they mock me.
If I’m the one taking the photo, I have to take between fifteen and twenty before finding a decent one, all while muttering, “No darling, that’s wrong, so wrong. Try a new angle. Don’t smile like that. Don’t grimace. Why is one of your eyes more open than the other? Don’t open your eyes so much, you look like a crazy person.”
I started living when I stopped taking selfies. I also stopped looking at other people’s selfies, which made me like them more.
My Worst Fear Came True
I have a recurring nightmare of a tornado ripping through my house and sucking me up into its bowels.
I grew up in Austin, Texas where the threat of tornadoes was present, but not looming — we have a lot of hills.
Memorial Day 2015 my family camped at our property by the Pedernales River, outside of Austin. The Super El Nino had begun to make itself known, and it had been raining in Austin the entire month of May — but no severe storms.
Our first day camping was dry until dark clouds pushed in around 2:00 p.m. The rain began and the adults hunkered down under tarps with Cards Against Humanity and jumbo bottles of wine, while the kids played soccer in a progressively expanding mud pit.
How to Travel to Costa Rica With a Baby
Warm water, magenta sunsets, giant plates of nachos, and monkeys (loud free-roaming monkeys that don’t mess with your stuff)- me thinks I found heaven in Costa Rica.
You know this place is incredible if I can call it heaven after traveling seventeen hours, via airplanes and cars, with a baby. Yes, I had the support of my partner, parents, and brothers, but I’m the mom with the boobs full of milk.
The magic of Costa Rica made every ounce of anxiety-ridden travel worth it. I even plan to eventually follow in my wanderlust cousin’s footsteps and move my family to this eco-friendly paradise for six-ish months.
If you have the desire to explore the gem of Central America (and why not?) with your baby, here are a few words of guidance from one parent to another.
Healing Through Altruism
Rules of the Playroom, According to a Toddler
Dear Parent,
As much as you like to think you make the rules, you’re just fooling yourself — at least when it comes to the playroom.
When I come to town, it’s “game over” organized bins, clean walls, and fully dressed dolls. A new sheriff has arrived and I have a fresh set of laws.
- Thou shall not look at, or talk to, me whilst I am smashing my tiny truck into my line up of LEGO® DUPLO® bricks. I don’t care how cute I am — I will demand a snack, a snuggle, or a viewing of my favorite animated characters if you break my play flow, yo.
Bailey Gaddis Blog 