Mother Movies

This weekend was my first mother's day! Last year I was still a mom to be, and despite having a little human rolling around inside me, I had no idea how much my perception would change once that little human was out in the world. To celebrate, I've come up with 4 non-chick-flic mom-centric movies that would make for some good late night viewing once your kids are in bed.

Brave (2011)
OK, maybe you can watch this one with the kids. Brave is one of the few Disney movies where a mother is present and active. In fact now that I think of it, it might be the only Disney movie where a mother is present and active. After accidentally transforming her mother into a bear, feisty Merida must work with her to break the spell before it becomes permanent. If you've ever had a huge fight with your mom you'll be able to relate.

The Tempest (2010)
This adaptation of Shakespeare's last play has Hellen Mirren as the main character Prospera. It's fascinating to see how much the gender swap informs the play's relationships. Her relationship with daughter Miranda transforms from patriarchal to protective. Her reluctance to free Ariel has a hint of empty-nest syndrome. Director Julie Taymor's trademark bells and whistles may put off some movie goers, but the great thing about Shakespeare is that it's all about the performances, which the top of the line cast more than delivers.

Oedipus Wrecks/New York Stories (1989)
Woody Allen's contribution to New York Stories could be considered a nightmare scenario. After a magic trick mishap causes his mother to disappear, Allen breathes a sigh of relief until she reappears in the sky above manhattan, and airs his dirty laundry! A short movie for the time strapped mama that might give you hope for the day your kids will listen to your advice, even if it takes a little magic.

August Osage County (2013)
A portrait of family dysfunction. You've probably never seen so many amazing actors as such unlikable characters. At it's heart, August is a look at finding the strength it takes to rise above such a hostile home life without becoming the person you hate. Definitely not a warm and fuzzy, but darkly funny.

In the Den

We're two months away from my daughter's first birthday! Party planning is underway albeit at a less frenzied pace than you'd expect since we're also in the process of finding a new place to live. We've had the hottest summer and coldest winter on record here and that really exposed the quality of our current apartment and it's lack of insulation. We're probably paying the same amour for gas and electric that you'd pay for a small house!

We're most likely going to have to downsize, which in the end should be a good thing since it will mean more money saved up over all, and a shorter wait till we have enough for our own house.

What's on Amazon

I discovered a cute little series where some really great actors (Jeremy Irons, Derek Jakobi, Joley Richardson) examine some of Shakespeare's plays. It's fun to watch the process these actors go through as they bring Shakespeare's characters to life by looking at the historical context of the plays and also aspects of Shakespeare's life that may have influenced his writing. My favorite moment is at the end of the Richard II when Derek Jakobi comments on his performance by his younger self in a BBC television production.

Hope you all had a great Mother's Day and don't forget your dads next month!

Getting ready for Lent

It's Fat Tuesday! I originally planned on making merry with pączki and gołąbki since it's also Saint Casimir's feast day and being half polish I wanted to delve into my culinary heritage, but because of the forcasted snomageddon I wasn't able to head out to the grocery store and had to peapod it. I'd fault peapod for not having some of the things I needed in stock but really the amount of things that don't make it to my door is about the same as the amount I forget when I go out myself. Only I got to stay home in my toasty 72 degree apartment! I call that a win.

So instead I'm going Italian and making some sausage and linguine with zeppolis for dessert. I'm not exactly sure if zeppolis are specifically a Fat Tuesday staple but they fit the criteria: fried dough and sugar. 

Lent has been regarded as a season of penance and self depravation, but since last year and this year I'm exempt from fasting (pregnant and nursing) I've been using it as an opportunity to do something charitable as a way of thanking God for everything I've been blessed with. 

Last year I donated to locks of love. Anyone who can grow their hair long should do it at least once in their life! The feeling you get from doing something so simple is so incredible. I'll never forget when I was at the post office to drop of my package. The postman noticed the address and my short 'do and said "Aww you cut your hair, that's so sweet." Instant good feeling warm and fuzzies! 

This year I'm back to my regular crochet program, so my goal is to crochet 40 granny squares in 40 days to make a blanket to donate to one of my favorite charities Project Linus. Stash busting, charity, and the opportunity for quiet meditation as I crochet each square, I'd say that's a good recipe for Lenten reflection and soulful decluttering.

What's on Amazon

I finally watched all of Caddyshack straight through. Previously I'd only seen the beginning, end, and a couple parts in the middle. Now I'm really looking forward to the summer! Although I'd only play golf with Rodney Dangerfield. 

In The Den 

I don't know if it's like this with most babies but my daughter got her first cold, three teeth, and started sitting unsupported all within 2 weeks! It's unbelievable!

She also hasn't been able to nap anywhere but in my lap on the boppy or on my shoulder. Although I'm getting pretty good at doing things with one hand and with my iPhone ( like this post), I'm really hoping this is just a phase that'll end soon. I'm trying to keep in mind that before I know it she won't want to be less than 500 feet away from me. 

We're in the second half of her first year so I'm gearing up for her first birthday party, by which I mean getting a Pinterest board started. I've always had a jungle theme in mind, you know like Survivor. Great minds must think alike because Katy Perry stole my idea for her Roar video. 

I'm hoping I can exercise some photoshop muscles and create our own invitations to print. I feel some pressure since this sets a precedent for the rest of my child's birthday parties. It's an opportunity to show off some creativity and make some lovely memories. In other words pictures will be taken so it has to look nice! No pressure!!!

What Else is on...

So we're kicking out Netflix in lieu of Amazon Prime since we've been doing more online shopping (is there anything in stock in brick and mortar stores?). But oh my goodness I probably would have gotten it sooner if I had known what was on. 

Pretty much every award winning movie from the 90s is on here, the ninja turtles movies, the old MGM biblical epics, and probably my favorite documentary ever Looking for Richard. I really can't list how many shows and movies are on here that I'm a fan of, there's that many.

But by far the best discovery I've made in streaming is the Dana Carvey show on the Crackle channel, which is blowing up after it's Super Bowl spot. This show was so ahead of its time. I remember watching this show in my grandmas kitchen and thinking the impressions were funny. But watching it now I realize a lot of the jokes were way over my head because I was just a kid. It's a good thing English wasn't my grandma's first language!

In the den

My daughter was baptized this past January. I wanted to keep things low key but I was so happy we had such a big turnout from our family. My awesome MIL made so much food, we STILL have frozen leftovers in the freezer. 

I've been something of a shut in since the weather in the northeast has either been freezing, snowing, or freezing and snowing. You'd think seeing as I'm "home all day" the place would be immaculate, but cleaning has just become a sisyphusean nightmare. 

But it's an excuse to wear cozy slippers and cardigans and sip warm beverages while snuggling with my little one! And to take advantage of our streaming services.

Resolutions for 2014

I love making resolutions! I don't just make them on New Year's I love them so much. I don't care that I usually don't keep them, it's never a bad time to resolve to better yourself.

Here are my loftiest resolutions for 2014:

1) Improve time management skills

This will bring about all other resolutions. My biggest setback is poor time management skills. There will still be mostly random times of the day where I have to stop what I'm doing and take care of my baby, whether that's feeding, cleaning, playing or what have you, but the rest of the day I should be able to jot out time to do this and that which will allow me to endeavor the following...

2) Get Organized

I have clutter everywhere. Clutter that's followed me from my childhood home to my first apartment with my husband to our apartment now. There's a lot I can get rid of, and the rest need a home in my home where they can stay and return when I'm done using them.

3)get cleaner

Having a baby necessitates this. She's not crawling around yet but she'll be there before I  know it, so I need to get better at housekeeping. I really need to change my attitude about this. I have so many emotional hangups when it comes to cleaning and decluttering. I wish I could just get hypnotized and have whatever it is in my brain that makes it impossible for me to keep a mountain of clothes and crap to form around me removed or erased, but really I need to just work at it and do the brain rewiring myself. It's like learning a new language. Maybe I can do that too while i'm at it!

4)Exercize and Eat Healthier

I definitely overdid it during this past holiday. A couple years ago a lost around 30 pounds by changing up my diet and starting an exercise regimen. I know it's doable so i'm not stressing so much about it. It all goes back to time management. 

5)Sell My Crochet

people have been telling me for years that I should sell what I make. I think i've finally mustered up the confidence to try!

6)Make More Guilt Free Time for Me

Again, this goes back to time management and cleaning. I'd feel better about crocheting or blogging (or taking a nap) if I'm not thinking "boy, I should really sweep those stairs".


What's NOT on Netflix

This list posted on Reddit has all of the movies and TV shows that are no longer available. I didn't even know so many titles were available to begin with! Netflix needs to promote more of their collection instead of just showing the same titles over and over again as their recommendations.

Lots of luck to all of you in the new year!

Why you should consider keeping your kid off of Facebook

Though at this point it's a ubiquitous part of everyone's life, we decided pretty early in my pregnancy that when the time came we wouldn't be posting pictures of our daughter on Facebook. My husband and I have both had profiles since our college years, so we have the typical love/hate relationship with Facebook and the influence it has on our lives.

This has been surprisingly one of the HARDEST decision we've made, especially when we see all of the other cute babies our family and friends are proudly showing off. Our baby is the cutest baby in the UNIVERSE!! It would be really easy for us to cave and I'm surprised we haven't fallen off the wagon yet. However we've also been saved from some headaches we've seen other parents have to deal with.

If you're an avid Facebook user it may not even be a question as to whether you're going to post pictures of your children, but like anything you decide to do as a parent I think it's worth taking a look at some potential repercussions. DISCLAIMER: You are not a terrible parent for posting pics of your kid on facebook.I'm just sharing some of the reasons why we decided not to do so in the hopes of creating some discussion.

1) Your Child's Privacy

60 Minutes recently did a story on how developers are able to use Facebook's database of faces (all those tagged pictures) to create facial recognition software advertisers can use to target consumers. This may sound a little conspiracy nutty but it seems to me that its only a short jump to Big Brother being able to follow us around a la Minority Report. The technology already exists, it's just a matter of who's using it. We're hoping to keep our daughter off the grid until she's old enough to make her own decisions about her identity and whether or not she wants a web presence.

2) Everyone Else's Sanity

Lets face it, there are people out there who overdo the baby on facebook thing. You know the ones: their photo albums are time lapses of their kid's first year. Considering we have over a thousand pictures of our daughter from her first month between us thanks to our iphones, I'm sure most of our friends would tire pretty quickly from the cuteness overload. And they would overload. Very quickly. She's really cute!

3) Save Yourself from Criticism

Everyone has their opinions on child rearing and I'd hate to be the source of dinner table gossip after posting a pic of something I decided to do with my daughter. When you post a picture of yourself or your family on the internet, it's there for everyone to put in their 2 cents.

4) The Future

I fully expect at some point that our kids will want to be part of whatever incarnation of social networking that is around, and most likely it will be when they are way too young (or at least what we will consider way too young). I feel that if I give my child a web presence at this point, it would be somewhat hypocritical of me to tell them"no" later on when they ask if they can have a facebook or twitter or whatever will be around. I won't be keeping them off of the internet if they're already on there.

5) You're Forced to Keep in Touch

Though Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with family and friends, it's also lead to something of an over-casualization of correspondence since it's super easy to just like a post or leave a comment and not add any more depth to the interaction. It takes some effort to gather all the physical and email addresses of friends and family that you'd like to stay in touch with! Our solution to sharing our daughter's milestones without Facebook is to send out a monthly email, as well as holiday cards. Everyone likes getting a card in their mail or pics of cute babies in their inbox! There's something about having something physical to open up and look at like a picture or card that satisfies our caveman brains. People become more invested in your child's progress if they only see pictures every so often and have something they can stick on their fridge. 

If you do decide to keep your kid off of Facebook it's important to go over your decidion with your family. You wouldn't want someone to ruin all your effort by posting a pic from a party. So far our family and friends have been very respectful and understanding and some have even applauded our decision.

We're also well aware that by emailing pictures Google has a copy for themselves that they can use however they like. So in the end is it an exercise in futility? Maybe, but we're trying our best to minimize any web presence our kids may have before they're old enough to make their own decisions on their web identity.

Today on the Liturgical Calendar

I hope you're all having a merry Christmas! Today is the Feast of Stephen of Christmas carol fame. I know I'm plum tuckered out from all the Christmas food and fun yesterday, so today is a day for relaxing and watching my baby play with her new toys.

What's NOT on Netflix 

I'm not sure when Netflix's license for Jim Henson studio films expired, but when it did so did some of their great Christmas specials including The Christmas Toy and one of my favorites Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas. I might just have to get a hard copy for my holiday viewing. Until then you can see some of the musical numbers the Jim Henson YouTube channel.

What's on Netflix: Holiday Edition

The Christmas Spirit is in full swing at the Hunter house, and my favorite way of taking in some Christmas cheer is to put on a holiday movie. After some backbreaking research involving lots of popcorn and hot chocolate, I've come up with the following selections for your Holiday viewing pleasure:

1) Lady GaGa and the Muppets' Holiday Spectacular

Kudos to ABC for putting this on Netflix. It's your old fashion tv Christmas special delivered the only way Lady Gaga and the Muppets can: with quirky, goofy skits and eclectic costumes. If you're not a big Gaga fan or if you're a bigger Muppet fan, you may find yourself wishing for more muppets. Then again who doesn't want more muppets!

2)The Radio City Christmas Spectacular

This performance was televised to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the show. I have to admit I was sobbing hormonal mommy sobs while watching this as I'm eagerly anticipating the day I can take my kids to see this show live. But in the meantime, I'm glad it's available to watch since it's really an incredible show. There are a few pitfalls that come with filming a performance that's designed for the stage. Some of the set pieces are reliant on the point of view from the audience so the perspective is a little off, especially during the numbers where a background screen is utilized. But all in all it's great family viewing and great for those who can't make it out to New York to see the show live. 

3) Nutcracker: the Motion Picture

This 1986 production of the nutcracker features sets and costumes designed by Maurice Sendak. A whimsical and surreal interpretation of the classical ballet. Warning: your kids might be obsessed with ballet for a while after watching it. I was!

4) All I Want for Christmas

This is a great New York Christmas movie and stands as exhibit B that the real Santa can be found at Macy's Herald Square (see exhibit A: Miracle on 34th Street). It follows a brother and sister as they try to get their divorced parents to reconcile by Christmas. Featuring Lauren Bacall as their grandmother and Leslie Neilson as Santa!

5) White Christmas

The classic musical will make you long for those Radio Days. I did always find the May-December match of Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney a little creepy, but it's easy to overlook as you get swept up by the singing and dancing. 

6) Love Actually

This movie will go down as my generation's contribution to Christmas classics. It spawned many ensemble holiday movie knock offs (see Valentine's Day, New Years, etc) but none have captured the warmth of this film and the complexity of the characters' relationships. I probably like Laura Linney's character's story the best.

7) Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mickey Mouse

House of Mouse was Disney's Saturday morning cartoon that featured classic shorts book ended by stories of the goings on between various Disney characters at Mickey's club. This edition features a couple of newer shorts, but concludes with Mickeys Christmas Carol. This used to be a special that aired every year on CBS. It features Mickey as Bob Cratchit, Goofy as Jacob Marley, and the giant from Fun and Fancy Free as the ghost of Christmas Present, and of course Scrooge McDuck as Ebeneezer Scrooge. It's fun to try and find all the other Disney characters that appear throughout the film. A great retelling of the classic Dickens tale.  I'm glad it's available for streaming for this generation of kiddies.

8) Veggie Tales: Saint Nicholas: A Story of Joyful Giving

If you're looking for a movie for the kids that keeps Christ in Christmas, this movie is for you. It follows the Veggies as they tell the story of Saint Nicholas's life and learn about the true meaning of Christmas. This movie does a great job of meshing the story of St Nicholas with the myth of Santa Claus

9) A Very Barry Christmas

This quirky stop motion film finds Santa trading places with an Australian safari owner and his misfit animals including a clumsy kangaroo and a thespian platypus. Nothing says Christmas like stop motion Santas.

10) The nightmare before Christmas

This is my all time favorite holiday movie because it combines my two favorite holidays! You can watch it guilt free from October to January. From the Danny Elfman score to the comically macabre characters, this movie has Tim Burton written all over it. Jack Skellington is so charasmatic that his merchandise is still selling today. This is one of those movies you can watch over and over again and still find something new in each frame.  

So grab some hot cocoa and popcorn and fire up your steaming device for some Christmas movie fun!

Christmas Miracles

My 5 month old loves the mistletoe. It hangs on the through way between our living room and den area and has a little gold bell that she never fails to look at when we pass under. I'm not sure if she's come to expect a smooch every time we pass under, but she's always delighted to receive one.

While she's too young to learn about Santa and elves and come to expect magically delivered presents, watching her ooh and aah over our humble decorations really brings me back to the simple joy of the season. I never get tired of watching her marvel at the lights or ornaments that we jingle at her. And although it's been snowing in the northeast, she's infinitely more fascinated by the curtains on the window than the white stuff outside. Future interior decorator?

All of the little discoveries that the new kids in my life make bring back memories that have been buried so deep in my brain. When my daughter sucks on her taggies hippo I can remember the taste and feel of satin versus cotton. When my 3 year old niece kicked the door stop expecting it to bounce back, I remember doing the same to the door stops in my grandmothers apartment and loving the deep "boing" sound they made as it waved back and forth.

I hope this nostalgia also brings understanding. When my baby is a toddler and getting in all sorts of trouble I hope I take the time to remember what it was like discovering the world for the first time.

What's on Netflix

I was really hoping The Lion in Winter was available for streaming. It's a great Christmas movie if you love great acting and medieval history. But alas, its only available on dvd.

Instead I watched Becket, in which a younger Peter O'Toole plays a younger Henry II. It's incredible watching Richard Burton as the archbishop of Canterbury and Peter O'Toole as the king as they duke it out in a classic "church and state" feud in what may be the original "bro-mance". Great acting, medieval history, a great movie to remember Peter O'Toole by.