Thursday, April 30, 2015

Skirtathon. You can totally mock the narcissism on display here. It would be weird if you DIDN'T.

So, on April 1, a friend of mine from grad school FB messaged me and asked me if I wanted to be in her super secret FB group Skirtathon, where a bunch of -- mostly-- academics wear dresses or skirts every workday of the month and post selfies.  Um what?  OF COURSE I DID.

The rules were simple.  A skirt or other garment with a hole in the bottom every M-F.  A DIFFERENT skirt, no repeats.  Leggings OK if it's cold; jeggings less OK but you gotta do what you gotta do.  And, of course, selfies.

I have missed talking about academic fashion since the incomparably wonderful blog Academichic closed up shop back in the day, and I am super vain, so this group was a great fit for me.

It was an AWESOME FB group- so body positive and supportive and full of discussions of work-life balance that came about naturally in people's breezy descriptions of their outfits.  April was not the cruelest month this year despite the deadlines that are kicking my ass.  And, since I have NO SHAME and have already shared these pictures with 150 (mostly) strangers on FB, let me show them to you, too.

Even though Skirtathon only asks that you wear a skirt M-F, I did some weekend skirt-wearing, too, so here are 25-ish pictures of my dressy month.  And yes, feel free to mock the shit out of this post for even existing.  I deserve it.

Day 1:  Kind of cheating with a Target dress over Old Navy jeggings, but I was taking everyone to the zoo, because the April Fool was on me and school was closed so.
 Day 2:  Going to Little Gym, so I needed pants.  Target dress, Old Navy leggings.
 IDK-- I appear to be baking? Old Navy shirt, "vintage" H&M skirt, and Anthro apron
 Go Badgers! Oldest Gap skirt in the world that used to be HUGE on me and now is a little snug.  Ah, the wonders of childbearing.
 Old Navy Dress, Stitch Fix sweater.  My favorite Frye boots and seriously why the eff is it this cold in April also my family all left and I had to use my self timer.
 It was always hard for me to wear skirts on W and F because I work from home, but before Skirtathon, I never would have thrown a sweatshirt over a maxi dress, and I LIKE it.  So much that I dressed Dorothy the same.
 World's most comfortable Gap dress.
 Little Gym again,  Old Navy dress, H&M leggings.
 Bonus costume skirt-wearing
 Monday morning, using the self timer, and trying to persuade Dorothy to pose with me.  H&M skirt, Old Navy top, Target booties.
 Old Navy dress and sweater, Minnetonka booties, sad, sad pigtails.
 Another dress and sweatshirt (both Old Navy) for awkward Wednesday
 On my way to a conference in a Target dress and sweater, Coach shoes, and Anthro jewelry
 Little Gym in a Target dress with Minnetonka mocs and cut-off Urban Outfitters shorts underneath.
 Saturday conference presentation in a Stitch Fix dress, H&M jacket and belt, and Miz Mooz shoes
 Out to dinner in an Anthro dress and necklace and BCBG heels.
 Stitch Fix dress, ginormous necklace from a South Dakota rock shop, truly ludicrous hairdo.
 This looked SO MUCH BETTER with the jacket open, but I was running late, and Cooper was balanced precariously on a chair to take this.  Dress and tights Old Navy, jacket H&M
 At the cardiologist with Harry, face because this is a total bummer of a crappy outfit.  Dress H&M, leggings Old Navy.
 Anthro dress and necklace
 One more awkward Little Gym skirt ensemble.  Old Navy dress, H&M leggings, most comfortable Reef flip-flops.
 Concerned smile model's own.  Dress and sweater Old Navy.
 H&M dress, Target sweater, lame, lame smile.
 H&M dress, Old Navy sweatshirt
 H&M dress that I always think is new but that I bought for my 10 year high school reunion about 10 years ago.
So there you have it.  ALL MY DAMN CLOTHES ARE FROM OLD NAVY, TARGET, OR H&M.

I need to stop pretending that I am ever going to look any different than this and buy expensive clothes that fit me.  Like Stacy and Clinton said I should for all those years.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Henry, pretty much the best baby ever: Some observations

 After spending some time with sweet baby Henry today, I have some observations.

First of all, I think my breastmilk had that lipase problem that made expressed milk gross because my expressed milk was gross and smelled soapy and none of the kids ever wanted to eat it.  But if you click that link you'll see that the solution to that problem is to scald all milk before storing it, and seriously?  Who the hell has time for that and you KNOW I would burn every batch.  So I guess I was destined for extreme AP-ism.  I say this because Henry's mom's milk looked totally normal-- like milk from a jug-- and he chugged it down happily with a smile.

 Second of all, Baby Henry (as Dorothy and Cooper always call him as if it's all one word) is not amused by constant pictures.





Third, Cooper is getting to be a good photographer.
 
Fourth, having a baby fall asleep on me is pretty much the greatest thing in the world.

 Dorothy took advantage of his nap to try out the gym thing that used to be hers but that she cannot remember.  She likes it,
 She also said "I yike Baby Henry," and Cooper said, "I wike Baby Henry too."  ADORABLE.
 Fifth: OMG BABYWEARING
 Out like a light!

Sixth, it is SO MUCH EASIER to take care of a baby when you are not sleep deprived.  Like, so much.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Blurry pictures of our weekend-- with a title like that, how could you NOT click through?

 I was all excited to get a cable that could communicate with my camera (or, more accurately, that could make my camera communicate with my computer) but then I did and I realized that someone -- cough, cough BEN-- had the camera on shutter mode and most of our pics are totally blurry.

But still!  4 generations-- pretty awesome.
 Oops, one of the generations ran away and the rest of them are in a fever dream.
 Jack and Cooper wasted NO TIME pulling out their Disney pictures.
 And we realize dhow much the kids love Disney and now we are going there in August "on our way" to Hilton Head.  Yep.  We just booked our third trip in a year and are planning trip #4.  WE HAVE A PROBLEM.  (And I mean that literally-- the third trip we have BOOKED since last May, but it;ll be over a year before we go there 3 times.  So, that's better, right?)
 OMG I LOVE DRIVEWAY BASKETBALL even though I look stupid playing it.


 I seriously need to start all mornings with 24 kosher donuts and a mimosa.
 Dorothy didn't know what all the fuss was about, but 4 generations is awesome.
 You may have noticed that Dorothy is wearing her Elsa dress or her Anna dress in all of these pictures.  That's because that's all she wears ever, guys.  MAYBE one of her Elsa and Anna t-shirts.  In a pinch her Frozen jammies or her Sofia the First nightie.  But otherwise, she wears her Elsa dress (or maybe Anna depending on the day) until it's time to take it off and put on-- what else-- her Elsa nightie.  She is officially that kid.