An Urban Girl

  I love today.  Yippee! Minus Mr. Urban's neck.  He turned his neck to see something yesterday and he hasn't been the same since.  Poor Mr. Urban, as we all have experienced the stiff neck, and we all know how awful it can be. But other than that, I love today and this whole weekend as a matter of fact. For one thing soon after waking up I had a chance to spend an eventful morning with a little Flamenco dancer and her friends: a bee, a park ranger, a spider, Nemo, Tinkerbell, a piggy, a fire marshal, Spider-Man and an SF Giants' baseball player who took time out of his busy season to join our festivities.  And after, the Flamenco, Mr. Urban and I all got to enjoy a gorgeous Halloween stroll around Los Altos, with the sun shining, and the trees a beautiful shade of red. And yesterday, we had a Fall afternoon play date with a couple of our friends.  We enjoyed hours of chit chat, pineapple juice, and watching the kids playing really well together - amaz

The week is almost over, which means that our guy will be home soon.   This morning was another nice and early morning for us, since my girl had called me from her room at 4:30 am to say "Mommy I wanna sleep witch you ".   Los Altos looked lovely on this over cast morning.  So I packed up the UrbanToddler into her stroller, some time soon after light came up, with a tall cup of warm milk, and we went for a long walk.   As we were walking and enjoying the crisp autumn air, reflections were floating in and out of my head.   On how Mr. Urban and I have both lived longer in North America than in our birth country of Iran.  How we both have a deep love and appreciation for our Persian culture, food and language, while our adopted North American culture is second nature to us.  How we think and dream in English, but love telling jokes and reciting poetry in Farsi.  How we find reading novels, blogs, and business documents in English comforting, but we also find that we ca

Dearest Mr. Urban, We miss you terribly.  Although you are the quietest member of this family, the house is inexplicably empty and quiet since you left.  As promised, we have so far made the best out of this time. Yesterday, the UrbanTodller and I enjoyed a rare mother-daughter day.   After nap time, I finally found the time to organize the UrbanToddler's closet, remove her summer clothing, which by now seemed like they were some other tiny person's clothes, and make room for the fall stuff.  But I should have known better, not to engage in such an emotional activity on a day that she was already nostalgic for her daddy.  She wanted to try on everything (which she did), and she did not want me to remove any of her old clothes "It's Preeetttttyyyy Mommy".     Later, dressed in skinny jeans, long sleeve shirt, monkey boots, floral dress, and a puffy jacket, our girl and I went to The Counter for delicious burgers.  I felt smug when a mom at the next table point

Who knew that today would be such a lovely day?   That sunny skies dotted with scattered clouds, after a cold and wet weekend, would make the green and the orange on the trees look even more beautiful, and the air fresher than you have felt it for a while.  Who knew that you could actually come to love the age two on your toddler.  That the inconvenience of a developing sense of self is actually outweighed with the wonder that comes from witnessing the deeper expression of her creativity and talents and character.   That although you will almost always be late leaving the house for an appointment because not only you have to ready yourself and your toddler, but you also have to gather Lamby, Birdy, Peter Rabit, Ballerina, Baby, oh and Baby's stroller in your arms to leave with you, you can't help feel touched by the kindness in her little heart which doesn't want to leave her most special friends alone in the house.   Just going to visit Gymbo the Clown.... don't

This morning my friend Maria was in Silicon Valley for a business trip. Maria was one of the first of my yuppie friends.  We met at University.  She was in my statistics class, and one of us must have commented on the others' shoes, a mutual object of affection for us, and we became instant friends.  I have loved her and been fascinated by her always.  For one thing she is an only daughter of Italian parents who immigrated to Canada long before her birth, where her father worked in the logging industry in the tiniest of towns on the west coast of Vancouver Island (wikipedia refers to it as a village of 300 people).   When I met Maria, when we were both 18, she was literally fresh of the boat from the small village in a remote part of Vancouver Island.  But she was elegant, well read, cultured, smart, aware of world news, fashionable and a foodie.  At the height of Doc Martin fever, she would wear the cutest and daintiest of shoes and outfits that rarely included jeans.  And migh

The other day I finally took the plunge and went for a BriteSmile teeth whitening at my dentist's office. One of the sweet dental assistants at the office sat me down and using a flash card she took out of a pretty package of BriteSmile, she talked me through the hour and a half long procedure. It all seemed pretty straight forward to me and my only concern was the blue plastic contraption they put inside your mouth, jarring your lips open for much longer than any lips would like to stay parted in that way.  I asked her if there were any issues to be concerned about, and she said "No".  "Some people may find their teeth slightly sensitive for a couple of hours afterwards".  But I figured I would give it a try, as it was such a small price to pay for white teeth, like the ones on the big poster of red lips and white teeth I was staring at. So the contraption was placed onto my mouth, my gums were sealed with a plasticy type material, my lips were drowned in l

From all that Mr. Urban had heard about pumpkin patch visits from my girl and I last year, he decided that he had to come out  and see what its all about for himself . And since I had lamented to Mr. Urban about our fashion mis-steps from the year before on more than one occasion, and he knew of the lengths his wife had gone through to prepare a pumpkin farm appropriate wardrobe for his UrbanToddler for the pumpkin visit this year, naturally I had made him completely self-conscious about getting dressed for the very special event... As he stood there looking longer than usual at his clothes hanging in the closet, he chuckled.  I could read his mind thinking that he would have never pictured himself thinking so hard about what to wear to a vegetable farm.   Finally we were all ready to take the beautiful drive up to Half Moon Bay (secretly praying that the drive would not induce vomit for those of us prone to car sickness).  We had picked a gorgeous day, and when we got to the lovel

As children, growing up in Iran, neither Mr. Urban nor I, were ever taken to a farm to take our pictures with any sort of vegetables.   But one of the many things I love about my adopted North American culture, is the commercial celebration of the seasons.  I love the spirit with which cities and stores embrace each and every seasonal celebration from Valentines Day, to Easter, to Halloween and Christmas.  And I love how these celebrations spill into our lives, from the food we cook, to the outings we take and the music we listen to. Like yesterday, in an effort to escape the heat wave, and get ready for our Second Annual Urban Pumpkin Patch visit, the UrbanToddler and I spent some time at a chain kids' clothing store which was already playing Christmas music.   At first I felt it was odd to hear jingle bells in October, especially when it was 90 degrees outside the door.  But within a few minutes the music began working like a charm on me, inspiring me to get a good chunk of o

Both Mr. Urban and I grew up in a time and a place where access to treats like Napoleons, Ice Cream and Cream Puffs was a way of life.   So we have always blamed credited  that lifestyle for our sweet tooth and our propensity to gravitate towards unhealthy foods as adults.  But as parents we were determined to create an environment for our child to beat her genetic odds and become a disciplined creature of healthy eating and active lifestyle.  This scientific experiment consisted of feeding the UrbanToddler only the blandest of fruits and vegetables, low fat dairy and meats, and whole grains since she has been on a solid diet.  No juices, no deserts, no salt or sugar.  We didn't even offer her fruits as an early eater until we knew that she was hooked on the taste of green beans and peas, as to not tempt her palate with the knowledge that sweeter tasting foods do exist in nature.  But as balance is the inevitable way of life, like it or not somewhere along the road our girl fo

Today was the Canadian Thanksgiving Day.  A holiday that I adore.   When we first moved to Canada some twenty odd years ago,  Thanksgiving was our first foray into the North American culture.  Never before had we as a family formally celebrated our gratitude in general.     That first year, we gathered at my Uncle's home.  They had moved to Canada some years earlier and were thankfully, our official guides to all things Canadian. The dinner table looked lovely and the wonderful meal was unlike any other.  The ceremonious cutting of the turkey made me feel giddy and thankful.  And then I learned the history of Thanksgiving in Canada, which goes back to an explorer in 1578 in search of a safe passage to the Pacific Ocean, who celebrated his return home with a formal ceremonial meal.  I learned that the holiday is rooted in giving thanks for safe homecomings, surviving long journeys...  How appropriate I thought.   Herb Roasted Chicken, Beets with Tofu and Chick Peas, Sweet P

I love the word "chipper."  I don't know another word like it.  Certainly not in my mother tongue of Farsi.  Its different from happy, cheerful or even joyful.  It has another tempo, another sound, another energy...  And its not everyday that you come across someone that through and through reminds you of that word chipper. Once a year, we are invited to the home of two of Mr. Urban's law school friends, Steve and Suzanne.  If you were to meet Steve today, within minutes you would say that he owns the word chipper.   Steve is a lawyer and he is great at what he does.  Which means he must be a very busy guy at work.  Furthermore, Steve is married to a successful lawyer.   But somehow these two manage to raise two lovely active boys and run a beautiful home which is always being improved upon: one year its the wine cellar, the next the new patio and fire pit, the next a lovely herb garden and a full-on backyard playground.... UrbanToddler learning to use the Big

It is usually about the time when life takes an undesired turn when we ask ourselves what is the meaning of it all.   When our jobs get very boring, or relationships end, or a loved one is lost, or life becomes monotonous or hard.  On days when we are in a rut, we take a look and find ourselves a guinea pig stuck on a wheel.  And what on earth is the meaning of that ?  The other night, when Mr. Urban and I were sitting in the dark in our living room talking about his late father, the question came up, and was just left up in the air...   And since then, its been quietly lurking in the back of my mind.  I want to find a really good answer to the question, one to offer a grieving heart.  And make it feel a little better. I wikipedia'd it, but nothing lovely came out of that.   If you were to draw a flowchart of life, it does look mechanical and depressing... you are born, you eat and sleep and grow and learn and work and work and work and buy and consume and make connections an

Yesterday, my girl and I attended her two year well-baby check-up. I had made us the first appointment of the day, so we could be in and out swiftly.  But as we checked in, we were given a clipboard and a large questionnaire to fill in the waiting room .  After instructing the UrbanToddler not to touch anything , as that waiting room is a minefield for children, filled with all kinds of can't-keep-my-hands-off-of "stuff", fondled, drooled-on and chewed by kids with colds and flus, I actually looked around in vane to spot a less dangerous seat to fill the questionnaire in.  And before you say it, let me tell you that you too would be a germaphobe if each and every month of this year, you were hosting a new unwanted guest in your home and in your family's respiratory area...  So, as I got going on the questionnaire, I found myself stomped on more questions than I care to admit.  I imagined millions of mothers filling in this questionnaire with no problem at all, but

I am in love with Autumn and October as it brings it on.  When for the most part, no matter where you are,  the weather reaches a balances between too hot and too cold.  And balance in life is always something of a beauty to watch. So, after a wonderful day of celebration with friends yesterday, and a busy week of unpacking, cleaning, reinstating routines, and getting the UrbanToddler ready for attending pre-school sans mommy (for the past month I had been attending pre-school with her as she had not yet reached the ripe old age of two), today was declared a day to be mellow...  And mellow in the lingo of a mama to a Toddler means trying to limit activities to as few as possible, and try to center them around ones that please mommy the most, yet still keep the Toddler happy and engaged.   We started our day with visiting a lovely friend on the beautiful patio of Tootsie, where the three of us enjoyed Rocco's eggs with ricotta and zucchinis and paper thin house-made toasts and ja