My Kid is Wearing a Store-Bought Halloween Costume, and I’m 100% OK With That

Giraffe costume in plastic bag and plastic pumpkin bucket on a chair

There’s a scene in Season 3 of the CBC show Workin’ Moms where PR executive Kate’s lawyer husband Nathan agrees to shift his schedule to take care of their toddler son while Kate flies to another city to make a last-minute pitch to a client. The trade-off, Nathan tells Kate, is that she has to take care of the child’s costume for the preschool Halloween recital, which Nathan had previously agreed to handle. Discussing all this on the phone, Nathan says to Kate, “You’re not going to buy him one of those costumes-in-a-bag, are you?” To which Kate responds, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, “What kind of mother do you think I am?” She ends up trying to fashion a costume from a hotel pillowcase and toilet paper rolls in the wee morning hours before catching her flight back home. She arrives at the recital late and interrupts the event to run across the stage and place the ridiculous-looking costume over the head of her son, who is already sitting on the stage among his creatively costumed peers.

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4 Great Books for New Parents

Profile of newborn lying in bed, looking at parent off to the side and holding parent’s hand

There is no shortage of pregnancy and parenting advice out there. With numerous books, blogs, podcasts, classes, and tips from friends, family members, and experts, all offering often conflicting advice, sifting through it all can be overwhelming. I wanted to be well-informed as I prepared to welcome my son into the world, but I also understood that no amount of reading would prepare me for what I was about to experience.

Nevertheless, I did my best to educate myself on pregnancy and caring for a baby. Here are a few books I read that were informative and helpful. They are all available in audiobook format, and I believe I’ve listened to each of them at least twice. If you are an expecting or new parent and aren’t sure where to begin, I’d recommend starting with these.

Pregnancy: Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom is Wrong and What You Really Need to Know by Emily Oster

Parenting: Brain Rules for Baby: How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero to Five by John Medina

Parenthood and Commiseration: All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood by Jennifer Senior

Productivity and Motivation: I Know How She Does It: How Successful Women Make the Most of Their Time by Laura Vanderkam

What books helped you in your transition into parenthood? Tell us in the comments.

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What Messages Do You Need to Hear Right Now?

A cliff along the ocean in Northern Ireland

“You are never alone or helpless. The force that guides the the stars guides you too.”  –Shrii Shrii Anandamurt, quoted in You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero

I had a small epiphany recently. For months, my son had been saying something that sounded like “dapadee.” I had no idea what it meant. I felt certain he wasn’t just babbling nonsense syllables, though, because he would say it over and over again. Dapadee! Dapadee! Dapadee dapadeeeeee… What the heck is dapadee? I thought. My husband speculated that maybe he was trying to say “patootie,” which we sometimes call him. We went with that theory for a while because we had no other ideas. For probably three months or so, along with the many other words he was learning, he kept repeating, Dapadee!

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Work Wardrobes: Follow-up & Further Reading / Listening

Photo of the author standing in her office

I write about many different topics on this site, but you all must be particularly interested fashion, because my recent piece about dressing professionally quickly became my most-viewed post ever. I certainly don’t consider myself a fashionista, but I do frequently think about what I wear, how I present myself, and what I buy. For me, these topics are not just about image but also touch on issues of feminism, sustainability, and ethics, and they raise questions about my priorities for my time, money, and mental energy. Read more

20 Things This Former Fashion Know-Nothing Has Learned About Dressing for Work as a Professional

The author standing in her office wearing a black blazer, tan skirt, and green blouse
One of my recent work outfits

Anyone who knew me when I was younger would surely tell you that I did not have an innate interest in fashion. One of my good friends from high school followed all the trends, knew what brands celebrities were wearing, idolized Carrie Bradshaw, and aspired to a career in fashion merchandizing. I occasionally picked up bits of knowledge from her, but otherwise, I was pretty clueless. I bought most of my clothes from the clearance racks at places like Kohl’s. As a result, I often dressed more like a grandmother than a stylish teen or 20-something. When I interviewed for my first post-college job, I wore a too-tight ivory suit from Target, and one of the interviewers kindly told me afterward that I had neglected to clip the “X” of thread at the back hem of the skirt that held the two pieces of the slit together. When I had to attend business professional events in college, I didn’t own an actual suit, so I paired non-matching black pants with a black blazer in a completely different fabric (although in retrospect, perhaps they were different enough that I actually pulled this off despite not knowing any better). Read more