Milkmemos Blog

I’ve been sweating ever since Cate asked me to share eight things you don’t know about me. The pressure! I asked my husband (Roger) to brainstorm with me (mistake) — and it took him milliseconds to respond with Thing #1:

1. I can’t back up. In a car, that is. Last October, Roger’s parents visited and parked their rental car on our driveway, right behind my car. I went to back out of the garage and — *smash* — I backed right into the rental car. Remember that tip from Driver’s Ed about checking your blind spots before backing up? Woops. There are plenty of other examples of my backing up “issues.” I have backed into a mail box, a light post, and have skimmed our garage with my side view mirrors.

2. I used to have a belly ring. That was in the pre-pregnancy days. Need I say more?

3. I love to drive around in my car singing Elvis songs at the top of my lungs with Caleb. Our current favorite is Jailhouse Rock. “The band was jumpin’ and the joint began to swing. You should’ve heard those knocked out jailbirds sing. Let’s rock…everybody let’s rock!”

4. Don’t tell anyone — but I once ran around with out clothes on at Woodstock. (The right word there is “naked” — but it just seems a little un-motherly to say that right here for some reason!). I taught tennis at a summer camp in New York during college, and on one of my days off, driving to Woodstock and running around in my birthday suit with friends seemed like just the right thing to do.

5. My favorite dessert is key lime pie. And I’ve found the BEST key lime pie right here in Longmont at a new restaurant called Sugarbeet. (Sorry Grandma).

6. When I laugh really hard, my thumbs go weak. I know, it’s weird. They go all tingly on me and I can’t even pick up an envelope.

7. I count stairs — in my house, restaurants, hotels, you name it. Even if I’ve counted the same ones before, I count them again the next time I go up or down them.  I was afraid to admit this until recently, when I read a Reader’s Digest article about strange habits. Turns out that I’m completely normal (sort of). Lots of people do this. And it isn’t considered a problem unless I start to feel anxious when I don’t count. What a relief.

8. During my first month at IBM, I was asked by a former admin assistant to throw a surprise 50th birthday party for the Director I worked for. I bought a cake, card, and invited all the right mucky mucks (read: senior VPs) to the occasion. When Mr. Director walked into the room and we all yelled, “Surprise!!” he turned to me and said, “I’m not 50.” We all laughed and said, “Sure you’re not!” He said it again (this time a bit more sternly): “I’m not 50. I’m 48!!” I ran out of the room crying from embarrasment.

Phew…there you have it. That last one is STILL painful. Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve blogged…Andrea

At the invitation of my new friend Tanya Lieberman, the host of the Motherwear Breastfeeding blog, I offer eight things you don’t know about me. This is challenging because if you’ve read The Milk Memos, you know a lot about me! The character Cate is truly me! The only exception is that in the book I say I’m not musical, when in fact I can carry a tune (if I don’t say so myself) and read music / play the piano (however, my piano playing resembles typing vs. expressing a natural musical talent).

Here goes:

1. I used to drive a new VW Beetle. Silver. (I wanted blue, but they were very hard to find in ‘99 and I couldn’t wait for blue.) I sold my practical Honda Accord to my parents after giving up the notion that I would drive it into the ground. I was TOTALLY obsessed with Beetles, driving past the VW dealership daily. We sold the Beetle and bought a Toyata Sienna minivan 2 weeks before Mary was born. Some day I’ll have another Beetle. Convertable!

2. Bleu Cheese gives me the heebie geebies!!! Ick.

3. If I had to choose my last meal, it would be a fresh fruit platter with perfectly ripe, juicy, colorful fruit. Also, I’d have delicious fresh bread and really yummy cheese on the side. I once asked a friend what she’d choose, and she said a Reuben sandwich! Can you imagine?

4. I have a tattoo on the inside of my left ankle. It started with a star about the size of a nickel which my best friend “got” me for at the Acme Tattoo Parlor in St. Paul for my 26th birthday. (I lived in Minneapolis for a few years after college.) 12 years later, I had the star colored in green (my favorite color) and added two smaller pink stars to represent the girls.

5. I got my nose pierced for my 40th birthday! I have a teensie-weensie diamond on the right side (to counterbalance my tattoo, which is on my left ankle). I love it!!

6. I can’t eat spicy food. Hot spicy, I mean. I’m talking I can’t even chew cinnamon gum. It makes my head sweat. When I eat chips & salsa, I have found that it works well to just let my chip hover over the salsa to get the essence.

7. I love folk and bluegrass music, and am 100% clueless regarding current popular music. The only radio I listen to is NPR, which I absolutely adore and should really support more with pledges. My all-time favorite musicians are Emmylou Harris and Paul Simon. I also love Nanci Griffith, Allison Kraus, Johnny Cash and Gram Parsons.

8. I don’t know how to drive a stick-shift car. My college roommate tried to teach me, but I never got the hang of it.

So there you have it. I hereby pass this on to:

1. My co-author, Andrea Serrette!

2. Andi Silverman of Mama Knows Breast

3. Angela White of Breastfeeding123
xoxo, Cate

In recognition of Father’s Day, I offer an enthusiastic (though belated) shout-out to my husband of ten years, “The Milk Man,” Chris Smith: love of my life, father of my children, grocery shopper, dinner maker, house cleaner-upper, lawn and garden keeper, bill payer, social planner, camping ace, vacation planner, amazing runner, history buff, can-have-an-intelligent-conversation-about-anything-without-being-a-know-it-all wonder, total fox, and exactly the foundation our family needs to counterbalance my wide range of emotion and tendency towards stress. I love you, Chris! Charlotte and Mary do, too!

And here’s to all the Fathers in our lives. Thank you for all that you are and do.

Love, Cate

P.S. Lest you think Chris is perfect, I add this tidbit: I just said to him (as he finished unpacking groceries and began making dinner), “You should see the blog I just wrote about you! I e-mailed a link to you.” His reply: “Babe, I didn’t know you had a blog.” Sigh. Love him still.

I have big news! No, I’m not pregnant… although part of me can’t let go of the idea of having a 3rd. Chris, my dear husband, doesn’t share my sentiments and was more than ready to get rid of the bassinet, exersaucer and high chair when we finished our basement. Of course we didn’t, and I feel better knowing that these items are still in storage, covered in dust.

My big news is… I LEFT IBM! May 31 was my last day. I’ve been meaning to blog about it, but somehow STILL haven’t found the time. How is it that you can free up lots of time, yet still be just as busy? It’s sort of like moving into a huge new house – before you know it, you’ve completely filled it with stuff and you could never move back to a smaller house.

I am simultaneously thrilled and terrified to have left IBM after 17 years! (Actually 18 years if you include the year I spent there as a college intern.) That’s a LONG time to be at one company, especially considering I spent the majority of those 18 years feeling like a curvy peg jammed uncomfortably into a square IBM hole.

The thing is, what do I do now? I mean, I know what I want to do, but how? I want to: (1) spend some substantial time working on the book — blogging, participating in the forums, adding lots of new stuff to the website, and promoting the book through all sorts of media, hospital/pediatrician outreach, lactation consultant/doula/La Leche League outreach, employer/business outreach, working mother organization networking, etc. (2) develop a freelance writing and marketing practice, building on my IBM experience and skills and further cultivating my love of writing, (3) spend more time with Charlotte and Mary — together and individually, (4) look into becoming a lactation consultant, (5) take on unfinished (and/or unstarted projects) like framing all the photos I have in envelopes and boxes throughout my house — including my wedding photos from 10 years ago, (6) keep myself healthy and do things I love, like hiking in the mountains around Boulder. And the list goes on… like when I moved into a larger home — there are infinite things that can fill the space.

I feel like I’ve won the lottery –  the time lottery. I now have all the time I’ve ever wanted. But I need to learn how to manage it effectively, so that I get a good return on my investment for myself and my family. I can’t afford to squander the time, and I’m so afraid that’s what might happen. I’ve been time-poor for so many years, how do I handle being time-rich?

It will be an interesting journey. You will be hearing a lot more from me, and I look forward to hearing from you as well. I would welcome any and all wisdom and ideas you have to offer. Please comment on this blog, or e-mail me directly at cate@milkmemos.com.

XXOO, Cate 2.0 — it’s a whole new me!

I hope every one reading this had a FABULOUS Milk Mama Day on Sunday. For me, Mother’s Day is right up there with Thanksgiving and Christmas in my top 5 favorite holidays. I guess to round out the top 5, I’d pick Charlotte and Mary’s birthdays!

I had the ultimate, most perfect Mother’s Day this year. For starters, my Mom was in town! My parents live in Oklahoma (where I grew up) and were visiting Boulder for their 50th college reunion at the University of Colorado. (How cute is that?) On Sunday morning, Mary greeted me bright and early with snuggles in my bed (as usual). Charlotte came about 30 minutes later and announced it was my morning for breakfast in bed! So I HAD to come downstairs — come ON! I explained that the idea was for me to STAY IN BED, but that didn’t go over so well, and I didn’t press it. Chris baked Pillsbury Grand cinnamon rolls — the refrigerated dough kind that you pop open on the edge of the counter — yummmm. With a side of rasberries and blueberries, and plenty of coffee with cream. The girls woke Grandmommy Charlotte and Grandaddy Frank up, and in we came with trays of warm, sticky cinnamon rolls. We ate in the guest room bed, much to Chris’ relief (not so big on crumbs in bed). Then I went on a quick (as in short) jog for penance. We all went to 10:45 church which was lovely. Mom and I wore beautiful rose corsages — a Mother’s Day tradition. Unfortunately, Mary got poked by my corsage pin during church. She cried loudly, “Mommy, I got poked by the pine tree!” then recovered quickly. After church we went to the Pearl Street Mall, an outdoor pedestrian mall in downtown Boulder. It was a gorgeous, sunny Spring day and the tulips were in full splendor. The girls got balloon animals from Captain Twist (a pirate, of course), and then we headed to the Boulderado, a lovely historic hotel for brunch (which also happens to be where we had our wedding reception 10 years ago!). The rest of the afternoon/evening we just hung out at home. Now tell me, is that not the PERFECT Mother’s Day?

Until next time… xoxoxo, Cate

Since most of you reading this are working moms, you understand why Andrea and I aren’t more prolific bloggers. NO TIME! Truly, it’s a wonder we actually wrote a book and had it published (while keeping our day jobs and raising young children)! Now that I actually set aside a moment to write (while waiting for my hair color to set), I’m not sure what to say. Deep breath, moment of calm…

How about a publicity update? We’ve done almost 20 radio interviews over the past 6 weeks – please let us know if you heard one! We’ve had a ball. We will post links and/or podcasts to the website as soon as we can. We’ve also had several book signings, and have another one coming up this Saturday at a new Borders store in Boulder, as part of a “Celebrate Mama” event. Our dear husbands will bring the kids by to see their “famous” moms. (At ages 3, 4 and 5, is there a chance they’ll remember seeing Mommy sign books?) Next week we have a radio interview blitz – almost 20 interviews back-to-back starting at 7:05 am Eastern, which is 5:05 am our time. Yikes! We’re thinking we’ll just have a slumber party at a local hotel, and take the calls in the morning while eating room service! I think we deserve some $25 French Toast, don’t you? Next Friday we have our first TV appearance – woo hoo! We will appear live at 10:00 am on “Colorado and Company,” just after The Today Show on the Denver NBC affiliate. Not sure how many working moms will be watching TV at 10:00 am on a week day, but still it’s exciting!

Hair is finished now. I had it colored at a salon – a rare treat since I’m usually a kitchen beautician. It came out somewhere between tomato and fire engine red. I am not kidding. Charlotte (5) said, “It’s ok Mommy. You look like a rock star!”

xoxo, Cate 

P.S. I had a coffee with a girlfriend who had this reaction to my RED hair: “It’s totally not not cute!” Well said. (I’m actually starting to like it.)