When Daddy Came Home With a Mercedes

For the kids, that is! Imagine the joy! It was like Christmas came early. My hubby stopped by at a Tag Sale on Saturday and snagged the cutest electric toy car ever.. No pink Barbie car for these little fashionistas..oh no..they'll be driving around in style in their black Mercedes Benz!! The 4 year old was the happiest of the bunch. The car was like made for her. The 2 year old was a bit challenged, but will master driving it with little practice. The 9 year old was too big for this toy, and was a bit disappointed she didn't get to drive.. The 40 year old was happy to see the joy in the kids' faces while running frantically behind the car to make sure no crashes took place...

You Decide

One of the mottos for the upcoming presidential elections is You Decide (as if!). On a side note, it seems to be getting harder and harder the closer Romney is getting to Obama's positions, if you believe a word he says at this point, that is. (How many times can a politician change their views before time out?)

Anyway, we have many mucho important decisions to make every day. For example which bag to wear with an outfit... Yesterday I was faced with the tough decision between my Nancy Gonzalez and Louis Vuitton... You Decide! (And the winner was LV!)

Beautiful Moments

Life is all about those little moments when everything is perfect in your world. I am so thankful that I am learning to notice and appreciate those moments and I make myself stop and enjoy them, like this gorgeous sunset last night...

Vested

It's finally a little cooler in New York, and perfect weather for wearing a vest. This one is by Ralph Lauren (RLX). BR jeans, JCrew sweater, Bianco Footwear high heel sneakers, Nancy Gonzalez bag.

International Day of the Girl

Today is the first annual International Day of the Girl. A perfect day to speak about the brave girl Malala, and her fight for girls' right for education.

In America the word hero is being very much over used, but when I heard that the 14 year old Pakistani girl Malala Yousafzai had been shot by the Taliban for standing up for the Taliban ban for girls going to school, the word that first sprang to my mind was hero.

The Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/09/taliban-pakistan-shoot-girl-malala-yousafzai?fb=optOut

The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/11/opinion/kristof-her-crime-was-loving-schools.html?hp

I pray that Malala recovers and can continue going to school and her pursuit of equal rights for girls to get an education.

With three daughters of my own, the oldest being a fifth grader who loves to go to school and came home today so proud for acing her tests, I can't even imagine how life would be if girls were not allowed to go to school. Unfortunately, this is the reality in many places in the world. Furthermore, I can't imagine how my life would have turned out, had I not received the education I have. Thanks to my graduate degree (MBA) I have been able to have a sustainable career and provide for my family.

We should not take it for granted that girls around the world have these rights. We need to recognize they don't and support change. Mr. Kristof's article for New York Times names two organizations that build schools in Pakistan and provide education for underprivileged children. We can begin by supporting these organizations and the work they do.

Developments in Literacy: http://dil.org/

The Citizens Foundation: http://tcfusa.org/

This Week's Office Outfits

This was an unusual week in the sense that I worked 5 full days. I usually work Monday through Thursday. But this week was a great reminder how lucky I am to have that extra day for me and my family. Here are this week's outfits Monday thru Thursday. By Friday I was so tired I did not even remember to take a picture anymore...

STOP (and happy birthday)

I want to push the pause button and tell the universe to stop, or at least slow down.

My baby turned two today and I am scared that I will all of a sudden wake up ten years from now and realize that all three of my girls are tweens and teens. They are so heartbreakingly cute right now that I want to slow down and take my time enjoying them.

I guess turning forty made me really deeply realize how fleeting every stage is. Better late than never, and I am so happy and so lucky that I still have one baby to really enjoy in the toddler stage.

I mean, I did enjoy the other two too, but now it's more deeply felt as I've realized my own age and limitations. Why are we so impatient when we're younger?

I am really re-thinking this aging thing...and going through this summer's mini-midlife-crisis now seems like a very necessary thing as it forced me to think this through and grow up. I never enjoyed my life and its little everyday moments this much when I was younger. I lived for the highlights then. Now I want to enjoy the trip too, not only destination.. I want to be present and aware, and appreciative and grateful for the good I have. I'm getting so much better at that, and am much happier as a result.

Happy Birthday my precious child! Thank you for being in my life and giving us so much love and happiness.
Oh, and by the way, the next time you have a melt-down, I promise to take a deep breath and remember how you say "Aiti, I waw you" out of the blue, making my heart skip. You and your sisters are my everything.