May 13, 2008

A Trip to Mill-e-wah-que

Dawson and I are in Milwaukee. We have Brewers tickets tonight and a date with the giraffes at the Milwaukee County Zoo tomorrow. I wanted to blog about this yesterday, but the idea of driving 2 1/2 hours with Dawson to a big city was rather intimidating and I wanted to make sure I didn’t decide to chicken out.

We arrived safely about two hours ago, checked in at the hotel, went swimming, and now we’re patiently waiting for the moment we can walk down to Miller Park for the 7:05 game. Wish us luck! This is Dawson’s first baseball game and I’m not sure what to expect. Thank goodness our hotel is walking distance to the park!

If we run into Wayne, Garth or Vincent Furnier we’ll take pictures. Lots of pictures.

May 12, 2008

Mother’s Day In Pictures

I was going to write a lengthy tribute to mothers, but I’ve read several brilliant Mom Tributes and I can’t think of a better way to say, “Happy Mother’s Day” to all the hardworking mothers of the world. I hope you enjoyed the day honoring the women who love and nurture our children — Mothers, Step-mothers, Grandmothers, Godmothers, and every motherly influence in our lives.

We had a low key Mother’s Day which included attending Mass, buying a beautiful rose bush for my mother, having a Mom’s Day Buffet at Ambrosia’s in Amherst (best buffet I’ve had in ages), and taking creative photos of the family. Here are some of my favorites:

My little bro, Frank, decided to wade in the freezing Tomorrow River just so I could take a picture of him on this rock. He’s enlisted me to take his senior portraits for him this summer. I’m excited about all the possibilities!

This little boy is desperate for a tree house, but we don’t have a tree strong enough to build in. Uncle Nathan hoisted Dawson into the crook of this tree in our front yard. Dawson loved every second of it.

This is a photo of the Tomorrow River. I love the large rocks and the way the current just slowly trickles around them. I photo-shopped this image to make the colors stand out a bit more. It’s one of the best scenic photos I’ve taken.

My brother Nathan is Dawson’s Godfather. Dawson loves his “Uncle Nay-son” because he plays lots of fun and wild and exciting games with him. And they climb trees. That’s Dawson’s favorite part.

And lastly, a simple rose from the bouquet that Dawson gave me. It truly was a beautiful Mother’s Day.  More photos here.

May 11, 2008

Out of Order - Updated

Hello — I’m having some problems with my blog template. The Dana Files will be back as soon as I can figure out what exactly happened.

I tried to remove an old button from the sidebar but something went awry.

Please hanging in there with me until I can get this fixed.

And…We’re Back!  Thanks to the Goddess that is Karen of Swank.  Without her, I would be nothing.  Nothing I tell you.

She. Rocks. My. Blog.  I heart her.

Karen, thank you for fixing my shiznit.  Seriously.  I heart you!

May 10, 2008

Hummingbird Jewelry from White Hot Magik

It’s no secret that I love jewelry. I’ve got it all, from Avon to Lia Sophia. Some of my favorites are the handmade pieces I’ve purchased from Rebecca. My love of jewelry is probably why I became very excited when White Hot Magik showed a few photos of this awesome Hummingbird jewelry. And she’s having a giveaway. Click here for details. Contest ends May 14 at midnight.

May 9, 2008

Take Me Out to the Mall Game

Right after Dawson was born, I had this irrational fear of taking him out in public alone. My baby intimidated me, and because I was nursing, I decided to only leave the house with Dawson in tow if it was absolutely necessary. This included monthly check-ups at the pediatrician’s office and the drive-thru at McDonald’s for coffee (only because I was too busy to brew my own).

It didn’t occur to me that saving my sanity was a must until Dawson was about a month old. I hated being alone while Doug was at work, and staying home was starting to drive me batshit crazy.

I decided to venture to our local (crappy) mall. I stuffed everything I thought I could possibly need into an oversized diaper bag with a bottle of pumped breast milk (I was too scared to nurse in public), a pacifier, burp cloth, diapers, wipes and toys that my son was too young to play with and loaded the stroller in the car.

Once we arrived at the mall, I did nothing but push a sleeping baby in the stroller while I window shopped. It was nice to be out of the house, but looking at clothes I couldn’t fit into made me feel depressed.

Not only that, watching skinny girls flock to the Vanity drove me to hide out in JC Penney. I was no longer a hip singleton in the latest fashions. I had to trade it all in for the postpartum “Mom Tracksuit”.

After I returned back to work and had the chance to converse with adults once again, I realized how ridiculous I was and going out with baby became a little easier.

We took trips to the library, local parks, the Children’s Museum, playgrounds and coffee shops, just to give me something to do that didn’t involve cleaning the house or doing too many loads of laundry. When summer rolled around we spent many hours at the beach and even went to a few summer concerts at the city band shell in Pfiffner Park.

It’s tough to find baby-friendly activities in the small town I live in. I wish I had a resource like The Rookie Mom’s Handbook when Dawson was an infant.

After the births of their first babies, authors Heather Gibbs Flett and Whitney Moss found that their days were becoming rather dull. So they challenged each other to post their favorite activities on their shared blog, Rookie Moms, until they reached one activity for each day of the baby’s first year.

I discovered the Rookie Moms blog through the BlogHer Ad Network and began reading it daily. I’m so excited that their best activities and ideas have been turned into a book. Definitely a must read for when the second Bebe de la Dana Files arrives (you know, Some Day). The Rookie Mom’s Handbook would make a great shower gift, too!

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This post is part of a blog blast sponsored by the Parent Bloggers Network. PBN is collaborating with Heather Gibbs Flett and Whitney Moss, authors of The Rookie Mom’s Handbook and fellow PBN bloggers, to inspire new moms to have more fun during their first year of motherhood.

Would you like to participate? Write a post about your “[insert word]” outings from your rookie mom year. Post anytime this weekend - Friday, May 9 through Sunday, May 11. Make sure to link http://www.rookiemoms.com and http://blog.parentbloggers.comparentbloggers@gmail.com. somewhere in your post. Then email the link to your post to

PBN will be linking them up on their blog all weekend long, so be creative with your title! Two winners will receive a fantastic gift bag filled with more than $250 worth of goodies for moms, including the brand new BABYBJÖRN® Baby Carrier Synergy, a child’s gardening kit from Smith & Hawken, a baby tshirt from Scout Organic Baby, and of course, a copy of The Rookie Mom’s Handbook. Plus, Heather and Whitney will choose their three favorite posts and feature them on their website!