Blogs
THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2008
Meet Your New Amish Neighbors
In the past 16 years, the Amish population in the United States has nearly doubled. To avoid overcrowding, large groups of them have formed new rural settlements and expanded into seven news states, mostly in the Midwest and the South.
While my first thought is: easier access to homemade shoe-fly pie for larger swaths of America, my second thought is: huh. I always figured the Amish were struggling to survive like so many other subgroups in the U.S.
Here's their secret, it seems. The average family has five or more children. And despite the tradition (or maybe because of it) of letting teens go live and party and live among the mainstream in the U.S., four out of five choose to stay in the faith and live the rest of their lives in the close-knit communities.
But it's not all zipperless fun and games for the townsfolk who live near these newer communties of convenience-eschewing Anabaptists. From the AP:
In Mayfield, Ky., an area into which a few hundred Amish have moved in recent years, nine men are fighting charges they operated horse-drawn buggies without the flashing lights or orange safety triangles that state law requires.
"They are moving into new states and settling or establishing new settlements in communities where local officials aren't acquainted with them. That creates some misunderstanding on zoning issues or other unique factors in Amish practice," Kraybill said.
Any Amish Babble readers out there?
Photo: amishamerica.typepad.com
Posted by Madeline Holler | Comments (1)
THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2008
Baby Einstein's Birthday Party: Lee Nolin
Lee Nolin and her two-year-old son Hudson were on hand to wish Baby Einstein a happy 10th birthday. Or is it anniversary? The P.C. stuff is blurry regarding inanimate objects.
The event was held at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. No babies or Einsteins were hurt in the making of this post.
Posted by Whit Honea | Comments (0)
THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2008
Bright Idea: Portable Nursing Pillow
Truth be told, I still don't totally have the hang of nursing in public, but I've stopped caring if I look awkward or some voyeur gets a sneak peek of a nipple. Still, I appreciate the idea behind Belly Fish's portable nursing pillows ($47.95) with built-in privacy screens--especially since I know that not everyone is as comfy with public boob-flashing as I am. The Belly Fish nursing pillow/ travel system is a bit like a foldable Boppy with privacy wings, and while it's not something you can discreetly tuck into your purse, it will fit in that extra-large diaper bag you bought and now don't know how to properly fill. And don't miss the website's how-to folding guide.
Posted by Erin Behan | Comments (0)
THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2008
1st Wonder of the LEGO World: The Biggest Set Ever Made
Just when we thought the $500, 5,175-piece Ultimate Collector's Millennium Falcon was as big and complex as a LEGO set could get, along comes the mother of all brick-building challenges: At 20" wide and 16" tall, the LEGO Taj Mahal may be a wee bit under the 22.44 hectares of the actual wonder-of-the-world after which it's modeled, but at 5,922 pieces (clearly not making it one for the junior builders), it's still a formidable piece of architecture.
Priced at $299.99, the LEGO Taj Mahal ships Sept. 15 -- preorder now and you may still have time to finish it by 2009.
Posted by Aaron Burgess | Comments (0)
Personal Blogs
Monday, Aug. 18, 6:53 PM
Part 2! The Horror Continues...
Last Monday started off with pajamas and cupcakes. It’s not every day that I can wake up with one of my best friends, their new baby, and my GiGi. Still tired from the day before, Lea and I ate leftover cupcakes for breakfast and watched ...read more
Personal Blogs
Tuesday, Aug. 19, 10:00 PM
While you sleep
There is almost always someone sleeping in our house. Although there is a rambunctious pre-toddler who waddles everywhere sometimes pulling his wagon or pushing his mower or playschool bus, there is some heavy snoozing going on. Amongst ...read more
Personal Blogs
Saturday, Aug. 16, 12:09 PM
Country Mouse/City Mouse
I flew down from Manhattan to celebrate Chet's actual 7th birthday with him down in Social Circle, GA, where he and Ava spend the month of August with their grandparents, my ex's mom and step dad and their cousins. My ex has ...read more
Personal Blogs
Wednesday, Aug. 20, 12:54 PM
Weaning
Ouch. Double ouch. Over the last few weeks, we gradually replaced nursing or pumping sessions with formula. After nine months of 99% mama's milk, the challenges of pumping for an hour a day while still getting work done, ...read more
Personal Blogs
Tuesday, Aug. 19, 8:00 AM
The best things in life
On a few recent occasions, I've noticed that the girls have shown interest in other kids' "pretend" toys -- dollhouses, train sets, play farms, etc. -- so I started keeping my eyes open for something along the same lines to ...read more
Personal Blogs
Saturday, Aug. 16, 7:36 PM
Our Vacation From Vacation
Just returned from a lovely week spent at my parent's house in San Diego and wouldn't you know it? My little kooky rebel could not have been sweeter or better behaved. (Do you think maybe he read my last post? Did one of you come to him at night ...read more
Personal Blogs
Monday, Aug. 18, 8:39 PM
Is New York home?
I know we can't really call ourselves a New York band when we live in Connecticut. But, it always feels like home when we play our last show of a tour there. Maybe it's because we know we will be crawling into our own beds 90 minutes after ...read more
