Parenting Practice

Academia: I'm still off conferencing in Houston, and hopefully will be able to report to you next week that it went well (I'm writing this on Sunday night before leaving). In the meantime, I give you another outfit I wore last week, on a day when the students were really wearing me down. It wasn't a bad day at all, but just a day in which everyone had a question, or a weird problem, or a complaint.

It was exhausting, but in a way, probably good practice for parenthood. After all, Baby C will be here soon and she will need me way more than any student I've ever had. I'm sure it will feel different - I'll love my daughter more and differently than my students, which will make meeting her needs easier in some ways. But there will probably also be days when I feel run down by how dependent she will be on her dad and me. For those days, my job can be an excellent warm-up.

Sartorial: Wearing fun clothes can make tiring days a little better. Bright purple and red, comfortable jeans, and a big flower in my hair all make me smile. That's something to keep in mind for those inevitably tiring days with Baby C: putting on happy clothes might help ease that worn-out new mommy feeling.

To any moms reading this, how did you make yourself feel a bit more human on long days with your baby?

Hispanohablante (Sort Of)

Academia: Check-in week for the summer term is over, and my free time and energy have returned, huzzah! Y'all have heard me talk about how crazy the first week of the semester is approximately eight billion times, so I won't go into much detail. I drove students around, I gave seminars, I answered what are now extremely familiar questions about housing, immunizations, insurance, and life in the US. Blah blah blah.

The only thing that really stood out as different was how much Spanish I got to practice during the week. We have a strict English-only policy at work; not because we hate our students' native languages, but because the best way to learn English is to use English as much as possible. So usually, I try to encourage my students to speak English with me, even though I minored in Spanish and am passingly fluent. But last week, we had several new Spanish-speaking students who really didn't speak English at all, and it was more important that they understand how signing a lease, opening a bank account, and buying health insurance works than that they get a few more hours of English practice.

It took a bit for my Spanish to un-rustify, but once I got going, I felt like I got by reasonably well. Everyone seemed to understand what I was saying at least. Plus, it's good for me to put myself in my students' shoes linguistically from time to time. Spending two whole afternoons speaking only Spanish reminded me how hard all my students are working every day to live life in English. It gave me a renewed admiration for them. At the beginning of the semester, when students are beating down my office door, remembering just how brave and determined they are helps me stay flexible and patient.

Sartorial: I wore this outfit last week on one of my Spanish-speaking days. I spent the afternoon driving students to see apartment complexes in the rain. Rainy days always make me want to wear jeans, and these pants are the closest maternity alternative I have. Actually, on a hot, humid day, they were better than jeans - the chambray fabric is lighter and looser than denim, making them the perfect summer pants. The loose top was cool and comfy in the humidity as well. All in all, not a bad outfit to spend a day in.

To Everything There Is a Season

Academia: This week is spring break for my university, but unfortunately not for me. We have our half-semester check-in this week, so I'm not getting a spring break right now. (I am taking a vacation at the end of the month though... stay tuned for all the exciting details!) So I wore this yesterday to give a seminar, answer student questions about insurance, etc. Not thrilling, but all in all, an okay day.

Sartorial: Yes, these are the same pants I wore on Monday. I also wore this cardigan yesterday, although I didn't manage to snap a picture. I'm finding that wearing maternity clothes is kind of like a 30 for 30 remix, except it's more like 9 or 10 for 150. Here's what I currently have in my pregnancy wardrobe:

5 dresses
2 pairs of work-appropriate pants
1 pair of boyfriend jeans
2 skirts
2 shirts

I plan to add to this list, of course, but for the next five months, I also plan to repeat items of clothing with no "but I have a style blog" guilt. To everything there is a season, and right now is a season of sticking with clothes that I like and are comfortable. And after the baby comes, I plan to have a season of "huzzah for normal clothes again!" shopping and skinny jeans wearing. Because I'm sure that's what the writer of Ecclesiastes 3 meant.

Rushed and Rainy

Academia: I stayed up past my bedtime to watch half the Oscars on Sunday night (seriously, at 10:00 I was beat; I didn't even make it to Best Supporting Actor. Lame.), so I woke up yesterday with just enough time to pull together an outfit and run out the door in the rain. It wasn't a bad Monday; it just got off to a bit of a rushed start.

Sartorial: On a rushed, rainy morning, I needed an outfit that didn't take much thought. I wore this to a baby shower for my sister on Saturday, so I already knew it worked. It's pretty much the same outfit I wore last Thursday, as you can see by scrolling down one post, but it kept me warm in the rain, it didn't squeeze my belly, and it looked marginally professional. I call that a winner.

Word Play

Academia: A lot of interesting things happened in my day yesterday, but the one that sticks in my memory most is the one that happened last. A student called late in the day, begging me to help him. Alarmed, I asked him what on earth was wrong. He had a horrible toothache and needed a dentist, he said. Okay, how much pain was he in, I asked.

"Emily, my tooth f*** me!" he exclaimed.

Ooooookay. What other possible response is there besides, "I understand and will find you a dentist immediately"? None that I could think of, so that's exactly what I said, and I found him a dentist immediately. And got him the number and address of an urgent care clinic, just in case. Because dang. Just dang.

Sartorial: When I was wasn't resolving crises of the tooth-f***ing variety yesterday, I was enjoying wearing the last, and maybe most favorite, of my new maternity dresses. Happily, our cold front has vanished (high of 80 yesterday, what what), so I got to try this out blazerless and blazer...ful? What? I have a master's in linguistics, y'all. I can make up words. 

Freeze Panic

Academia: It's Valentine's Day, y'all! I love celebrating love, and even more importantly for this blog, I love that it's Everybody Everywear Day. Okay, lame segue. I'm still trying to process Sunday's episode of Downton Abbey; my brain cells can only do so much at once. 

Sartorial: For Everybody Everywear today, everybody is wearing red or pink for V-Day. I was thinking about my red satiny shirt with the ruffly collar, or one of my new maternity dresses. I was going to be so cute. And then we had a freeze.

For those of you in colder climates, a freeze is probably not a huge deal, but for Floridians, cold weather is a cause for panic. We are a people incredibly poorly equipped for cold weather. There are actually very serious consequences freezes have for citrus farmers, but for the rest of us, we just don't have the clothes for it. I'm not kidding. When I was five, we went to South Carolina to visit my grandparents at Christmas, and my mom had to put plastic bags over my canvas sneakers to keep them from getting wet in the snow. Blazing, inferno-like heat we're good with, but cold makes us spend entire days sniveling, "Can you believe how cold it is? I can't believe how cold it is!"

The temperature we have to reach to go into full panic mode varies depending on how far south we live. Up here in north Florida, panic ensues at freezing; in Ft. Lauderdale and points south, anything below 70 degrees is cause for freaking out. Seriously. I went to the Keys in January a few years ago. When I left home in the morning, I had to scrape ice off my windshield. When I got to the Keys that evening, it was 65 degrees and people were apologizing for the excessive cold. 

I've found that sartorially, my fellow Floridians deal with the cold in two ways. The first way is to throw on all the warmest clothes we have, sometimes in multiple layers, with absolutely no regard for social context. Jeans and sneakers at work on a Monday? Yes, because it's sooooo cold! The other way is to pretend the cold isn't actually there, and continue to dress as though it's July. This is more of a "mind over matter" approach. If I'm wearing shorts, that means it's not cold, right?

I'm a multiple layers kind of girl, so this is what I wore to work yesterday. It was 30 degrees when I left home. This is my warmest sweater and my thickest jeans. Under the jeans are hiking socks, and over the jeans are boots. Over all of this I put a trench coat, a knitted scarf, and an old pair of gloves that I found in the back of our coat closet. And as I pulled into the parking garage, car heater blasting at 80 degrees, I saw a girl in shorts and flip-flops, willing the cold away.

Baby A-mazing

This is a picture of me with five of my favorite people in the world. This picture was taken at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival, about a month before I got pregnant.

Seriously, these people are the best, and I'm not just saying that because three of them (Cary, obviously, and Mike and Suzanne) are in my immediate family. They're all awesome, all five of them. Except now I can say they're all awesome, all six of them, because the first of our babies, Jose and Adrienne's Baby A, was born Wednesday night.

New babies are always wonderful, but the birth of a baby whose parents you know well and like a lot is especially amazing. Cary and I visited Baby A in the hospital yesterday evening and she is pretty badass. She was looking around and sticking out her tongue at us, and seemed completely fascinated with Cary. I mean, I know all newborns do that stuff (except maybe for being fascinated with Cary, since not every newborn is fortunate enough to meet him), but when the baby of our dear friends was doing it, she just seemed so advanced and cool. Best baby ever.

The next baby up is Suzanne and Mike's Baby F, due in April. Baby F is also my nephew, and therefore will clearly also be the best baby ever. And then our baby is due in August, and I'm sure we'll think s/he is the best baby ever too. So to sum up, we're having a lot of awesome babies around here, who will be so amazing that they might actually be the next step in the human evolutionary cycle. In your face, other babies.

Anyway, here's what I wore on Baby A's birth day. I didn't know she would be born when I put it on in the morning, but it seemed appropriately festive for what turned out to be a banner day for our little group.

If you look closely, you can see where my own superbaby is beginning to be visible. We're living in exciting times, y'all.

Anticipation

Academia: Y'all, I fell asleep at 9:30 last night and it's now 7:30 in the morning and I'm rushing around trying to get ready for work. And by "rushing around," I mean, "still lying in bed, trying to summon the energy to get up." So today I'll just leave you with a quick list of the things I'm looking forward to most about Christmas break:

1. Sleeping in
2. Spending time with my family
3. Visiting Tybee Island for New Year's
4. Love Actually viewing with my sister (and if we can talk them into it, our husbands)
5. Christmas parties

Sartorial: I'm also really looking forward to the weather continuing to be cool so I can wear my winter clothes. Here in the Deep South, winter is so fleeting that my winter clothes are kind of a novelty. I only get to wear them for two or three months and then it's back to sandals and skirts. By March, I'll be tired of being cold, but for now, it's a pleasant break from being hot and sweaty.

How about y'all? What are you looking forward to about the holidays?

Perks

Brian's Etsy Shop 

Academia: There are so many awesome things about my job. A student once told me I had four hearts, which was definitely a high point. I overheard one student tell another student who was being rude that he had "bad customer service," which I wouldn't call a high point, but was still pretty funny. And at the end of the semester, when all the teachers are running around in a flurry of grading, my job is actually winding down.

As a student life advisor, I work really hard at the beginning of each semester, when the students are new and still settling into life in the US. At the end, though, they're all housed, immunized, and insured, and there isn't as much for me to do. Although now that I've said that, I'm sure someone will set their apartment on fire or break their leg or something. So this week at work has been a bit more relaxing than a month or so ago. And at the end of a long semester, that's certainly a plus.

Sartorial: Another perk of my job is that I can wear leggings to work and absolutely no one cares. Bazinga.

Cat Nap Clothes

Brian's Etsy Shop, Bracelet 

Academia: Hey everyone! I'm back after several days off, and I'm feeling refreshed and ready to wear some clothes. Not that I haven't been wearing clothes all along (imagine the awkwardness/chilliness if I hadn't), but now I'm recharged and have some interesting things to say about them. I think. We'll see. 


Sartorial: Mondays in the all-you-can-eat holiday season call for stretchy clothes that look dressier than they feel. The combination of Christmas cookies and leftover weekend sleepiness makes me want to sleep late and read a book all day, but since I have to do things like pay my mortgage and feed the cats, I put on jersey clothes, don't belt anything,  drive to work, and try to catch a quick nap in my office armchair at lunch. And count down the days until Christmas break, although I try not to let on to the students that I'm doing that. Even though they obviously are.

Pre-Tryptophan

Brian's Etsy Shop 

Academia: Much as I love my job, and busy as I am right now, the holidays make it really hard to sustain any kind of momentum at work. I run around all day until around 4:00, 30 minutes before I leave every day, and then find it impossible to get motivated to do anything at all. I can see Thanksgiving right over the horizon and my brain is already shutting down in preparation. It's like it can sense all the tryptophan coming its way.

Sartorial: Pre-tryptophan brain means pre-tryptophan clothes. This is definitely not my most exciting outfit ever, but standing in front of my closet yesterday morning, I just couldn't get excited about any of my clothes and ended up going with comfy pieces I knew would work together. This outfit didn't set anyone's world on fire, but I wasn't naked and two days before a big holiday, that's about all one can hope for.

Anatomy of a Disney World Outfit

Academia: Cary and I spent Friday at Disney World in Orlando. We are experienced theme park goers - Cary actually worked at the Magic Kingdom in college - so today I thought I'd share the essentials of dressing for a day at a theme park. So without further ado...

Sartorial: When dressing for a day at a theme park, there are two major things you need to consider: the weather and your feet. Allow me to break them down one at a time.

Weather: You're going to be outside all day, so it's really important to fully understand the weather of wherever you are. If you're going to Disney World anytime between late April and late October, dressing for the heat is crucial. You really can't overestimate how hot and humid Florida is in the summer. Wear breathable fabrics (think loose cotton), bring a poncho, and above all, don't forget your sunscreen. SPF 30 at least.

We were lucky to be at Disney World in November, which is a lovely time of year in Orlando. High temperatures Friday were around 68 degrees Fahrenheit, with lows around 50. I'm a total wimp when it comes to any temperature below 75, so layers were important for me. I started the day dressed as you see above, took the jacket off in the early afternoon, and put it back on around sunset. We saw lots of other tourists from up North who were perfectly happy in shorts and t-shirts, but this native Southerner would have been miserably cold. When it comes to winter weather, know thyself, and dress accordingly.

Feet: I can't overemphasize how crucial it is to wear comfortable shoes for a day in a theme park. You probably know that you'll be walking a lot, but what you may not be thinking about is how much time you'll spend just standing in line - usually 30-60 minutes for the most popular rides. For me, standing in line is just as stressful on my feet and back as walking, so comfy shoes are key.

I wore TOMS on Friday, and they worked pretty well for me. Sneakers are good too; I've worn my Chuck Taylors in the past. Shoes I wouldn't recommend: anything with a heel, flip-flops, new shoes. Trust me: wear your oldest, most broken in shoes. Exception: TOMS, which never need breaking in.

So there you have it, how to dress for a theme park in two easy steps. Just remember your sunscreen and your sneakers, and you're ready for a day of Space Mountain, ice cream in the shape of Mickey Mouse ears, and congratulating yourself on not buying a hoodie with Eeyore on it. Because cartoon hoodies are never necessary. Even at Disney World.

Drink Up, Me Hearties, Yo Ho

Brian's Etsy Shop. Also, my angry pirate face. Arrrrr. 

First pictures with my new, free camera! What do y'all think? 

Academia: One of the very best parts of working with international students is getting to do cultural holidays reaaallly big. Like, wear a costume to work on Halloween big. I haven't dressed up in the last few years, but this time I figured, how often to I get to wear a costume? Exactly never. So drink up, me hearties - I decided to go as a pirate.

All the students seemed to think it was fun, albeit a little weird, that I had dressed up, but the reactions from my colleagues were way more interesting. My friend Victoria saw me in the hall and at first glance said, "Oh, are you a pirate?" Then she looked closer and said, "Oh my gosh, are you a really cute pirate?" Why, yes. Yes I am. I mean, aye. Arrrrr.

Sartorial: Honestly, I decided to be a pirate because I already had or could borrow the pieces of the costume. I've worn the tunic, t-shirt, leggings, and boots in normal, non-piratey outfits, but the addition of Brian's jewelry and Cary's Jack Sparrow hat (he uses it as a thinking hat in his classroom) took the whole outfit from cozy fall ensemble to buccaneer chic. I didn't have the Jack Sparrow eyeliner, but I felt quite swashbuckling all day anyway. Avast! Arrr! Yo ho, y'all.

Four Hearts

Academia: So I was helping this new student find a dentist today, and when he was about to leave my office, he said, "Before I come here, other Arabic students tell me, 'If you have any problem, Emily can help you. She work with four hearts, not one.'" And that pretty much made my week.

Sartorial: Having four hearts gives me a lot of room to love clothes I probably should have gotten rid of years ago. I bought this shirt in high school and there's a rip in one sleeve, but it's so well-worn and flexible that I just want to keep it forever. Same with these shoes, which are newer but so broken in that  there's a permanent groove for each of my big toes. But I figure that even if I devote one whole heart to these clothes, I have three left for everything else, so my devotion remains.

Waiting for Sweatpants

Bracelet, Brian's Etsy Shop 

Academia: Fall B check-in week started yesterday, so I haven't really recovered from being completely zapped on Sunday. Everything went smoothly, but between registration, special program arrivals, housing help sessions, and the absolutely-must-happen-now doctor's appointments that go with infertility treatments, it was a bit of a long day. I was very happy to have sweatpants, leftovers, and TiVo waiting for me when I got home. And, obviously, my husband. Probably should have put him before sweatpants.

Sartorial: As I've written before, check-in week always requires professional attire, or at least more professional than my department's normal dress code of not naked. I've worn a couple of different variations on this outfit (here and here), but this one was my most career day-ish. I liked the menswear vibe with the girly accessories (hello, red shoes and faux pearls), and I was comfortable enough to last until the sweatpants part of my day. And on long days, getting me to sweatpants is all I want my clothes to do.

Church Lady Approved

Academia: Wednesdays are always busy days for me, especially lately. Yesterday started with a doctor's appointment at 8:00, followed by a full day at work. After work every Wednesday, I meet with two other Christian faculty members for a short prayer group; we pray for each other and our students and colleagues. And for the past month or so, Cary and I have been taking a marriage class at our church, which starts right after I get home from my prayer group, so I usually have enough time to run in the door, drop my lunch box, and head out. Wednesdays are always good days for me, but I'm also always ready to fall into bed as soon as I get home.

Sartorial: Long days require comfy clothes. Good things it was leggings o'clock yesterday! I felt like I colored outside the lines a bit trying to jazz up this black tunic, but I think I liked the effect of the blouse over the tunic. I got a compliment from a sartorially conservative woman at our church marriage class, so I guess it wasn't too weird an outfit.

The church ladies at my church are pretty open-minded, though. Not like this lady. Thank heaven, literally. So their stamp of approval might not mean this isn't weird. What do y'all think? Too far out on a limb? Or just right for international students, church ladies, and all points in between?

Friendly Inspiration

Skirt, Brian's Etsy Shop, Bracelet 

Academia: It was back to work after a long weekend yesterday, and all in all, it was a pretty nice day. I sorted through the various comforters, pans, and pillows a departing group of students left for the use of future groups, and I took a student to orientation at her volunteer internship. I got to be out and about, which I much prefer to sitting at my desk all day. So all in all, not a bad start to the week.

Sartorial: I have stylish friends, and having stylish friends means having a never-ending source of inspiration for my own wardrobe. My friend Adrienne has this same pink shirt, except in green, and Sunday at church she wore it over a short-sleeved white button-down. I had never thought to wear this shirt over anything, only under, but when I saw how cute Adrienne looked, I thought, I can recreate that!

I wanted to color-block as well as copy Adrienne, so I paired this pink shirt with a red button-down. I ended up liking it, and will probably bust this out again for Valentine's Day, because let's face it, this is a lot of pink and red.

What about y'all? Do you get inspired by your friends? And do you shamelessly rip their outfits off like I do?