Weekend Favorites, September 11

I had surgery on Monday, and it took me a little longer to recover than I had planned. Everything is fine - it was a pretty routine surgery, as surgeries go, and I had a lot of friends and family checking on me regularly to make sure I had everything I needed.

Honestly, I was terrified about the surgery. As in, my teeth were chattering and my whole body was shaking and tears were running out of my eyes at a prodigious rate as I moved from the waiting-area bed to the operating table. My doctor got me to laugh, and then they placed the mask over my mouth and the next thing I knew, I was woozy and then I was waking up. Before my surgery, I would do what any blogger would do: I got my social media affairs in order. Which means that I called my sister and made sure she had all of my passwords in case anything happened to me.

I know. It sounds ridiculous, because it is a little ridiculous.

In any case, I'm on the mend and back to work. I have some exciting opportunities coming up, and I'll keep you posted.

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In case you missed it, my post on planning girls' night after becoming a mom was picked up by HuffPost Parents.

And LiveMom featured my review of the traveling Cirque du Soleil show Kooza live in Austin.

First, I give you Arnebya and her adorable son, who just turned 6.

Nancy Davis Kho is brilliant. This essay about suggestions on what to say and what not to say to seniors in high school is smart and thoughtful.

My friend Ava posted a lovely essay about the #beforeIdie campaign that the Texas Conference for Women is running. Don't miss it.

This post by Sherri Kuhn got to me. I  know exactly what she is saying about baby fever.

Great advice on happiness from Baby Proofed Parents at the Today Parenting site.

My son is really into this negotiating phase, and this was an excellent article on how to respond.

Wendi Aarons is hilarious, and her post about not being able to find personalized swag because of her name spelling is very familiar to me. When I was a kid, "Kristen" could be found all over the place, but rarely "Kristin".

This video needs no words. It's Mother's Day perfection.

This young woman from my hometown lost her teenage sister to cancer in a matter of a few months, and this tribute from her is worth reading. #sarahstrong

As you might remember, my son is allergic to eggs, and the school where he goes to kindergarten has a fantastic staff and excellent awareness of food allergies. Heather Spohr of The Spohrs Are Multiplying has a small child who gets it. Why doesn't everyone?

I love stories like this: teenagers who are using their power for good.

Have you ever heard of Esosinophilic Esophogitis? I hadn't either, when I was diagnosed 10 years ago. Then, it was considered pretty rare. Now, it's becoming quite common, and just like food allergies, I wonder why.
 
More of my favorite things:

My friend Rachel just released her new book, Hands Free Life, and I love it. Need a lift? It's exactly what I needed, and I think it's good for the soul.

This company, Komae, is doing something interesting with babysitting. Komae is a social app giving you the tools you need to exchange babysitting services with your most trusted friends. So imagine that you had access to your friends' schedules and you could exchange babysitting services without guilt or worrying about who owes whom. This is designed to help with that.

Enjoy your week!

Love, Kristin