celebrating joyful living every day. and dachshunds.
Think for yourself, or others will think for you without thinking of you.” – Henry David Thoreau Bonjour! Let me preface this post by saying that when I entered the wet and wild world of parenting, I knew nothing about children and child-rearing. Scratch that: I knew less than nothing. The learning curve was steep,… Continue reading Why Do We Make Parenting So Complicated?
Bonjour! October is Depression Awareness Month. While I typically focus on food, fun, and family on Joie de Vivre, I also like to write about self-care and wellness. As I’ve learned over the years dealing with my own anxiety, and especially after pregnancy and giving birth, caring for mental health is just as important and… Continue reading Postpartum Depression and My Cry for Help
Bonjour! October is Depression Awareness Month, so amid posts on recipes for Halloween candy bark and Halloween decorations, I would like to share my experience with the baby blues and postpartum anxiety. As I’ve learned over the years trying to deal with my own anxiety issues, and especially after pregnancy and giving birth, caring for… Continue reading Baby Blues: I’m Not Sad, I’m Tired
Bonjour! It’s National Dog Day! I’m excited to spend some extra time cuddling with and doting on Le Chien, my michevious miniature dachshund. Belly rubs and new toys are in order. Maybe I’ll even bake some special dog treats! L’Husband and I got the hound almost five years ago, when he was eight weeks old.… Continue reading Happy National Dog Day!
Bonjour! There are lots of fun things about motherhood and parenting that I expected, like newborn snuggles and tiny clothes and feeling like a whole new person while at the same time feeling exactly the same. And right now, at twelve weeks old, I love watching Le Bébé discover the joy of playing with his… Continue reading Adventures in Babywearing
Bonjour! The hound is exhausted. He’s knackered. He’s spent. Why, you ask? Dear reader, Le Chien has a new baby. And bébés are a lot of work. There’s the feeding (and inspecting used bottles for remnants of formula). There’s the diaper change (and wondering why the tiny human is so wiggly and stinky). There’s bath… Continue reading Having a New Baby Is Exhausting… for the Dog
Bonjour! As I recently explored in a post about how Le Chien adjusted to having a little brother, having a new bébé changes everything. It turns out tiny humans need a lot of stuff. Wait; allow me to rephrase. Tiny humans need A Lot of Stuff and It’s All Impossible to Put Together. Fewer things… Continue reading How to Clean a Baby Bottle in 800 Simple Steps
Bonjour! Having a bébé changes everything, not least of all for a family pet that’s used to being center of l’attention. Not only do the parent or parents have to learn how to take care of le nouvel ajout, but any animals also have to adjust to new sights, sounds, smells, and routines. I stuck… Continue reading A Dachshund and His Baby
Bonjour! Spoiler alert: Being pregnant is gross. Naturellement, I was thrilled to actually be pregnant and experience the magic and mystery of having a healthy bébé growing inside of me. But I was also exhausted and generally uncomfortable, what with ongoing morning sickness and nosebleeds and charley horses and insomnia, to name but a few… Continue reading Pregnancy Survival Kit
The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.”Coco Chanel Bonjour! Now that the tiny human is here, I am in full recovery mode from pregnancy and childbirth. I expected many aspects of self-care in the fourth trimester, such as healing stitches, resetting hormones, and baby blues-slash-crying (oh, the crying). I also greatly… Continue reading Unexpected Postpartum Pleasures
Bonjour! The tiny human is here! Le Bébé was born on a certain day weighing a certain number of pounds and ounces and measuring a certain number of inches! Sidebar: For now, I’m loathe to share online the personal identifying information of a minor child with no agency to manage their own privacy. For more… Continue reading Hot Mom Summer Has Begun!
Bonjour! One of the reasons I knew my spouse was The One was his sense of humor. L'Husband is funny and lighthearted, a classic class clown and jokey jokemaker, which suits his easygoing personality and balances my tendency to be a little Uptight. C’est vrai: At least fifty percent of our conversations are based on… Continue reading What I Need My Partner to Say to Me During Labor & Delivery
Bonjour! As part of nesting and preparing the home for le bébé, I’ve been shopping for maternity clothes and decorating a nursery. I've also readied my hospital bag and found a car seat and other baby gear (who knew tiny humans need so many accoutrements?). And I’ve been searching for some gender-neutral baby clothes to… Continue reading The Quest for Gender-Neutral, Organic Baby Clothes
Bonjour! I recently had the pleasure and good fortune of seeing a small group of friends and family at my bébé shower. After two-plus years of COVID and feeling like I’ve been pregnant forever (okay, eight months), it was my first real party, and I was so excited and thankful to bring people together and… Continue reading A Gender-Neutral Baby Shower
Bonjour! As Due Day for le bébé approaches - just four short weeks from today - I've been thinking about packing my hospital bag for labor and delivery (and how L'Husband can support me). Today's post shares some resources and tips as well as my own hospital packing list. (Since I've seen every episode of… Continue reading Hospital Packing List for Due Day
Bonjour! It's dachshund takeover week at Joie de Vivre! This week's blog post is brought to you by Le Chien, miniature dachshund extraordinaire, who has noticed some, erm, "changes" around la maison during my pregnancy. Check out these tips for introducing your dachshund (or any other suspicious pet) to a new bébé! ~~~ Something is… Continue reading The Dog Is Suspicious of My Baby Bump
Bonjour! This past January, I had the unenviable experience of taking Le Chien to the emergency vet. Things happened very quickly. The little fellow started looking a bit peaky mid-afternoon, just a little tired really, and then proceeded to slink behind the family room couch to vomit twice. And then twice more. After Round One,… Continue reading A Trip to the Emergency Vet
Bonjour! When my friend, Ryan, was pregnant with her second child in 2018, I flew from Milwaukee, Wisconsin (my home at the time) to Birmingham, Alabama (the state where I grew up) to attend her baby sprinkle. It was lovely to visit one of my former home states, to see daffodils blooming in February, and… Continue reading The Problem with Mommy Drinking Culture
Bonjour! One of the pleasures of pregnancy has been le nesting (cleaning! organizing! shopping!) and preparing the nursery for le bébé. And wearing stretchy maternity pants. And napping. And eating snacks. But I digress. Once L'Husband and I knew we were good and pregnant after fertility treatment and the first trimester, we were comfortable investing… Continue reading A Dachshund-Approved Car Seat (and More Baby Gear)
Bonjour! To put it mildly, the world is going to hell in a hand basket. It’s been a long two (plus) years during the pandemic. And it’s okay to feel drained (emotionally, physically, grammatically) and take a relaxation moment to rest and restore. Building off some 2021 musings on self-care, today's post shares some tips… Continue reading Self-Care Tips for Pregnancy
Bonjour! Let me start by saying that I love Peanuts and Snoopy. Always have, always will. Snoopy is essential to adding joy to my life. Thus, it should not shock those of you who know this about me that the nursery for le bébé will have a Snoopy theme. And L’Husband gets it. He knows… Continue reading Yes, Our Nursery Has a Snoopy Theme
Bonjour! Let me tell you, dear reader, that pregnancy is a journey, full of surprises, challenges, and excitement. The learning curve for me was très steep; I’ve never been pregnant before and knew little about what it entailed except maybe “morning sickness” and some sort of rumor about “labor and delivery.” After years of thinking… Continue reading The Untold Glory of Maternity Pants
Bonjour! Merry Christmas and happy holidays from Joie de Vivre! I hope you and your loved ones have a fun, safe, and healthy holiday and new year. In this time of giving and gratitude, remember to give to and be grateful for yourself too. Le Chien lounging on Christmas morning. This year, L’Husband and I… Continue reading Merry Christmas from Joie de Vivre
Guten Tag! We're continuing the German takeover of Joie de Vivre to celebrate my love of all things deutsch, from Brotzeit to breakfast to Orangina. (And you can even find some German treats at Wal-Mart, le score!) Oktoberfest season is upon us, and what better way to usher in fall than with a German Oktoberfest-themed… Continue reading Oktoberfest Birthday for a Dachshund
Bonjour! I’m finally getting back into a writing groove after a busy month settling into a new home in a new state after a whirlwind of house hunting. (Check out our road trip from Vermont to Illinois here and here! I even flew on an actual airplane!) And I’m going to level with you, dear… Continue reading A Dachshund Explores a New House
Bonjour! Once summertime rolls around, L'Husband and I take on the task of bathing Le Chien ourselves. It's lovely to get outside and splash around in the sunshine, and the whole process takes less than fifteen minutes. Le Chien is not a huge fan of water (le shock) but a few extra treats go a… Continue reading To Bathe a Dachshund
Guten Tag! Welcome to the official Dachshund Takeover of Joie de Vivre! Because my puppy parents abandoned me for Two Weeks to gallivant from Vermont to Illinois, I am taking over today’s post. I won’t be ignored. I am the center of attention. And why, you may ask, did my dog mom abandon me so… Continue reading Dachshund Staycation with Nana and Papa
Bonjour! In honor of National Dog Day, today’s post celebrates Le Chien with some recent pictures. Oh, dachshund shenanigans! A Dachshund a Day “Being the owner of dachshunds, to me a book on dog discipline becomes a volume of inspired humor.” - E.B. White Adolf Eberle, The Proud Dachshund, ca. 1843-1914 / Wikimedia Commons I loved… Continue reading Happy National Dog Day
"Friendship is better because friends help you move, they drive you to the airport. Boyfriends just . . . Love you and marry you." - Leslie Knope, Parks & Recreation Bonjour! I hope this post finds you safe healthy during this time of coronavirus. I am adjusting to the new normal of working from home, cooking… Continue reading Moving into a New Home, with Dachshund
"The journey is the thing." - Homer, The Odyssey Bonjour! Ma Famille and I recently traveled to Galena, a small town in northwest Illinois on the Mississippi River. L'Husband and I rented a historic miner’s cottage via Airbnb and took Le Chien with us. Today’s post shares our highs and lows of staying in an… Continue reading Airbnb Stay with a Dachshund
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