2008 has been a slow start for Espresso Kids.  I am very excited about 2009 and building the Espresso Kids community.  We have a lot of people interested in meeting each other and enjoying Reno’s downtown community together. Stay tuned for more updates in January.

My pet peeves:

• Mom jeans
• Kids on your profile pic
• Sharing an email address with your spouse

Why do we do these things?  I think we go through stages in life where we either get married or have a kid, and they become our identity.  When I had Paige, I was no longer Heidi, I was Paige’s mom.  I was a mom.  I didn’t know how to be someone else without being her mom.  I still struggle with that- being me.  Not Ed’s wife, not Paige’s mom, but just me.

I worry that sometimes my daughter will not know really who I am.  I don’t really know who my mom is, as just a person, without being my mom.  It’s very difficult to seperate the two.  When I’m without my daughter, all I can think about is her.  Sometimes I feel purposeless and uninteresting, like I don’t know what to say or what to do around people without her.

When I first started social networking, after I had my daughter (yeah, I was a little late),  I went to go choose my profile pic, and wanted to pick a cute picture of my daughter (she’s damn adorable), but I realized that I need to be someone on my own, and this was the first step- putting a picture of me!  I still have to fight the urge, but I think it’s important in having my own life, and not letting my own personality get taken over by my family.

I want to be a fun, sexy girl that is more than just a wife or a mom.  No mom jeans.  Not Ed and Heidi, and not Paige’s mom. Just me.

Do you ever feel like you still don’t feel grownup? I don’t. I feel sometimes like I’m a kid surrounded by grown-ups. I wonder if we never really “grow-up”. I still have a lot of the same thoughts and insecurities as when I was 12. I like to do the same goofy things, and I’m not as “sophisticated” as I feel other “adults” are around me.

See…don’t I even sound like a kid?

I’m forced to have more responsibilities, having my own child now, but I don’t necessarily like them or even want them. Why can’t we still have parents taking care of us? I guess I do like the freedom, though. I guess this freedom comes along with cooking and cleaning for yourself, and working hard just to pay the bills. But sometimes I just don’t wanna!

Yuri’s Night is tomorrow night!  Saturday will be an all night party to celebrate the first man to go into space.  It’s  going to be at 2 different clubs on 4th street, cheap drinks, people dancing to great DJ’s, and dressed up like astronauts, aliens, etc. (or not dressed up at all), partying all night long!

The “Burning Man crowd” is such a great group to party with.  It’s all ages, all types of people, parents, grandparents, professionals, young adults, college students, etc.  A totally non-pretentious crowd- who LOVE TO PARTY Hard! Being a parent, it’s nice to take a night away from my kid, and relax and have some real fun again!  It’s a nice refresher to enjoy my life w/ my hubby and not any responsibilities- just having a good time.

So parents, get an all-night sitter and check it out.  Can’t wait!!!!

Before moving downtown, I was walking along First Street, and I noticed a mom and daughter, both with gloves on and a trash bag, picking up trash from the sidewalk. I thought “what a fantastic idea! What a great way to teach your child to take care of the environment, etc.”

Now that I live down here, I have realized how neglected downtown Reno is when it comes to keeping it clean! I see the same trash on the sidewalks (or  beer bottles, vomit, etc) for weeks on end. I think it is so sad that there is no one keeping downtown beautiful and clean! We have such a perfect and scenic and culturally and artistically creative place down here, and it’s covered with trash. A lot of people I talk to think of downtown this way. How sad.

I think we should maybe do this at one of our next meetings- get some coffee and then clean up downtown! Of course we’d need some good gloves (who knows what we’ll find!) and some trash bags. I think it would teach our children something and also help other appreciate the beauty of downtown as much as we do!

I hate “playdates”. They’re typically 2 moms sitting on a park bench gossiping about their husbands while they’re kids go down the slide over and over and over. Ugh! Boring! Who wants to sit at the park for an hour and watch your kids play? Why not do things you like to do with friends you have in common, and have your kids play with each other at the same time?

This is why I’ve started Espresso Kids. We just moved into a little condo downtown with our 3 year old, and we love going to get coffee on the weekends and then romping around downtown. Here are some of the things we like to do:

• Feed the ducks on the river
• Walk around while my daughter rides her scooter in the little quad by Java Jungle
• Peruse the antique shops for cool stuff
• Watch a matinee at the Riverside Theater
• Get ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery
• Get hot cocoa (and a beer or coffee for me) at Seven and play dominoes

Is there anyone else out there that lives downtown with their kids, or who likes to hang out downtown? I believe it’s the funnest and most beautiful part of Reno. Plus, I’d love to meet others who love it too!

Join us at our first meeting on April 12!