The Ugly Volvo

Author: Raquel D’Apice

  • Why Having a Baby Reminds me of Garfield Minus Garfield

    I love the site Garfield Minus Garfield. If you don’t know the site Garfield minus Garfield  it’s a website run by a guy named Dan Walsh who takes Garfield comic strips and digitally erases Garfield from them.   The reason I love Garfield minus Garfield is that when you erase Garfield from the Garfield comic strip, what you get is three panels of…

  • DAD BRIDGE WALK (A Poorly Titled Post for Father’s Day)

    It is Father’s Day this weekend.  And I am lucky enough to have a wonderful father. For anyone who’s going, “WAIT, WHAT IS HAPPENING, I CAME HERE TO READ A QUICK AND SNAPPY THING ABOUT FATHERS, PREFERABLY WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND POSSIBLY IN A LIST FORMAT,” do not read this.  It is too long.   It…

  • 9 Conversations About How My 15-Month-Old Son is Not Yet Walking

    Will have a new post up on my own site early next week (and will be posting more regularly) but for now the latest post is up as a guest post on the Someecards/HappyPlace website. The post is about how my kid is 15-months-old and still isn’t walking yet and look, he’s fine, he’s fine, I…

  • Totally Cute Diaper Bags That Don’t Look Like Diaper Bags

    There was a thing I did not know about before I had a baby, which was: “Diaper bags that do not look like diaper bags.” Do you know what these are?  I did not.  These are really well-designed, hip diaper bags that look like large designer handbags or tote bags so that while carrying them…

  • What I’d Really Like for Mother’s Day

    Wrote a guest blog this week for HappyPlace.com on what I’d really like for mother’s day.  I in no way intended for it to come across as cruel or mean so I apologize if that is how it seems.   You can get to it by clicking the link here:  What I’d Really Like for…

  • Don’t worry, because I am so totally on top of my child’s health.

    I try to be careful with my son’s health. Not crazily “I Purell my lips when I kiss him” careful, but careful, regardless.  It is hard, sometimes, not to immediately assume the worst when things go wrong.  The other day he coughed and 85% of my brain went, “All children get sick and cough!” but…

  • Why You Should Never, Ever, Ever Get A Tattoo (but Having a Baby is Fine)

    I’m not super pro-tattoo or anti-tattoo.  I’ve debated getting one in the past but never that seriously.  But my mother is vehemently anti-tattoo.  Listed below are the reasons my mother has always given me for why I shouldn’t get a tattoo. And I understand that she’s from a different generation.  And I love my mother very much.…

  • An Open Letter to My Dog After the Birth of my First Child

    Dear Tig, Here’s a list of things for which I want to apologize: 1.  I’m sorry for every time I loop your leash around the doorknob and hurriedly say, “Two minutes!  I’m going to take you outside in two minutes!”  Because I am not going to do that.  You know, as you watch me struggling…

  • Ten Vignettes For People Attempting a Second Child

    The lovely people at www.glowing.com asked if I would write a guest blog for them this week. Since they deal with women who are trying to get pregnant they asked if I could write one about how hard it is to try for a second child when you already have a first child.  And I…

  • How to Administer Ear Drops to a Baby When You Are Home By Yourself

    Oh no, your baby has an ear infection!  Luckily the doctor has given you ear drops which will have your baby feeling better in no time. HOW TO ADMINISTER EAR DROPS 1.  Hold baby across your lap as you sit on the sofa, turning his head so that the affected ear faces upwards.  Hold baby’s…