Coding

Have you seen the mini-doc that’s been floating around the internet the past week? It’s eye opening. And amazing. And has me searching for coding classes, even though I have a job I love. Can’t hurt to learn it, right?

What kills me is that there are 1.4 MILLION jobs in the coding field, and only 400K people to fill them. That leaves one million jobs open. Which means those 400,000 people are living the life. You saw their offices. Giant comfy sectionals (no shoes required), scooters, pianos, cafeteria filled with healthy, yummy food… the list goes on. And I’m sure they’re not hurting for cash.

Not to get political, because as a rule this blog stays away from politics as much as possible, but what job crisis?! The problem is not a lack of jobs. The problem is a lack of skills in our culture. These kinds of skills, which, as you’ve heard, are not the skills of a genius. They are the skills of someone pretty decent at math. Someone with an imagination. Someone with a little perseverance and hard work.

I know after talking to my dad that there are companies out there with more job openings than they will be able to fill. And these companies are only growing. They aren’t taking buyouts, they’re scouting college computer labs like a football recruiter scouts high school locker rooms. We are just having a hard time adjusting.

And I can’t fully blame our population. Who knew the coding world (or even broader, the technology world) was so wide open? We need someone to talk to our school-aged kids. To teach them what career fields are growing. To guide them into a path that they didn’t even know existed. When I started college in 2005, my current job didn’t exist. Blogging was just gaining a little momentum. And now look where we are.

Whose in? Harry & I are starting coding lessons today. Seriously… go check out code.org. I’ll be there.

xoxo, Mallory

Guide to Understanding the Introvert.

That’s all. Thank you Amy for this fabulous guide. It’s 100% correct.

xoxo, Mallory

image via

The Best Cookies Ever

You guys. Let’s talk about sweets for a minute. When I was pregnant with Harry, I craved sweets night and day. I’ve never been a chocolate girl, but Harry sure was a Chocolate boy. Cakes, cookies, candy? I could always say no. No problem. But Harry made me want to say yes. I was actually a little concerned that the sweets addiction would build while I was pregnant and then continue to thrive after I gave birth.

It didn’t. Thank goodness. But, I did come across this cookie recipe the other day, and I can’t get enough. It’s SO easy. Literally two ingredients (though I add a pinch of cinnamon and a handful of peanut butter chips). It takes me 17 minutes to make, and 16 minutes of that is baking time. And we eat the whole batch in a day.

But that’s okay. Because two bananas and a cup of oats is not so bad for us. In fact, it’s pretty good for us. Seriously, try them. You won’t regret it.

Poor Harry is going to grow up thinking this is what a cookie is. He’ll have his first chocolate chip caramel crunch cookie at a friends house one day and demand to know why he has been led to believe anything but that is a cookie. But he’ll thank me for it in the long run. And we can have cookies for breakfast if we want to.

xoxo, Mallory

Three Boys

A countless number of people have wondered how Duke and Calvin are doing with Harry.

Calvin. When we brought Harry home from the hospital, Calvin had been hanging out with a onesie he had spit up on for a day, so the scent was familiar. Calvin ignored Harry for a day or two – or so we thought. It took me a day to realize that Calvin was always a few feet away, and even though it looked completely unintentional, it was not. He was following Harry and I around the house, always ready to step in as head babysitter if I needed a night off. Though that hasn’t happened (yet) Calvin has continued to follow us around. He loves Harry. He’s concerned with any noises, happy or sad, movements are carefully watched, and even sleeping Harry is Calvin’s new best friend. I had to run down the hall, soaking wet and soapy, after jumping out of my shower because I watched Calvin (on the monitor) hop into Harry’s crib for an afternoon cuddle.

And the feeling is mutual. Harry immediately stops fussing when Calvin meows. Calvin’s purring draws Harry’s eye every time. Even patient Calvin’s fur is something soft to be touched (and pulled) in Harry’s world.

Duke. It’s a little bit of a different story with the canine of our family. When we introduced Duke to Harry after bringing him home from the hospital, Duke ignored him. It was like he didn’t realize we had come home after two days with a baby. He was just happy to see me (I had left in full on active labor and hadn’t come home in two days… so needless to say, Duke was concerned). It wasn’t until I came downstairs after feeding Harry that Duke realized there was someone else. He was very curious. Cautious, but curious.

Since then, Duke has been very concerned anytime Harry makes a noise. Other than that, he ignores Harry. The feeling’s pretty mutual – Harry doesn’t give Duke much attention. The problem for our poor Duke though, is this… he’s used to being an “only child.” He’s always been a needy dog, demanding lots of (or all of our) attention. And now that we have a baby at the house, Duke isn’t getting the attention he wants. And therefore is acting out. Not a ton, just forgetting to listen and forsaking the rules that have been ingrained in him for 5 years. Enough to drive us all a little crazy. Poor Duke. He loves Harry to pieces, is always near, but isn’t handling the lack of constant attention as well as we’d hoped. I’ll try to keep you updated on Duke’s progress.

It looks like Harry takes after his Mom – cat person all the way.

xoxo, Mallory

Be Mine

Happy Valentine’s Day my loves! Grab someone special and hold them close today.

xoxo, Mallory

First Position

Do you watch documentaries? I’ll be honest, it’s the only reason we still pay for Netflix. I love a good documentary. I find them to be so interesting and informative, and since I’m not in school anymore, it’s where I do some hard core learning. Even if it’s not about Pythagorean theories. It’s the kind of learning I love.

The latest viewing from my queue was First Position. A documentary about young ballet dancers. Young meaning under 18. The film centers around a handful of dancers from all over the world preparing for one of the largest competitions in ballet – which leads to awards, scholarships to prestigious schools, and jobs in great companies. The preparation is exhausting (and painful) to watch. I fell in love with the 11 year old naval doctor’s son. He was an amazing dancer, and had so much heart. And his sweet little blazers and perfectly combed over hair only added to my affection.

First Position got me thinking… these children work harder than most adults I know. They have a goal, a passion, and they go for it with gusto. They give up so much – eating like a normal child (poptarts and soda), seeing their family (one boy moved from Columbia to NYC to dance, the aforementioned Naval doctor volunteered for a deployment so his family could stay close to a great ballet teacher), time (switching to homeschooling to provide more time for dancing), and so much more. They work so hard to do something they love to do so much. What do I work that hard for?

I love my family with gusto. I love to cuddle and kiss and laugh with them. I could spend all my time hanging out with my boys, and be perfectly happy. But that’s not work. That’s not hard. I’ve been evaluating my passions. And how hard I want to work for those passions. That is what a good documentary does for me. It makes me think. I 100% recommend First Position to every one, from dance lovers to ballet novices.

What’s your favorite documentary? I could use a few more to add to my queue.

xoxo, Mallory

One Month

I know, I know. We already did the four week post. But I know I won’t be able to keep up with weekly photos, especially when I go back to work. So we’re going to be doing monthly shots to see how Harry grows. And here are his one month shots…

At one month old, Harry has mastered the fist pump (and does it quite regularly), has had two haircuts, is finally fitting into his clothes, gets the hiccups twice a day, loves being held and cuddled, is trying very hard to crawl (despite keeping his face on the ground), averages 12 dirty diapers a day, loves to read Brown Bear Brown Bear, is staring into our eyes, and lets a smile slip a few times an hour. We love him a whole month’s worth more than the day he was born, and that’s a lot.

I have a post stirring in my mind. Non-baby related, if you can believe it. I’ll try to get it out this week for those of you who are ready for something other than those cute little cheeks (though, I’m not sure how that could be possible).

xoxo, Mallory

Happy Friday

Just a little love for your Friday. I promise I’ll write about something other than Harry soon. I just can’t think of anything other than that fluffy hair.

xoxo, Mallory