Cross-posted and archived from DC Metro Moms. Original post date November 26, 2007. Growing up white candles dotted each window in our home on Thanksgiving day. When guests would leave we would turn them on and it was officially the Christmas season in our house. That weekend we would all head out to the tree farm and pick out the perfect tree. We would spend hours decorating it and putting up more lights outside. Our house quickly converted into a winter wonderland that wouldn't come down until after January 1. I loved every minute of it and it created beautiful memories for me as a child and an adult.Now an old married woman I realize I have married the Grinch. How I failed to realize this I do not know. Each year the rules get more stringent than the last. First, it was simply … [Read more...]
Tell Me It Is Worth It
It's a busy here. Actually, when isn't it busy here? I've got three kids under five. One of which does all of the following and more in a single day-"Mom! The Comedian has food coloring!" Yes, she did. I entered the kitchen just as she was about to squeeze out drops of yellow food coloring onto the kitchen floor. Next to her feet was an uncorked bottle of wine she had also seized from the pantry. I don't know what kind of party she had in mind but I wasn't down with it. That same day she clogged the upstairs bathroom with toilet paper and then proceeded to take all the paper out and throw it on the bathroom walls. Before I even got to that I had to pick up an unopened box of ob tampons that were all over the bathroom floor and in the tub. The … [Read more...]
The Yoke of Guilt – Part Deux
Cross-posted and archived from DC Metro Moms. Original post date March 18, 2008.Last year when I was new to the whole work at home Mom thing I wrote a post about the guilt I feel and lay on myself. It wasn't so much that I had guilt over not enough time with my child or family it was the day in and day out beating I gave to just me over staying home and continuing to work. I couldn't find the balance. I wrote-What it all really boils down to is that inherently in me I've always had issues with being at home. Now that I'm here in the daily mire of it and yes, the joys of it, I'm conflicted. I just can't seem to hand myself over to that domestic mommy. I can't and won't give up trying to write, no one wants me to, but I can't seem to find a balance that sits well with me. I can't seem … [Read more...]
Tell Me We Are Smarter Than This
Cross-posted and archived from DC Metro Moms. Original post from October 31, 2007. Article referenced no longer available. It was regarding parents who let their children eat all their Hallloween loot in one sitting. I read articles like this one from Reuters and I think who is the audience for this type of piece? Morons? I mean really! Moderate sugar intake on Halloween? Wowie Kazowie I would have never thought o f that! Gee, thanks doctor of the moment! Thank you for that enlightening piece of information. Before your insightful words Mr. MD I was just going to give my two year old all the candy in one sitting. She could just plop herself down on the floor in front of whatever horror movie is playing, maybe I’ll let her watch Suspiria. That has ballet in it and it’s … [Read more...]
Got Colic?
I can still remember the tension. The aching knot in my shoulders that was caused by them continuously being hunched up in stress and frustration as I tried to soothe my daughter for what felt like the millionth hour that day. Every day. Colic. That five letter word can reduce any parent to a puddle and incite groans in so many. I still cry out in horror when someone mentions it and our daughter is now almost five.Shortly after we brought our beautiful first baby home from the hospital she changed. Gone was the serene sweet face. Instead it was replaced by a red, beady-eyed screaming mite of a child that never stopped crying. She would be rigid and fighting for hours on end. It caused no end of stress, questioning and frustration in our house … [Read more...]
So is that like, uh a real job?
It is always when I'm about to go to an event with a lot of our friends that I begin to feel the 'I' word. Insecure. I didn't always feel that way. Nope. It only started when I quit my 9-5 job and decided to make a go of this whole writing thing that I felt these pangs of insecurity. We go to an event and the topic of work comes up. No one asks me about my job anymore. I'm left out of the conversation unless I shoehorn my way in. When I would begin to talk about a particular project I could see the judgment. The "HA! Yeah right! You don't really work anymore, you just stay home." It has been said to me more than once. It has gotten to the point that now I don't even talk about work. Even if I'm really excited about something or something big is coming up I just find something else to … [Read more...]
Live Chat on PPD Tomorrow (9/29) at TheMotherhood.com
I'll be hosting a live chat tomorrow at 1 p.m. EST with Katherine Stone of Post Partum Progress (the number PPD blog!) and Dr. Shoshanna Bennett at The Motherhood.com. Join us and several others in a lively and supportive discussion about any PPD related issues and other mental illnesses that occur around pregnancy and childbirth. Please come join in! What is The Motherhood? It is a great place for women and mothers that is organized around Circles and Talks based on the idea that we are all "in this together", which is exactly how I feel about PPD. Circles are on-going conversations started by members on any and all topics. Join the circles that interest you, and if you don’t see what you’re looking for, start one! Talks are scheduled, live conversations that last a day with expert … [Read more...]
How Much Do You Tell Your Children?
Cross-posted and archived from DC Metro Moms. Original post from May 13, 2008.Recently, The Washington Post ran a cover story for their Magazine titled, "The Secret Lives of Moms". The mother on the cover was portrayed as a June Cleaver type woman with a bottle of Jack Daniels and handcuffs hanging out of her apron pockets which made me cringe just looking at it. The line beside it began with, "If you have bongs or thongs in your past..." Thongs? What heck is wrong with a thong? Yes, they are uncomfortable but that is why there is the g-string. Are Moms not supposed to wear these?!But, I digress. The point of this piece is how much do we tell our children about our pasts? Do we lie and cover up our mistakes for fear they will follow in our footsteps? Do we use the brutal honesty … [Read more...]
Damn Girl, That’s Like Grandma Old!
It occurred to me the other day as I was jammin' out to some funk music (p-funk, g-funk, disco-inspired, 80s stripped, whatever I can't get enough) in my grocery getter that I am subjecting my kids to music that is akin to what my grandparents made me listen to as a child. Back then, in the 80s with all its big hair and synthesizers spinning like a record right around the Top 40 dial, they would sit back in the cushy boat-sized beige car and play Big Band sounds. Ah, the 1940s. My love of funk (OK, funk is even older by origin so geez) and its 70s sister music disco and even very early rap are now um, entering into their fortieth decade of existence. This my friends, is frightening. Even my iPod is engraved with the phrase, "Don't fake the funk." I am … [Read more...]
Top Five Reasons to Get Excited About Fall
Cross-posted and archived from DC Metro Moms. Original post August 22, 2008. My husband asked for hot tea the other day. My first reaction was to look at him like he was the 5th horseman of the Apocalypse but instead, I just sort of sniffed the air and agreed. It felt like hot tea time. Yet, here we are in August. Two days later a friend of mine stated that it was time to wear jeans. She was declaring summer officially over despite it being about 90 degrees outside. My inbox is loaded with back-to-school ads, requests for advice posts about the new school year and the latest fall fashions. There was even that one ominous Halloween craft story request. Already? It's not that I hate summer. In fact, it is my favorite season of the four. It's just that about this time every year be … [Read more...]