Posts Tagged Under mom blogs
Groomingdales for the Holidays
Do I get polish with this pedicure?
“They’re never good for mommy.” That’s what Jill, the cat clipping and grooming lady, said to me today when I took in our two cats to have their nails trimmed. I apologized to her in advance of the blood bath that I assumed was to come. Whenever my husband and I clip our cats’ nails one of us ends up getting scratched, bitten or hissed at by an angry feline. Jill didn’t seem concerned and said that Alice and Annie would do just fine.
But I was still a little worried. The place was crawling with dogs. Fortunately (or unfortunately, I couldn’t decide which) they were mostly little dogs. A terrier barked from a stackable crate in the tiny waiting area near the main desk; a Pomeranian slept all squished up next to the phone on the front counter; and at least three other little dogs were running around the floor of “Groomingdales.” They appeared desperate for the attention of Jill and Rachel, the sweet and jolly looking proprietors of the grooming shop. Continue… »
By Maria DudleyEase a Grieving Heart Through Play Based Therapy
Vintage horse
Keira, my five-year-old daughter, whined, “I don’t want to talk to anyone,” from under her purple, fuzzy blanket. She did not want start going to therapy.
She had returned from school one too many times, saying “nobody likes me,” or “I’m not smart,” or “nobody wants to be my friend.”
But that was as far as the conversation ever went. She really didn’t want to talk to anyone. Not even me.
I pulled the covers back, exposing her angry, brown eyes. “That’s just it, honey. It isn’t good if you don’t talk about your feelings.” She wrapped her front teeth around the base of her thumb’s cuticle and chewed on the skin. “I don’t have any feelings.”
“Honey, you’ll be going to see Steve. Remember the man Tatiana went to talk to for a while?” My older daughter, Tatiana, had also seen Steve for about six months, when she was five.
Keira wiped her now-bleeding finger on her pink pillowcase. “With the dog?” “Yes, the man with the dog…and the toys. A whole room full of toys.” “I’ll play there one time, but I’m not going to talk.” Continue… »
By Hyla MolanderBeware the Ophidiophobiac!
By WWarby
My husband is frightened of snakes. Not too unusual you might think, lots of people are frightened of snakes. But he is not just frightened, he is terrified of them. The official term for this is “Ophidiophobia,” not to be confused with “Oneirogmophobia,” which is the fear of wet dreams.
I knew he didn’t like them but I really didn’t think he was such a baby. Honestly, I don’t like spiders and here I am living in a place where there are scary Black Widows lurking in the garage, and the females eat their men-folk, for goodness sake! In fact, one even started crawling up my leg last week when we were spring cleaning and I didn’t make a fuss … well, actually I screamed blue murder. But then they ARE deadly.
One time we were driving out to the beach and my husband nearly drove into a ditch just because there was a snake on the road. What did he think it was going to do, jump up and attack him through the truck window! Continue… »
By Claire HennessyLife Lessons from Dog to Child
I’m walking around our neighborhood looking for a woman and her dog. I want to reassure her that the scare she had the other day resulted in some invaluable life lessons for my three-year-old daughter, Chiara.
Chiara and I were walking with my twin boys in the bulky double snap-n-go, (which is like pushing a small fleet of shopping carts.) We came upon our neighbor and her little black and white dog. The dog has this fancy collar that emits a blue light.
I point out the fancy collar to Chiara: “When it’s nighttime, the collar shines a light and then his mama can see her doggy.”
The owner and I joke about the day when I might need a similar kind of collar for the twins. We smile and part ways. Continue… »
By Janine KovacA Tale of Two Children
Harvest Moon
We welcome Steven Friedman, our first male Writing Mama! And, as you know, fathers make some of the best mothers!!!
“Mommy made the moon for us,” squealed Maya, looking at the harvest moon shimmering in the sky. “Look, Daddy. Miguel said so.”
“Yes, that’s right,” I said, happy that Miguel was initiating conversations about Verna, who died at the end of August this year.
Not that I have the energy or desire to wade into the nature versus nurture debate, but both our kids, like everyone else’s, are proof positive that they do come to us with at least a broad set of biological potentialities. In other words, we are not completely blank slates when we are born. To what degree we are influenced by culture is for graduate school. All I know is that Miguel and Maya have distinct personalities, and that reality has informed how they’ve reacted so far to Verna’s death. Continue… »
By StevenFSanta: Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
When did you stop believing in Santa Claus? Do you remember the exact moment, an event that happened to change your belief, or was it more of a gradual realization? As the holidays approach, I wonder if this is the year my eight-year-old learns the truth about Santa. Will he discover the inevitable or can we keep the magic going for one more year?
Last year was a close call. We always spend Saturday and Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend transforming our house into a Christmas wonderland. Candles, garlands and figurines grace our mantle, and ornaments we have collected for the last 10 years fill the tree. Continue… »
By Paula ChapmanAre We There Yet?
Right after Californians banned same-sex marriage by passing Proposition 8, NPR aired a segment exploring how people felt about the outcome. One man who voted against gay marriage was already reconsidering. “I don’t know why I oppose it,” he sighed. “I guess I’m just not there yet.”
Now that federal Judge Vaughn Walker has ruled Proposition 8 unconstitutional, I wonder how far the ambivalent man on NPR has traveled in the last two years. Is he there yet?
I too was slow to arrive. The gay rights movement wasn’t on my radar screen until I was in college in the 70s. Even then, it was barely a blip. I thought I was standing up for my friends against rumors they were gay by saying, “No, they’re not.” I lacked the courage to respond, or even to know, “So what if they are?” Continue… »
By Lorrie Goldin“West Side Story” still rings true in modern life and love
It’s family time again. We have planned a day to see “West Side Story.” We make a quick stop first at the Carl’s Junior on Market Street where signs of poverty are harsh reminders of how far society needs to come to encompass those who struggle to survive.
My family: David, Alicia, Dante and I arrive at the Orpheum Theater for a time capsule-like experience set in the fifties, a time we baby boomers were born into. The scenes in “West Side Story” that depict the cultural divide between the Puerto Ricans and Irish could easily mirror the hot topic of today, illegal immigration.
A part of me feels embarrassed by this underhanded way of sharing the negative stereotypes within a love story. Yet, as a historical musical, I feel the actors bring to life so much more than a lecture. Continue… »
By Cynthia RoveroDIY Book Promotions: The Magic of Multiple Impressions
Cindy Bailey is co-author of The Fertile Kitchen® Cookbook: Simple Recipes for Optimizing Your Fertility. Her DIY (do it yourself) book promotion has helped propel their book to the top-seller list on Amazon and has gotten their story nationally televised.
If I’ve learned anything about book promotions it’s that they benefit greatly from the power of multiple impressions.
There is a saying in advertising that a customer needs to get at least seven to ten impressions of something before they will buy. This means that a customer might see a product mentioned in a blog, and then see it written about in the local paper, and then find a postcard advertising it at their doctor’s office, overhear a friend talk about it, read a review about it, see it displayed at a conference and so on, up to 10 impressions before they say to themselves, “I should buy that.”
This is why it’s a good idea to be “out there” everywhere. Sometimes when I’m going all out trying to promote an upcoming speaking engagement or workshop, I stop and think about the ROI (return on investment). For a single event, I will: flash the news of it on social media (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn), post an announcement on my networking communities, ask contacts to put out postcards about our book and upcoming event in their offices where my potential audience can be found, post flyers where my target audience might see them, call the local papers to get a listing in their calendar sections, contact a local reporter to do a story on it or send out a press release. Continue… »
By Cindy BaileyDitch the Care Bears and Have Some Ice Cream
The fact that I am finding the time to write this while wrapped in a towel on the couch as my children play a game in the bathroom featuring characters named Charlie Pimple and Diaper should qualify me as a writing mama. I’ve been one since the day darling Frances (aka Charlie Pimple) arrived on the scene.
However, being a Writing Mama is a whole different ball of Play-Doh.
The Writing Mamas are the ice cream truck at the park of local writing groups. They’ve been written up here, there and everywhere for their cold and creamy menu of treats such as excellent guest speakers, (authors, agents, publishers) and networking time, followed by critique circles. Special events like the Mama Monologues where members read their work are the M&Ms on top of the ice cream.
By Kaitlyn Gallagher
