Tell people that you might need help, and they come through! This has nothing to do with my last post about mood blues, which aimed to say that no one can help me but me. No, I’m talking about offers from other mamas to help out with my son this summer, when I’m expecting baby…
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The February Blues
This time of year is rough for me, with personal history of a family death and my birthday always linked and the chilly grey skies no help. Sometimes it doesn’t hit as hard, but this year, after all that snow and maybe due to the hormones of pregnancy, I am battling what I’d called situational…
Writing about nutrition
I’ve just posted a follow-up to a conference call Agriculture Secretary Vilsack had last week with mommy bloggers. It’s important, if a little frustrating, to get more involved with issues of policy. Read the long version at my blog, Crunchy-Chewy Mama. Read a shorter version with a little more attitude in my column at the…
Secretary Vilsack talks to mommy bloggers about nutrition
Last week I participated in a conference call organized with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who wants to get the word out about the upcoming reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act and to help promote the First Lady’s new Let’s Move Initiative to combat childhood obesity. The call was organized and moderated by Alix of Silicon…
Public conference call with Agriculture Secretary Vilsack
“This is a different USDA,” announced Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack last week on a conference call with members of the public to share information about the agency’s response to First Lady Michelle Obama’s new Let’s Move initiative to combat childhood obesity. The call was a great opportunity to hear about high-up efforts to address the…
I sewed! It’s a miracle!
While cleaning out a closet in the midst of the current series of snowstorms, I came across some felted wool that I cut out to make a little person as my last project in last year’s Waldorf school Parent-Child class. Now, I might have made my son a Halloween costume, but I’m not one of…
What is a snowstorm good for?
Just what all does one do during a snowed-in weekend like we’ve had here in the DC area? I got an email this morning telling me that DC Metro Moms Blog was low on posts, so I imagine I’m not the only one who did not use the time to catch up on writing. (I…
What is a snowstorm good for?
This post originally appeared on DC Metro Moms on February 8, 2010 What is a snowstorm good for? Just what all does one do during a snowed-in weekend like we’ve had here in the DC area? I got an email this morning telling me that DC Metro Moms was low on posts, so I imagine…
Holistic living in the news
So, a columnist whose work I really like wrote about me and my Holistic Moms group in the Washington Post in an article that was titled on paper “Healthier eating, a nibble at a time” but appears online here as “No need to go hog-wild in making healthier food choices.” I already posted some comments…
"Getting there" with writing
I may have been a little sick, but at least I got a submission off to the Moving Words Poetry Competition. After having had a computer crash and loss of a lot of pieces about 6 months ago, I was pleased to find three (well, two that were written and one that got quickly re-written)…
Mama gets the sniffles
We’ve got 60 degrees here in Metro DC and I think I’m finally getting over a cold that started two weeks ago. I never get sick and stay sick. This was annoying. Not so bad that I had to make the husband stay home or back out on a major event I was planning, but…
Driving in pajamas
This post originally appeared on DC Metro Moms on January 20, 2010 Driving in pajamas Truth be told, I was no fan of the arctic cold snap we had here in the DC area in early January. That wind whistled right through my bones, and I’m glad it’s died down and the temps have gone…
Time for mom?
I guess time management experts consider my time writing this to be part of my 30 hours of weekly “leisure time,” so I’ll keep it short. Brigid Schulte has written about this elusive free time concept with regard to moms in the Washington Post Magazine. Definitely interesting stuff. Better stop multitasking and actually listen to…
Take a break, Winter.
I think my shoulders are finally detaching from my ears. Fifty degrees and the disappearance of last week’s bone-chilling wind could not have come too soon. I’m amazed at how different my attitude is now that I’ve actually had some warm, fresh air. The world feels open instead of hunched into a ball. I can…
Why I’m not vegetarian anymore
In preparation for writing a piece for my column at the Washington Times Communities, “Reading Ingredients: Tales from a Health-Conscious Mom,” I realized that I could stand to write have a background post on why I eat the way I do when it’s so different from how I used to eat. I’ve written some about…
Why family around can make Mama’s life easier
See my recent post, “Ill Take a Village. Please.” at DC Metro Moms Blog about missing the extra hands that helped entertain my son over the holidays. At least this week he was back to school and re-started a Spanish class, which gives me half day of help on Thursday and keeps me from entering…
I’ll take a village. Please.
Originally posted at DC Metro Moms. After a week home with a son who was just sick enough to have to stay home from preschool, followed by a weekend of the biggest December snow ever in D.C., I was ready to get out o’ town on Christmas Eve. The cab that took us to the…
Writing opportunities
Here are some submission deadlines I want to keep track of: January 10 – Parenthood anthology – http://cityworkspress.org/submit.htmlCity Works Press seeks poetry, fiction, prose and art on motherhood and/or fatherhood for our upcoming anthology. Give us your moments of sublime joy as well your dark nights of the soul. Talk about birth, nursing, relationships, adoption,…
I’ll take a village. Please
This post originally appeared on Dc Metro Moms on January 4, 2010 I’ll take a village. Please. After a week home with a son who was just sick enough to have to stay home from preschool, followed by a weekend of the biggest December snow ever in D.C., I was ready to get out o’…
The call to simplify…
A friend sent this piece by Ann Patchett as inspiration for taking oneself seriously as a writer. I love it and did find inspiration in it, but I also found it rather divorced from the world of being an at-home mother. Additionally, I am someone who seriously needs to spend a good bit of time…