“This is why health care costs are so high,” hissed my endocrinologist when she looked at the results of the labwork my holistic physician had ordered. To her, the additional blood tests were a waste of time and money. But the information – a full, more complete picture of my thyroid levels and antibody levels–…
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Halloween costume-making
Just a quick post to show that even someone without a lot of sewing skill can make a frog costume!And check out these other Green Halloween tips from my Holistic Moms Chapter.
Gym childcare: mandatory TV?
This post originally appeared on DC Metro Moms on November 6, 2009 Gym Childcare: Mandatory TV? When a huge new gym with a low monthly fee opened a mile from my house, I was excited to try it out. During the tour, I asked about the TV in the childcare room. In my previous gym,…
I could be a gay kid’s mom
And even if I’m not, we all suffer from homophobia and heterosexism. But I’ve been slacking on the activism that isn’t related to health issues. Well, this is. I just let myself put it in a different category. I got a phone bank call last night from GLSEN, the Gay-Lesbian Straight Education Network. I used…
Boy Wants Feedback
I have an alter-ego. Her name is Ms. Moo. She is our son’s bathtime towel, a black and white hooded number I got at Target going on two years ago. The other day, when my son knew he was being annoying, he asked, “What’s Ms. Moo saying?” It was like he wanted to give me…
TV-free month
After a summer of moving and letting the light box run for way too long so I could make food or unpack something or wait on hold on my cellphone trying to get our phone and internet connected, I was really hoping to cut the cord to the TV once school started. For crying out…
Fabulous birth symposium!
I was blown away at this week’s symposium at George Mason University: “Perinatal: A Symposium on Birth Practices and Reproductive Rights” organized by MFA candidate and mother of two, Jessica Clements. There were so many great panels and talks, I hardly know where to begin. In fact, I may leave summary to a print writing…
In another mom’s shoes: vaccine injury really happens
This post originally appeared on DC Metro Moms on October 2, 2009 In another mom’s shoes: vaccine injury really happens Imagine your 14-year-old daughter going from a competitive cheerleader with a 4.0 average to someone who has daily seizures, partial paralysis and a drug regiment of 33 pills a day. I’ve been attending the National…
Carseat driver
It was as though he knew NPR was about to run a story on texting while driving right after I dropped him off at preschool, or that the next day President Obama would ban federal employees from the practice. But honestly, I was just trying to have some fun. And I don’t think I was…
Apple picking… in our yard?
We just realized that our new home has an apple tree in the back yard. It’s probably not going to get a whole lot of light, and I doubt the apples will fully ripen, but we’ve enjoyed using the apples in the juicer with carrot (and some beet, celery, parsley and ginger). Since organic u-pick…
Book Review: Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind: Thoughts on Teacherhood
Do you know and love a future – or new, or veteran – elementary school teacher? The perfect Back to School gift (or sugar-free Halloween treat) is Phillip Done’s Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind: Thoughts on Teacherhood. Like his first book, the hilarious and tight 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny (which I…
Birthdays — the key part is the “happy”
This post originally appeared on DC Metro Moms on August 31, 2009 Birthdays — the key part is the “happy” My mom and I used to get giddy about our almost-shared birthdays, which are two days apart in early March. But in 1987, nine days before my 14th birthday — a week before my mother’s…
Let patients get the full picture
This post originally appeared on DC Metro Moms on August 19, 2009 Let patients get the full picture “This is why health care costs are so high,” hissed my endocrinologist when she looked at the results of the labwork my holistic physician had ordered. To her, the additional blood tests were a waste of time…
Mama’s turn at dress-up
I’ll keep mum on the details for now, but it’s amazing what a job interview has done for me. Having to buy a clothes and dress shoes that actually fit, a bag, and jewelry has been a great exercise. I’ve had a reason to take myself seriously as a Person in the World, not just…
What did the boy inherit?
A few months back, I finally did a cheek swab test on my son to see if he did in fact inherit gluten sensitivity from me. I’d ordered the test from Enterolab almost a year earlier on the advice of Melissa Diane Smith, author of the fabulous book, Going Against the Grain. For some reason,…
Away from home
It’s seriously happening. I’m spending the night away from my son. My first in 3.4 years. And all thanks to the internet. I posted a few months back on a moms email list looking for a place in the metro area where I could just go and work on the laptop all day long without…
Shopping cart etiquette
This post originally appeared on August 5, 2009 on DC Metro Moms Shopping cart etiquette I hope I didn’t just shame my friend at IKEA. It was a rainy Sunday morning, getting busier by the minute. Long gone was the relative quiet we enjoyed within minutes of our 10:15 a.m. arrival. The sight of so…
To be not at BlogHer
I waited too long. By the time I decided that we’d be in an okay place with the move and that yes, I could justify the money to fly to Chicago for my first solo time since becoming a mom, BlogHer was sold out. I’d hoped that the conference would get me over the hump…
Back to writing (or at least thinking about it)
Back to the real world! I’ve been totally focused on moving for the past week (really months, but especially this week), and there’s been no small amount of frustration (see “Life without internet,” my post today at DC Metro Moms Blog). But I’m taking a break this afternoon to check out a writing workshop with…
Life without internet
This post originally appeared on July 18, 2009 on DC Metro Moms Life without internet I’m stealing bandwidth from a neighbor’s unsecured wireless network to write this because my phone company has told me I have to wait twelve days — twelve days! — before they can come figure out why I have a dial…