This post originally appeared on DC Metro Moms on April 1, 2010 Navigating the birthday present conundrum I was pretty comfortable with my “No gifts, please”/Birthdays Without Pressure approach until last week when my newly-four-year-old son said of the friends coming to his playdate, “But I want them to bring presents!” Am I an evil…
Navigating the birthday present conundrum
I was pretty comfortable with my “No gifts, please”/Birthdays Without Pressure approach until last week when my newly-four-year-old son said of the friends coming to his playdate, “But I want them to bring presents!” Am I an evil mommy for pushing low consumerism on my kid? Or am I just feeling the sting of letting…
Hot Momma finalist
I just learned that I was a Top 25 Finalist for the Hot Mommas Project whose mission is “to increase self-efficacy in women and girls by providing scalable, global, free access to role models online. “ My case is titled “Spreading the Word About Healthy Living” and can be found in the case library. The…
Reflecting on NIH VBAC conference
As I wrote shortly after attending the first day of the NIH conference on Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) a few weeks ago, the experience was tiring. The panelists might have been trying to convey the message the uterine rupture is really rare — less than 1% — and that it does not deserve to…
How long until Daylight Savings Time ends?
Four-year-olds do not sleep when it’s sunny. That’s an exaggeration, but I cannot say that I am in love with this early switch to later sunsets. The hour shift has been tough enough when we’ve had three more weeks of gradual, natural lightening to get used to the idea. But now that it’s mid-March… Ouch….
Breathe on me, when you’re not strong
I had a hunch my son was not in the greatest health when, on Wednesday morning, his breath didn’t smell right. Whenever he gets a fever, his breath has a metallic or medicinal smell. I get the impression his body is heating up and detoxifying. But it’s hard to justify keeping a child home for…
How long until Daylight Savings Time ends?
This post originally appeared on March 17, 2010 How long until Daylight Savings Time ends? Four-year-olds do not sleep when it’s sunny. That’s an exaggeration, but I cannot say that I am in love with this early switch to later sunsets. The hour shift has been tough enough when we’ve had three more weeks of…
NIH conference addresses vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC)
More personal reflections will follow, but below is my official report from attending day one of the NIH conference on VBAC, a post I’ve also published in my column at the Washington Times Communities. This week, the National Institutes of Health is holding a Consensus Development Conference entitled “Vaginal Birth After Cesarean: New Insights,” a…
The day after
It was nice to have such warm & fuzzy feelings about my son yesterday, but today I just feel guilty. He was so whiny and out of sorts this morning. It’s great that he can adapt well to situations (like yesterday’s marathon of being in others’ care), but I feel like we always pay for…
Tired and missing my kid
It feels good to look forward to seeing your son. Lately I’ve felt so swamped — and especially after all that snow with no break — I haven’t exactly loved all my many minutes with my boy. Today I went to the National Institutes of Health for a conference on Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC),…
Dissed for Summer Camp
This post orignally appeared on DC Metro Moms on March 3, 2010 Dissed for Summer Camp Why do I feel like a loser if my four-year-old has no one to go to summer camp with? Last year I’d signed him up for just one week at a French camp, your standard 9:30-12:30 Monday-Friday day camp….
Generosity of Peers
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…
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…
Homemade Chicken Stock
Homemade chicken stock is an inexpensive way to make a mineral-rich, healing liquid that can soothe testy tummies and enhance the flavor and healthfulness of any soup or cooked veggie recipe. I just posted a recipe/protocol for making homemade chicken stock on my more food-focused outlets: on my blog “Inexact Science: Raising Healthy Families” and…
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…
Homemade Chicken Stock
One of the easiest things to do to stay – or get – healthy in the winter is to make your own chicken stock, or bone broth. Some people like to claim that healthy eating costs a lot of money, but broth is something you can make from the bones of a chicken you already…