Welcome to the second edition of the “I’m a Natural Parent – BUT…” Carnival This post was written for inclusion in the carnival hosted by The Artful Mama and our feminist {play}school. During this carnival our participants have focused on how mainstream society has affected their natural parenting and how they have come to peace…
writing mother
Scattered tea
It makes me sick not to write. There are so many interviews pieces I want to finish, ideas I want to share, moments I want to record. Even healthy food putrifies if it stays in you too long. To not write is intellectual constipation. It hurts. And it stinks. But I feel like I have…
Mother’s Self-Renewal workshop begins
When a two-hour workshop that requires almost an hour of driving leaves you feeling recharged like you had a nap, I’d say it lives up to its “self-renewal” title! Today was the first meeting of a “Monthly Mother’s Self-Renewal Group” based on Renee Trudeau’s book, The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal. We centered, we talked, we…
Keeping up with the news (when your baby won’t sleep)
Homebirth, school lunch, small farmers, Wise Traditions conference, Blogalicious, that bee sting I got the other day … there is so much to write about. But when you spend close to two hours trying to get a baby to nap for 30 minutes, well, it’s tough to get it all in. My apologies for all…
Anusara Grand Circle: First report from my mat
From lots of yoga to none and back again! This week I’m taking part in the Anusara Grand Circle and Wanderlust Vermont. I’ll be reporting on the events for my Washington Times Communities column but at least wanted to post some personal reflections here before my head gets any more exploded! These are groovy people….
I’m a top Mental Wellness blogger!
I’m pleased to announce that I made it into the Top 25 Mental Wellness blogs at Circle of Moms. Thanks to everyone who voted. More details to come!
Who wins the title: “Most Conflicted?”
Before I had even cracked the spine of the book Good Enough is the New Perfect: Finding Happiness and Success in Modern Motherhood, it got soaked. For at least the fourteenth time, I’d failed to screw the top on my new glass water bottle on correctly, and it spilled all over the purse I took…
Writing while mothering, and writing without Mothering (the magazine)
By now, most readers have probably heard the sad news that Mothering magazine is going to cease publication. If not, read Peggy O’Mara’s explanation here. I found out in an email from the web editor regarding a piece I was writing for Mothering.com, which is still going strong, she said. I was happy to have…
My child is my mirror – January Carnival of Natural Parenting
Welcome to the January Carnival of Natural Parenting: Learning from children This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared the many lessons their children have taught them. Please read to the end to find a list…
Book reading as therapy: Monica Lemoine of Knocked Up, Knocked Down
I had the pleasure two weeks ago of hearing Monica Murphy Lemoine read from her book Knocked Up, Knocked Down: Postcards from the Brink of Parenthood while she was in town for a conference on perinatal and infant death. Let me tell you, Monica is no less engaging in person. Her book was already funny…
(Good?) Food in schools
I was so disappointed to miss last weekend’s Wise Traditions conference sponsored by the Weston A. Price Foundation. The topic was “The Politics of Food;” I looked forward to hearing about “The Politics of School Lunches” and in participating in the food activism panel with WAPF publicist and food blogger extraordinaire, Kimberly Harkte of Hartke…
Author to read on miscarriage, stillbirth, and beyond
Monica Murphy Lemoine earlier this year published a “darkly humorous memoir of miscarriage and stillbirth” called Knocked Up, Knocked Down: Postcards of Miscarriage and Misadventure from the Brink of Parenthood. She’ll be reading from and discussing her book at two local Northern Virginia venues later this week. This woman has such a way with words….
Priorities, values, and goals… oh my!
“Priorities” pops up as one of my most used tags because this blog is essentially about my trying to figure out what my priorities are and how to accommodate them when they seem to contradict one another. Or when one supposed priority gets bumped off its seat for something I don’t claim to care about…
Feedback from Mothering magazine — how we all find our way
Dear Angie Ferrell of Norwood, Ohio and Jennifer M. of Danvers, Massachusetts, Thank you for writing letters (published in the July/August issue) about recent Mothering magazine news briefs on Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC). When I first read Jennifer’s letter, I thought she was responding to the piece I wrote in the May/June issue about…
42 days to go? Until I have a baby?
A while back, I signed up for BabyCenter‘s “Your Pregnancy” updates. I think it was when I couldn’t remember if I was 27 or 28 weeks. Now I am 34 weeks and I just noticed that the header on this week’s email also shouts: “42 days to go!” 42 days? You have got to be…
“Leisure” time, yoga, and multitasking
I walked into the Enterprising Moms event with speaker Brigid Schulte almost 20 minutes late, which I figured was appropriate since the Washington Post writer was going to be discussing her Post Magazine piece on moms and just how much “leisure time” they have. Was this event “leisure time?” Or did it count toward some…
Can’t find time to write about not finding time
Well, I keep meaning to blog about the great Enterprising Moms (TEM) event I went to the other day with guest speaker Brigid Schulte who wrote this great article a few months back in the Washington Post Magazine: “The Test of Time: A busy working mother tries to figure out where all her time is…
Wheeling away with goodies: Blogger/Brand event loads up mamas
It sure is nice to feel like other people want to make you happy. I was excited for the DC Metro Moms Brand/Blogger event as a motivator to finally get my three blogs merged into one blog (this one! with the domain I’ve been sitting on for a year and a half!), to see other…
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…
"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)…