Our family participates in the Breast Cancer Awareness support every year. God rest my grandmother (aka Mother) Bea, who experienced the cycle of treatments to cure the breast cancer that never took her smile. We have walked to support the cause through many different associations. Our area is blessed to have the many vendors who come out each year. I love the crowd who comes out in their pink. This year many men and women came out wearing pink glittered bras over their shirts. I just love it.
Thank you to my family, and friends each and every year for sharing our greatest gift. Even though Breast Cancer didn't beat Mother done, I know she is proud. I Love You Mother.
Let me start out by stay no offense to all working Moms. But this for those those select who feel like stay at home Moms do nothing. If you have a son like mine you would beg to differ. Like Oprah said one of the hardest jobs is being a Mommy. This post is not about working, it is about the look down on stay at home Moms like everyday is a vacation. So that being said here we go.
We can even eat with one hand.
Okay, now I am a stay at home Mommy and it kind of bugs when It is frowned on when I say
I am tired
I am busy at the time or on that day
I have so much to do
I wasn't able to answer the phone
Not today
It seems as if I have a full time job while at home and going out
I do not have a day off
the list goes on
Don't get me wrong I love staying at home and being Mommy to my little ones. I just have a problem with the idea of me not doing anything all day. Come on people we know that isn't true. Why do you think daycares charge so much. Its because it is just not that easy. My typical day
6:00 am - I am up with baby girl getting ready for school
6:55 am - I am out the door trying to get her there on time
7:25-8:00 am - Baby boy wakes up but before that blog time
8:00-8:30 am- breakfast time
you know what I am not going on, but you get the idea
there is something every moment of the day.
It doesn't stop there what about the male companions who go off to work and think you are shooting breeze while they are gone. Problem is when they are home you make things seem so simple that they think you do nothing all day while they out. Most SAHM have once worked and would find there unpredictable day at home can be more stressful. Considering that you never have a moment, break or day off. Most SAHM :
cant use the bathroom by themselves without a little one there.
shower with the door open and or with the LO(little one)
take the LOs to the store to shop, which makes the trip even longer and stressful.
Do you know how much SAHM open to have anything happen to them when she is are out and about buckling a LO up with there back turned. This can be dangerous setting yourself up. But, we do it.
cook and clean holding a LO
There should be a union for stay at home Mommies and Dads because they at times do not get it either. How many Mom can remember they days when they would go to work and still have to come home and take care of the household. But, Men find it a hard balance. Not all but many. I get that it is your day off but when is mine. There has to be a balance. Moms can't even you the bathroom or shower with house going into Armageddon.
I would like to create an everyday venting and sharing place on facebook where Moms alike can care, share and bond with similar interest. On without all of the advertisements. Just pure fun where stay at home munnies can come to relate.
Is breastfeeding slavery? Let Nicolas Sarkozy tell, yes it is. After reading an article on aol this morning on Nicolas Sarkozy calling breastfeeding slavery, I was outraged. This is just what the mothers today do not need. Breastfeeding is just not where it should to have a new father speak of nursing in such a degarding manner. Not to mention he is a male who has never experienced nursing. Lets look over what the word means. Slavery:
1. (Law) the state or condition of
being a slave; a civil relationship whereby one person has absolute
power over another and controls his life, liberty, and fortune
2. the subjection of a person to another person, esp in being forced into work
3. the condition of being subject to some influence or habit
4. (Business / Industrial Relations & HR Terms) work done in harsh conditions for low pay
No where in the definition describes breastfeeding. Come on, his poor wife must feel bad. All new mothers know you just want the best for your new baby, where is his support. Being a breastfeeding mother for 16 months there is now way that you can call breastfeeding slavery. First off that word is way to harsh. In the article he states
"It does free men of blame because we don't have the problem of bottle-feeding. You don't have to get up at night". However, he did concede that out of spousal solidarity, "I do open one eye".
Breastfeeding does not free men of blame
Breastfeeding mothers still have to opportunity to bottlefeed through pumping.
Fathers should be up with baby as well.
To do that you need to open more than just one eye.
Here is a wonderful line up of all the states that will be participating in the tax free week. This is a great time to stock up on all of your children's school needs. We live in Florida and wish they would up the total price that it is applied to on clothing.
Alabama:
From August 5-7, no sales tax on up to $100 spent on clothing, $750 on computers, $50 on school supplies and $30 on books. Arkansas:
From August 6-7, no sales tax on up to $100 worth of clothing and any school supplies. Connecticut:
From August 21-27, no sales tax on up to $300 spent on clothing and footwear. Florida:
From August 12-14, no sales tax on up to $15 spent on school supplies and $75 spent on books and clothing.
Iowa:
From August 5-6, no sales tax on up to $100 spent on clothing. Louisiana:
From August 5-6, no sales tax on all tangible personal property (TTP). Maryland:
From August 14-20, no sales tax on up to $100 spent on clothing and footwear. Massachusetts:
From August 13-14, no sales tax on all TPP. Missouri:
From August 5-7, no sales tax on up to $100 spent on clothing, $3,500 spent on computers and $50 spent on school supplies. New Mexico:
From August 5-7, no sales tax on up to $100 spent on clothing, $1,000 on computers and $15 on school supplies. North Carolina:
From August 5-7, no sales tax on up to $100 spent on clothing, $100 spent on school supplies, $300 spent on instructional material, $3,500 spent on computers, $250 spent on other computer supplies ad $50 on sports equipment. Oklahoma:
From August 5-7, no sales tax on up to $100 spent on clothing. South Carolina:
From August 5-7, no sales tax on clothing, school supplies and computers. Tennessee:
From August 5-7, no sales tax on up to $100 spent on clothing, $100 on school supplies and $1,500 on computers. Texas:
From August 19-21, no sales tax on up to $100 spent on clothing, backpacks and school supplies. Virginia:
From August 5-7, no sales tax on up to $100 spent on clothing and $20 spent on school supplies.
WASHINGTON -- Parents seeking healthier restaurant meals for their kids can start to look beyond chicken nuggets and macaroni-and-cheese.
At least 19 large restaurant chains – including Burger King, Chili's, IHOP and Friendly's – plan to announce Wednesday that they will include healthier options on their children's menus. At least 15,000 restaurant locations will focus on increasing servings of fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains and low-fat dairy. The items will have less fats, sugars and sodium.
Less healthy foods like burgers and fries will still be on the menu, but the restaurants say they will do more to promote healthier options. Chili's, for example, will highlight a chicken sandwich with a side of pineapple or mandarin oranges on their kids' menu. Burger King has recently reformulated children's chicken nuggets so they include less sodium, and employees taking orders will ask if customers want healthier apple fries instead of the standard "fries with that?"
The effort is part of a new National Restaurant Association initiative to give kids more healthy options at restaurants and to make it easier for parents to find those options. Some of the items are already on menus, but restaurants will advertise them more prominently and flag the healthier menu items to make ordering easier.
To be part of the program, restaurants must include at least one kids' menu item that is 600 calories or less and meets other nutritional requirements. A side dish worth less than 200 calories must also be included.
"This could provide a great push toward healthier offerings at restaurants," said Robert Post, the Agriculture Department official in charge of developing the department's dietary guidelines, which came out earlier this year. Those urged Americans to eat less salt.
"We hope this is a trend toward new items and voluntary reformulations," Post said.
The companies signing up for the initiative are Au Bon Pain, Bonefish Grill, Burger King, Burgerville, Carrabba's Italian Grill, Chevys, Chili's, Corner Bakery Cafe, Cracker Barrel, Denny's, El Pollo Loco, Friendly's, IHOP, Joe's Crab Shack, Outback Steakhouse, Silver Diner, Sizzler, T-Bones Great American Eatery and zpizza.
Joe Taylor of Chili's said the company has responded to consumer demands for healthier foods. While diners looking for a healthier meal used to have to ask for substitutions, they now have more options.
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"We've seen our guests customize their meals to a greater degree when they are looking to hold the mayo or add the broccoli," Taylor said.
Patrick Lenow of IHOP said the restaurant will add two new children's menu items because of the effort, including pancakes with fruit and scrambled eggs with fruit. The company had already limited everything on their children's menu to under 600 calories and made fruit a default side, instead of fries – a change that has dramatically increased fruit consumption at the restaurants, Lenow said.
Several restaurant chains haven't committed yet to joining the effort. Maggiano's, owned with Chili's by Brinker International, is not part of the program. Neither is McDonald's, the world's largest burger chain.
Dawn Sweeney, president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association, said the group is hoping to add additional restaurants to the effort in coming months.
First lady Michelle Obama last year attended a National Restaurant Association meeting in Washington and pleaded with them to take a little butter or cream out of their dishes, use low-fat milk and provide apple slices or carrots as a default side dish on the kids' menu. She said Americans eat a third of their meals in restaurants, which have long been seen by many as the worst offenders in terms of nutrition.
Many restaurant companies are starting to reformulate menu items and add new healthier sections to their menus, however, as consumers have shown a heightened interest in nutrition.
The federal government will also soon require restaurants to post calories on their menus. FDA guidelines will require chain restaurants with 20 or more locations, along with bakeries, grocery stores, convenience stores and coffee chains, to clearly post the calories.
John Dillon of Denny's said the company recently took photos of French fries off their menus.
"Where before we may have been concerned about not having French fries pictured on our menu, we're now finding that has actually helped our business," he said.
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BY: Judie Rall
After a baby is born, it is natural to see the mother kissing the baby. One would think this is simply because of the emotional bond that has formed between mother and child. While this is true, there are also other very compelling biochemical reasons why it occurs. These reasons reinforce the understanding that our bodies have inner wisdom which we seldom recognize or trust. Just as our bodies know how to give birth even if we don’t have intellectual knowledge of the process, our bodies’ biological systems also have reasons for the complex social interplay between mother and baby. It just goes to show that, more than ever, we should trust our mothering instincts. Five Senses
When an animal gives birth, you will notice that the mother spends a lot of time licking her young. This exposes her five senses to the young so that she knows the taste, smell, feel, sound and sight of her new baby. In this way, a mother claims her child as her own.
When a human mother births a baby in an environment which allows her immediate and free access to her child, you will notice that over a period of time she performs certain behaviours called “claiming behaviours.” She will caress the child, explore the softness of the baby’s skin, and probably count and fondle the unique little fingers and toes.
She probably marvels visually over how much the baby looks like her or her husband or another family member. She will notice the colour of the hair and eyes and other physical features. She hears the baby’s cries and learns to distinguish them from all other cries. As she leans down to kiss the child, she undoubtedly smells the scent of her new baby and through the actual act of kissing; she comes to know the taste of him or her.
Just like an animal mother, she has now exposed her five senses to the baby so she attaches to him or her. She now feels he or she is her own. It is not unusual to find that women who are deprived of the privacy required to create this immediate bonding right after birth often say they feel a distance between them and their baby. Health Benefits
Claiming behaviours such as kissing provide not only emotional, but biological attachment. There is a very real health benefit for the baby who is kissed.
“When a mother kisses her baby, she ‘samples’ those pathogens that are on the baby’s face. Those are ones that the baby is about to ingest. These samples are taken up by the mother’s secondary lymphoid organs like the tonsils, and memory B cells specific for those pathogens are re-stimulated. These B cells then migrate to the mother’s breasts where they produce just those antibodies that the baby needs.” says Lauren Sompayrac, author of How The Immune System Works.
We talk a lot about breast milk and how it conveys antibodies to the infant helping to prevent illness. However antibodies made for the mother while pregnant are not what the baby needs. He or she needs antibodies for the environment around them that they are in constant contact with now. Kissing her baby is a very important activity beyond its obvious pleasurable and attachment- promoting value. It helps mother claim baby, and helps her body determine the antibodies baby needs in the breast milk.
So mothers, kiss away on those babies! Copyright 2001 by Judie Rall of Unhindered Living. Reprinted with permission in the Winter 2007 issue of Birthing Magazine.
