Mama Speaks

I sometimes wonder how some parents keep that fresh, youthful, energized look about them.  I, unfortunately, do not.  I wear every tired moment of motherhood on my face, in my posture, and in between my eyebrows. So, as some of you may remember, Ayla had gotten into the bad habit of hitting, kicking, slapping, and even an incident where she once clapped my face. Lucky for us, that bad habit has been taken down a notch.  I'm by no means saying that she is a flower-wearing, peace-loving hippie these days.  I'm just saying she picks and chooses the moments to show that lovely side of herself. Out with the old, in with the new.  Ayla has recently become very verbal (read: screaming) when she doesn't get her way.  Additionally, when she has something she should (most likely breakable or dangerous), she decides that rather than give it to us upon request, she instead would much prefer to launch it at the nearest hard surface.  This is why I can't have...

Not long after Ayla was born, my mom tried to convince me that we should become owners of the video series "My Baby Can Read."  I flat out told her no.  Multiple times.  Later on, a pregnant friend asked me my thoughts on it, as a teacher & mom. Do I think it can work?  Yes.   However, the whole notion doesn't impress me.  The whole concept I find to be lacking authenticity.  You see, I became a reader around the age of 3.  My mom had no formal training in teaching a child to read, but she read to me.  She read everything to me.  I wanted to know what the cereal box said, she taught me.  What does that sign I see looking out the window say?  She read to me and taught me that, too.  She taught me the sounds of letters.  So, when I was 3 years old, I became a reader.   My mom told my preschool teacher I could read.  I imagine that this school teacher had many parents say the same, so I'm s...

I wish I was a morning person.  I'd love to be able to hop out of bed cheerfully upon hearing the sound of my alarm (people do that??) and get in a morning workout and shower in before starting off my day.  I don't think I'll ever be that person, but I'd like to try. I wish my bedside table wasn't a heaping mound of junk, ranging from my Kindle charger to receipts to random coupons.  I wish it looked like a bedside table straight out of the movies with not a speck of dust and just a nice, thick non-fiction read of some sort and a tall glass of water. I wish I drank enough water.  I wish that when I consumed more than 4 oz. of water at a time I didn't have to pee, then maybe it would be easier to drink enough water.  Did you know you're supposed to drink your weight halved in ounces.  Do you know how much water I'd have to drink to meet quota??  Yeah... I wish that I could meet David Tutera.  Okay, sorry.  That is totally off topic, but...

When I was a little girl, I was afraid of many things.  Freddy Krueger.  Being kidnapped.  Getting a question wrong on homework or a test.  Losing my parents since my mom lost hers. I also remember being very afraid of having a boyfriend that hit me.  I don't know where this fear came from.  Perhaps too much adult TV and novels too mature for me, even though I could read them quite easily.  (I always insisted on being more grown up than I was).  Luckily, I grew up in a very loving home where my parents argued so seldom that when they did disagree, I was terrified they'd get a divorce.  I just knew that to be a woman in a relationship with a man where I felt afraid for my own safety would be a terrible thing to endure. This morning while on my way to work, I witnessed one of the most (if not the most) horrifying things I've ever seen.  Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a person balled up on the ground.  At first, I thought...

I haven't blogged about car seat safety before, mostly because my dear friend blogged so well about it HERE .  I have to say, I am so grateful that this same dear friend was a stay-at-home mom for over a year because it allowed her to impart her wisdom found researching while at home. The main thing being REAR FACING.  Recently the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) changed their standpoint on how long a child should remain rear-facing in his/her car seat.  They now recommend the child rear face UNTIL age two, longer if possible.  I didn't know this, and sadly, my pediatrician is sharing outdated research with her hundreds of patients.  She continues to ask me if Ayla is forward facing, to which I reiterate to her the AAP's recommendation and research.  It makes me sad to know that many, many other pediatricians are continuing to promote this outdated practice to their families. I have tried to share the information in a non-threatening, non-judgmenta...

Health care in our country (and elsewhere as well) is pitiful.  I do not think it is all bad or ineffective, but overall I would have to say it leaves a lot for wanting.  Note:  I've come back to the beginning to give this warning.  I don't have a plan for this blog...I am writing wherever it takes me.  It may become a series of blogs, as I have a lot to say that I can't even begin to cover in one night. As previously mentioned, I was injured at the tender age of 12 due to the negligence of a grocery store and poorly designed freezer.  The result of that injury is a lifelong illness, one that may possibly disable me completely someday.  One that paralyzes me from the sheer, agonizing pain it entails. Medicine, both Eastern and Western, failed me throughout the years.  The health care and insurance companies failed my family.  Insurance is more about profit for those companies than for the benefit of its policyholders.  My mother t...