Rocky Mountain Moms Blog

Silicon Valley Moms Group Acquired By Technorati Media

Reports of our demise, as the saying goes, were premature. The Silicon Valley Moms Group of sister sites is taking up residence in a new location. Look for that great timely, opinionated, poignant, and sometimes just plain funny parenting content you're used to seeing on this site over at The Women's Channel at Technorati. After 6 great years of blogging here, we've moved to a new home.

Fondly,

Jill Asher, Beth Blecherman & Tekla Nee

Co-Founders, Silicon Valley Moms Group

Running Again, Running With A Little Help From Some Online Friends...

Just this month I started running, again. Again, being the keyword. For me running meets a need, which is working out on a regular basis (well, that's my goal). The beauty of running is that I can walk out the door and start my work out. I don't need a gym membership, I don't need to drive across town wasting time just to get to the gym. Out the door and go! The ugly side of running is that I am easily self defeated. 

Running is one of my biggest mental obstacles. Quite often when I hit the trail, I find myself playing into the mind game that running has become for me. I tell myself, just get to the next tree, to the telephone pole, to the driveway past the intersection, to the bench, to the sculpture. Run, run, run, no keep going, run! Just last week I felt like I had a turning point in my running after two weeks of very consistent training. It felt good, I didn't have to coax myself into getting to the next thing. I just ran, with ease. Now let me clarify with ease, I am only running a couple of miles, like 2.75 to be specific. For now, it's more important for me to commit to consistently trying then a specific time or distance.  Then the next day, I felt like I had my worst day running, since I began. I don't quite understand running, but I am just going to keep on trying. 

Lighthouse

For someone who is slow to see blockbuster hits, I’m not always sure what I’m getting myself into when I go to the theater or rent a movie. I don’t follow reviews, I judge DVDs by the cover and often times, my husband and I will rent a movie only to return it without the disc ever making it’s way into our DVD player. So, when my Mom and I rented My Sister’s Keeper, I had only a vague idea as to what the flick was actually about. I knew the subject matter may be a bit deep and sentimental and I was prepared for that – what I was not prepared for is the emotions that would come to the forefront and the mantra this movie about life and death would inspire in me.

To say My Sister’s Keeper “moved” me seems a bit shallow. The words do not do justice for the way the storyline of this film had a profane impact on my thinking. The message I gleaned spoke to my soul and sank my heart into a deep place I haven’t visited lately. There were many meanings one could have walked away with, each of them dependent on your past experiences and general outlook on life. And I guess I was taken off guard because after watching the characters act out the last few days of a leukemia patient's life while reflecting back on the past experiences the family had lived through … lighthouse was the only word that kept repeating itself over and over in my mind and the primary feeling I walked away with was that of deep gratitude.

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok: A SV Moms Group Book Club

Transplanted from Hong Kong to New York City as a (very poor) young girl with her mother, Ah-Kim or Kimberley, struggled to make things better for her family, to learn English, to walk the line between traditional Chinese duties and the Americanized teenager she grew into. Join us today as we discuss the book Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok.

Here are what the SV Moms Group contributors ave to say today, all inspired by the book Girl in Translation:

• Marinka from Motherhood in NYC tells her immigration story in America, Baby
• Pamela from 2 Much Testosterone felt empowered
• Emily from Mama Sick has hope for her son
• Sharon from Channeling Ricky recognizes her own childhood embarrassment
• Vanessa from Chefdruck Musings goes for a taste of America
• April from It's All About Balance is a girl in gratitude
• Emily Paster from West of the Loop examines secrets below the surface
• Melanie from tales from the crib just wanted to fit in
• Elena from Cara Mamma reflects on dreaming big
• Lisa H. from Hannemaniacs has aunts just like Aunt Paula
• Alma from Marketing Mommy had culture shock
• Kristine from Mommy Needs Therapy or a Bottle of Wine was moved by the reality of immigrants who come to the U.S. for a "better" life
• Rox from Rox and Roll has thoughts about honor
• Julie from Just Precious opens her eyes in her own neighborhood
• Jen B from Anybody Want A Peanut? tries to translate autism

Silicon Valley Moms Blog is hosting the book club discussion this month. Please leave a comment here to join in the discussion.

Past SV Moms Group Book Clubs have included:

• I am Nujood, Aged 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali
• The Body Scoop for Girls by Dr. Jennifer Ashton
• Just Let Me Lie Down by Kristin van Ogtrop, Editor of REAL SIMPLE magazine
• National Geographic's Green Guide Families by Catherine Zandonella
• Top 100 Finger Foods and Top 100 Baby Purees by Annabel Karmel
• The Possibility of Everything by Hope Edelman
• The Mominatrix's Guide to Sex by Kristen Chase
• Coco Chanel & Igr Stravinsky by Chris Greenhalgh
• See Mom Run by Beth Feldman
• Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind by Phillip Done
• This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Topper
• Do One Nice Thing by Debbie Tenzer
• Birth Day by Mark Sloan, M.D.
• What Happened to the Girl I Married? by Michael Miller
• Testimony by Anita Shreve
  
• Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs
• Much to Your Chagrin by Suzanne Guilette
  
• It Started with Pop-Tarts by Lori Hanson
• Who By Fire by Diana Spechler
• The White Trash Moms Handbook by Michelle Lamar
• Writing Motherhood by Lisa Garrigues
• The Vaccine Book by Dr. Robert W. Sears
• The Other Mother by Gwendolen Gross

Click here to read all about the SV Moms Group Book Club.

Working on Just Saying No. Or saying something, anyway.

Along with the rest of the blogworld, I've been reeling this week with the news of the death of attachment parenting guru Katie Granju's son from a drug overdose and assault. And like lots of other moms, one of the things I've been doing is to try for the first time to talk to my eight-year-old son about drugs. Only--and I'm guessing I'm not the only one, right?--I have no idea how to go about it. I keep remembering the baffling time my dad burst into my room to tell me to never, EVER ride a motorcycle without a helmet. I was about nine at the time, and about as likely to ride a motorcycle as the space shuttle. It was good information, and good to know my dad's position on wearing helmets, but I'm not sure how useful it was as a preventative measure (although come to think of it, I never have ridden a motorcycle without a helmet. Or, uh, with one. But still!)

However, my son *is* going to be asked to do drugs, and probably way sooner than I'm willing to contemplate. I want to let him know where I stand, I want to keep the lines of communication open (this somehow suggests that we're on opposite sides of an enemy engagement, doesn't it?), and maybe most of all, I want to give him the tools he needs to resist addiction (one) and the worst of the risky behavior that he's likely to soon be experimenting with (two). It's a tall order, and not one that's going to be filled by bursting into his room and saying, "Drugs are bad! Don't ever do them!"

I don't really understand addiction, and what I do know suggests that parental love and good intentions aren't tremendously effective weapons against it. However, I do know a little about risky behavior and what compels teenagers to engage in it. More importantly, I know, or think I know, the factors that caused one teenager (me) to mostly pull through okay.

The Work of 'Til Death Do Us Part

Cross posted from our sister blog, 50-Something Moms Blog.

In the news this week it was announced that after 40 years of marriage, Al and Tipper Gore were separating. After the round of snorty, churlish jokes about who will get custody of the Internet, people began to comment on the sadness of it all. After 40 years it would seem that a couple would have a lock on a successful marriage, a marriage that withstands the tests of time, a marriage that will last 'til death do us depart. But it seems that this is not the case. In the case of the Gores, it seems that it wasn't a sordid affair or other ilk like that. No, they simply, in their own words, 'grew apart after 40 years together".Over time they had carved out separate lives.

So with the end of what always seemed to be an enduring love story where do we all begin to understand this. It doesn't just make us sad but it makes us a little scared.

Continue reading at our sister blog, 50-Something Moms Blog.

An American Girl

 There are a lot of stereotypes around the world about us, ladies.  Loud, rich, obnoxious, ignorant, and sexually loose, to name a few.  I’m sure you’ve heard ‘em all.  I was reminded of just how prevalent these ideas are recently while sitting on a bus to Punjab amidst a sea of turban-clad Sikh men and their families. 

Blaring so loudly I had to stick tissue in my ears, a popular Hindi movie screamed the entire five hour journey long.  And when the token American Girl appeared in the film, she acted as to be expected.  Boobs hanging out, butt cheeks exposed, the Bimbo twirled her bleached locks between her fingertips and popped her gum while the men in the film drooled and ogled, despite their wives’ scolding.            

It was all quite comical, actually.  The fact that there happened to be an American portrayed in this particular Hindi movie.  The fact that I happened to be on that very bus, in the middle of India, as white and gleaming as I am.  And it definitely got me thinking.  However incorrect or at times, correct, that stereotype may be, I’m damn glad to be an American Girl. 

I am Nujood, Aged 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali: A SV Moms Group Book Club

Married as a child into an abusive relationship in Yemen, this little girl had the strength to escape and demand a divorce. Interviewed by the New York Times over Skype, Nujood Ali, who does not speak English and worked with a French co-author to write her memoir, I am Nujood, Aged 10 and Divorced, tells her powerful story of becoming a child bride. It is a story that is, unfortunately, not just hers. Join us today as we discuss the book I am Nujood, Aged 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali, with Delphine Minoui.

Here are what the SV Moms Group contributors have to say today, all inspired by the book I am Nujood, Aged 10 and Divorced:

• Tiffany from Lattes and Life wishes we all had a little of Nujood in us
• Grace from Tale of the Multi-Tasking, Craft-and-Design-Loving, Mother-of-Two, Singaporean-Living-in-US, Corporate-Working Mom Named Grace Hester was motivated to look up more into the practice of child brides in Yemen
• Lisa H. from Hannemaniacs hopes other women can pull together the strength to reclaim their life and happiness
• Kara-Noel from Eli's Lids: The Blog points out that Yemen is not the only place where 9-year-olds are on display
• Sarah from The Travel Mommy considers when honor is at stake
• Heidi from Coast to Coast Mom says that getting married at nine is like getting married at four
  
• Garima from Mommy In Making determines that something can be done about it...it starts with education
  
• Sharon from Channeling Ricky examines everyday bravery
• Jen from Anybody Want A Peanut? asks what is hope?
• Bay from Queen Mother Blog thinks this book should be fast-tracked to high school reading lists
• Cheryl from SpecialSauce in the House views home as a springboard
• Jennifer Z. from Dirty Little Secret says that many divorced people deserve a party grander than their weddings
• Kristine from Mommy Needs therapy or a Bottle of Wine is given a book, a co-worker and some perspective
• Melissa from Peanut Butter in my Hair shares lessons from Nujood
• Helen P from I Want a Book Deal hopes it’s not for nought
• Melanie from tales from the crib talk to her kids about "when I grow up..."
• Michelle from Honest & Truly! examines childhood scars
• Julie from Just Precious thinks about honor and family
• Jill from Musings from Me on Kids, Preteens, and Teens reads the line "one less mouth to feed"
• Lisa from blog on the wall is in awe of this little girl
• Torie from Manhattan:  For Better or Worse is thinking independently
• Michelle from Wife and Mommy asks how old were you?
• Nicole from Not Just a Working Mom "confesses" that she was married and divorced
• Janelle from Mama Daisy is looking through a mommy lens
• Zoeyjane from Raising Zoeyjane has a disclosure: how much is too much?
• Linsey from Me Too You examines her other mother fantasies

DC Metro Moms Blog is hosting the book club discussion this month. Please leave a comment here join in the discussion.

Past SV Moms Group Book Clubs have included:

• The Body Scoop for Girls by Dr. Jennifer Ashton
• Just Let Me Lie Down by Kristin van Ogtrop, Editor of REAL SIMPLE magazine
• National Geographic's Green Guide Families by Catherine Zandonella
• Top 100 Finger Foods and Top 100 Baby Purees by Annabel Karmel
• The Possibility of Everything by Hope Edelman
• The Mominatrix's Guide to Sex by Kristen Chase
• Coco Chanel & Igr Stravinsky by Chris Greenhalgh
• See Mom Run by Beth Feldman
• Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind by Phillip Done
• This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Topper
• Do One Nice Thing by Debbie Tenzer
• Birth Day by Mark Sloan, M.D.
• What Happened to the Girl I Married? by Michael Miller
• Testimony by Anita Shreve
  
• Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs
  
• Much to Your Chagrin by Suzanne Guilette
  
• It Started with Pop-Tarts by Lori Hanson
  
• Who By Fire by Diana Spechler
• The White Trash Moms Handbook by Michelle Lamar
• Writing Motherhood by Lisa Garrigues
• The Vaccine Book by Dr. Robert W. Sears
• The Other Mother by Gwendolen Gross

Click here to read all about the SV Moms Group Book Club.

Naps ... the end of an era?

Last month I called the pediatrician and inquired about their abilities to perform exorcisms.  Something had happened to my perfect little two year old son.  Sadly, I was informed that not only did this particular pediatrician's office not perform such acts, but that the separation anxiety, teething, sleep troubles, change in dietary selection and all around horrific behavior being exhibited by my perfect son was, well, normal.

Deep sigh.

I was also informed that this would merely be a phase and it would pass, perhaps in four to six weeks. Well, after about seven weeks, most things did return to normal.  His molars were in, so that part was done.  I was allowed to be out of sight long enough to quickly go to the bathroom without a tantrum. And 

he started going back to his normal two to three hour naps (versus the 45-minute attempts of the weeks prior).  

The Art of Losing

I'm fluent in baseball. I know the light tink of the bat just grazing the threaded ball ("Foul!"), the whistling swish of a bat swung hard against the empty air ("Strike!"), the hard thonk of a baseball caught in leather ("Out!"). I know the ringing thud of a bat striking ball, the cleated feet tearing up the first base line, and I swear I know the cut of the umpire's arms against the air--"Safe!" That's when I can open my eyes and enjoy a few moments of my eight-year-old son's baseball game, before the next player comes up to bat.

It's been a hard year for Silas's baseball team. They're currently 1 and 13 or so with two more games left to play. It's become something of a masochist's art, attending their games. "Nice try, Ethan!" we parents have become adept at calling. "Way to stop the ball, Trevor!" Sometimes another mom will lean into me after a good inning and say something like, It's only four and seven! I think they might have a shot of winning this one--wouldn't that be GREAT!

Home Sweet Home

We just got back to Colorado after spending six days in a place that will always be my second home: Miami. Although I was born in Peru, I moved to the U.S. when I was 14 and spent the next 20 years of my life in Miami (with a four-year stint in northern Florida during college). It was in this city that I came of age, I got my first real job as a newspaper journalist, I got married, we bought our first house and we procreated our first child. Needless to say, I have very fond memories of this gorgeous place.

However, as soon as I found out I was pregnant with our firstborn, my husband and I started talking about how we needed to go about making our dream of leaving Miami for a city better suited to raise children. We had been wanting to make this move for years, but he has a child from his first marriage and the timing was never right. As much as we enjoyed the weather—except for the summer when it was pretty much unbearable—the beaches and the cultural diversity, there are so many things that are simply wrong with Miami, including the atrocious traffic, the school overcrowding, the hurricanes (the last two seasons we lived there were pretty bad, considering we're both journalists) and above all the unbelievable rudeness of its residents. 

I must admit Denver was not really on the list of options. I'd been here a couple of times prior to relocating, and although I thought it was beautiful, I felt it was not diverse enough—not to mention it snows here, which seemed like a lot of fun when I'd go skiing, but not so much when you have to deal with it on a regular basis. But everyone told us it wasn't so bad. They said it would snow, but it'd melt when the sun came out the next day... Honestly, the main reason we ended up here was because my family already lived here. My sister had moved here several years prior to our relocation to go to Law School. My brother had followed her a few years later. And, a few months before we moved, my mom had relocated herself. So, as my belly grew and I realized I didn't want to raise my child far away from my family, the need to make a decision became more pressing.

Expectations and the To-Do List

I keep waiting for things to get easier.  For the to-do list to get shorter. You know, it's just not happening.  To top it off, here in Boulder, the wind has been blowing.  And blowing.  And. Blowing.

Wind, of all weather conditions, makes me crabby.  Today it was beautiful outside and trying so hard to be warm.  But no, the wind was having its way with us, the chairs were tumbling all over the patio and installing new screen doors, which was on my to-do list, was not going to happen. 

Ah yes, the to-do list.  When it's windy and I'm crabby I often start obsessing about things that aren't getting done. My brain starts in with the questioning...  Why, when I'm busy from sun up to sun down, does my list of things to do never get shorter?  Why can't I get more accomplished? (Taking stock of one's life like this when one is crabby is NOT the best idea.)  

Ireland, toddler stomach flu and Sidney Poitier ... oh my!

I consider myself a professional parent traveler now. Our son had 14 round trip flights under his belt by the time he turned two.  We've done puppet shows, introduced new toys & new snacks, know that all routines go out the window and to pack a spare change of clothes in case of diaper mishaps.  I'm familiar with the "hunger strikes" that come along with travel.  So a ten day trip to Ireland was going to be a piece of cake!

We took a family vacation to Ireland a few weeks ago.  And when I say family vacation, there were ten of us.  Seven adults, a 5 1/2 year old, 2-year old and a month old.  Two cars.  Nine days and five towns. And lots of emotion ... it was a memorial trip honoring my Dad by spreading some of his ashes.  In retrospect, I'm exhausted thinking about how we managed to do it all.  And still be on speaking terms upon our departure.

Unfinished business

My husband and I, along with most of his siblings, recently went through all his mother's possessions, things that were put into storage after she suffered a debilitating stroke last year. She wasn't expected to live very long after the stroke, but she did. She'll just never be able to live on her own, never again in her own home.

So all of her things have been stored away for nearly a year now. And the family has decided it's time to divvy up Mom's things, clear out the storage unit, eliminate the monthly payment and provide each of her offspring with a special memento or twelve.

Silicon Valley Moms Group Acquired By Technorati Media

Reports of our demise, as the saying goes, were premature. The Silicon Valley Moms Group of sister sites is taking up residence in a new location. Look for that great timely, opinionated, poignant, and sometimes just plain funny parenting content you're used to seeing on this site over at The Women's Channel at Technorati. After 6 great years of blogging here, we've moved to a new home.

Fondly,

Jill Asher, Beth Blecherman & Tekla Nee

Co-Founders, Silicon Valley Moms Group

Running Again, Running With A Little Help From Some Online Friends...

Just this month I started running, again. Again, being the keyword. For me running meets a need, which is working out on a regular basis (well, that's my goal). The beauty of running is that I can walk out the door and start my work out. I don't need a gym membership, I don't need to drive across town wasting time just to get to the gym. Out the door and go! The ugly side of running is that I am easily self defeated. 

Running is one of my biggest mental obstacles. Quite often when I hit the trail, I find myself playing into the mind game that running has become for me. I tell myself, just get to the next tree, to the telephone pole, to the driveway past the intersection, to the bench, to the sculpture. Run, run, run, no keep going, run! Just last week I felt like I had a turning point in my running after two weeks of very consistent training. It felt good, I didn't have to coax myself into getting to the next thing. I just ran, with ease. Now let me clarify with ease, I am only running a couple of miles, like 2.75 to be specific. For now, it's more important for me to commit to consistently trying then a specific time or distance.  Then the next day, I felt like I had my worst day running, since I began. I don't quite understand running, but I am just going to keep on trying. 

Lighthouse

For someone who is slow to see blockbuster hits, I’m not always sure what I’m getting myself into when I go to the theater or rent a movie. I don’t follow reviews, I judge DVDs by the cover and often times, my husband and I will rent a movie only to return it without the disc ever making it’s way into our DVD player. So, when my Mom and I rented My Sister’s Keeper, I had only a vague idea as to what the flick was actually about. I knew the subject matter may be a bit deep and sentimental and I was prepared for that – what I was not prepared for is the emotions that would come to the forefront and the mantra this movie about life and death would inspire in me.

To say My Sister’s Keeper “moved” me seems a bit shallow. The words do not do justice for the way the storyline of this film had a profane impact on my thinking. The message I gleaned spoke to my soul and sank my heart into a deep place I haven’t visited lately. There were many meanings one could have walked away with, each of them dependent on your past experiences and general outlook on life. And I guess I was taken off guard because after watching the characters act out the last few days of a leukemia patient's life while reflecting back on the past experiences the family had lived through … lighthouse was the only word that kept repeating itself over and over in my mind and the primary feeling I walked away with was that of deep gratitude.

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok: A SV Moms Group Book Club

Transplanted from Hong Kong to New York City as a (very poor) young girl with her mother, Ah-Kim or Kimberley, struggled to make things better for her family, to learn English, to walk the line between traditional Chinese duties and the Americanized teenager she grew into. Join us today as we discuss the book Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok.

Here are what the SV Moms Group contributors ave to say today, all inspired by the book Girl in Translation:

• Marinka from Motherhood in NYC tells her immigration story in America, Baby
• Pamela from 2 Much Testosterone felt empowered
• Emily from Mama Sick has hope for her son
• Sharon from Channeling Ricky recognizes her own childhood embarrassment
• Vanessa from Chefdruck Musings goes for a taste of America
• April from It's All About Balance is a girl in gratitude
• Emily Paster from West of the Loop examines secrets below the surface
• Melanie from tales from the crib just wanted to fit in
• Elena from Cara Mamma reflects on dreaming big
• Lisa H. from Hannemaniacs has aunts just like Aunt Paula
• Alma from Marketing Mommy had culture shock
• Kristine from Mommy Needs Therapy or a Bottle of Wine was moved by the reality of immigrants who come to the U.S. for a "better" life
• Rox from Rox and Roll has thoughts about honor
• Julie from Just Precious opens her eyes in her own neighborhood
• Jen B from Anybody Want A Peanut? tries to translate autism

Silicon Valley Moms Blog is hosting the book club discussion this month. Please leave a comment here to join in the discussion.

Past SV Moms Group Book Clubs have included:

• I am Nujood, Aged 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali
• The Body Scoop for Girls by Dr. Jennifer Ashton
• Just Let Me Lie Down by Kristin van Ogtrop, Editor of REAL SIMPLE magazine
• National Geographic's Green Guide Families by Catherine Zandonella
• Top 100 Finger Foods and Top 100 Baby Purees by Annabel Karmel
• The Possibility of Everything by Hope Edelman
• The Mominatrix's Guide to Sex by Kristen Chase
• Coco Chanel & Igr Stravinsky by Chris Greenhalgh
• See Mom Run by Beth Feldman
• Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind by Phillip Done
• This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Topper
• Do One Nice Thing by Debbie Tenzer
• Birth Day by Mark Sloan, M.D.
• What Happened to the Girl I Married? by Michael Miller
• Testimony by Anita Shreve
  
• Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs
• Much to Your Chagrin by Suzanne Guilette
  
• It Started with Pop-Tarts by Lori Hanson
• Who By Fire by Diana Spechler
• The White Trash Moms Handbook by Michelle Lamar
• Writing Motherhood by Lisa Garrigues
• The Vaccine Book by Dr. Robert W. Sears
• The Other Mother by Gwendolen Gross

Click here to read all about the SV Moms Group Book Club.

Working on Just Saying No. Or saying something, anyway.

Along with the rest of the blogworld, I've been reeling this week with the news of the death of attachment parenting guru Katie Granju's son from a drug overdose and assault. And like lots of other moms, one of the things I've been doing is to try for the first time to talk to my eight-year-old son about drugs. Only--and I'm guessing I'm not the only one, right?--I have no idea how to go about it. I keep remembering the baffling time my dad burst into my room to tell me to never, EVER ride a motorcycle without a helmet. I was about nine at the time, and about as likely to ride a motorcycle as the space shuttle. It was good information, and good to know my dad's position on wearing helmets, but I'm not sure how useful it was as a preventative measure (although come to think of it, I never have ridden a motorcycle without a helmet. Or, uh, with one. But still!)

However, my son *is* going to be asked to do drugs, and probably way sooner than I'm willing to contemplate. I want to let him know where I stand, I want to keep the lines of communication open (this somehow suggests that we're on opposite sides of an enemy engagement, doesn't it?), and maybe most of all, I want to give him the tools he needs to resist addiction (one) and the worst of the risky behavior that he's likely to soon be experimenting with (two). It's a tall order, and not one that's going to be filled by bursting into his room and saying, "Drugs are bad! Don't ever do them!"

I don't really understand addiction, and what I do know suggests that parental love and good intentions aren't tremendously effective weapons against it. However, I do know a little about risky behavior and what compels teenagers to engage in it. More importantly, I know, or think I know, the factors that caused one teenager (me) to mostly pull through okay.

The Work of 'Til Death Do Us Part

Cross posted from our sister blog, 50-Something Moms Blog.

In the news this week it was announced that after 40 years of marriage, Al and Tipper Gore were separating. After the round of snorty, churlish jokes about who will get custody of the Internet, people began to comment on the sadness of it all. After 40 years it would seem that a couple would have a lock on a successful marriage, a marriage that withstands the tests of time, a marriage that will last 'til death do us depart. But it seems that this is not the case. In the case of the Gores, it seems that it wasn't a sordid affair or other ilk like that. No, they simply, in their own words, 'grew apart after 40 years together".Over time they had carved out separate lives.

So with the end of what always seemed to be an enduring love story where do we all begin to understand this. It doesn't just make us sad but it makes us a little scared.

Continue reading at our sister blog, 50-Something Moms Blog.

An American Girl

 There are a lot of stereotypes around the world about us, ladies.  Loud, rich, obnoxious, ignorant, and sexually loose, to name a few.  I’m sure you’ve heard ‘em all.  I was reminded of just how prevalent these ideas are recently while sitting on a bus to Punjab amidst a sea of turban-clad Sikh men and their families. 

Blaring so loudly I had to stick tissue in my ears, a popular Hindi movie screamed the entire five hour journey long.  And when the token American Girl appeared in the film, she acted as to be expected.  Boobs hanging out, butt cheeks exposed, the Bimbo twirled her bleached locks between her fingertips and popped her gum while the men in the film drooled and ogled, despite their wives’ scolding.            

It was all quite comical, actually.  The fact that there happened to be an American portrayed in this particular Hindi movie.  The fact that I happened to be on that very bus, in the middle of India, as white and gleaming as I am.  And it definitely got me thinking.  However incorrect or at times, correct, that stereotype may be, I’m damn glad to be an American Girl. 

I am Nujood, Aged 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali: A SV Moms Group Book Club

Married as a child into an abusive relationship in Yemen, this little girl had the strength to escape and demand a divorce. Interviewed by the New York Times over Skype, Nujood Ali, who does not speak English and worked with a French co-author to write her memoir, I am Nujood, Aged 10 and Divorced, tells her powerful story of becoming a child bride. It is a story that is, unfortunately, not just hers. Join us today as we discuss the book I am Nujood, Aged 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali, with Delphine Minoui.

Here are what the SV Moms Group contributors have to say today, all inspired by the book I am Nujood, Aged 10 and Divorced:

• Tiffany from Lattes and Life wishes we all had a little of Nujood in us
• Grace from Tale of the Multi-Tasking, Craft-and-Design-Loving, Mother-of-Two, Singaporean-Living-in-US, Corporate-Working Mom Named Grace Hester was motivated to look up more into the practice of child brides in Yemen
• Lisa H. from Hannemaniacs hopes other women can pull together the strength to reclaim their life and happiness
• Kara-Noel from Eli's Lids: The Blog points out that Yemen is not the only place where 9-year-olds are on display
• Sarah from The Travel Mommy considers when honor is at stake
• Heidi from Coast to Coast Mom says that getting married at nine is like getting married at four
  
• Garima from Mommy In Making determines that something can be done about it...it starts with education
  
• Sharon from Channeling Ricky examines everyday bravery
• Jen from Anybody Want A Peanut? asks what is hope?
• Bay from Queen Mother Blog thinks this book should be fast-tracked to high school reading lists
• Cheryl from SpecialSauce in the House views home as a springboard
• Jennifer Z. from Dirty Little Secret says that many divorced people deserve a party grander than their weddings
• Kristine from Mommy Needs therapy or a Bottle of Wine is given a book, a co-worker and some perspective
• Melissa from Peanut Butter in my Hair shares lessons from Nujood
• Helen P from I Want a Book Deal hopes it’s not for nought
• Melanie from tales from the crib talk to her kids about "when I grow up..."
• Michelle from Honest & Truly! examines childhood scars
• Julie from Just Precious thinks about honor and family
• Jill from Musings from Me on Kids, Preteens, and Teens reads the line "one less mouth to feed"
• Lisa from blog on the wall is in awe of this little girl
• Torie from Manhattan:  For Better or Worse is thinking independently
• Michelle from Wife and Mommy asks how old were you?
• Nicole from Not Just a Working Mom "confesses" that she was married and divorced
• Janelle from Mama Daisy is looking through a mommy lens
• Zoeyjane from Raising Zoeyjane has a disclosure: how much is too much?
• Linsey from Me Too You examines her other mother fantasies

DC Metro Moms Blog is hosting the book club discussion this month. Please leave a comment here join in the discussion.

Past SV Moms Group Book Clubs have included:

• The Body Scoop for Girls by Dr. Jennifer Ashton
• Just Let Me Lie Down by Kristin van Ogtrop, Editor of REAL SIMPLE magazine
• National Geographic's Green Guide Families by Catherine Zandonella
• Top 100 Finger Foods and Top 100 Baby Purees by Annabel Karmel
• The Possibility of Everything by Hope Edelman
• The Mominatrix's Guide to Sex by Kristen Chase
• Coco Chanel & Igr Stravinsky by Chris Greenhalgh
• See Mom Run by Beth Feldman
• Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind by Phillip Done
• This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Topper
• Do One Nice Thing by Debbie Tenzer
• Birth Day by Mark Sloan, M.D.
• What Happened to the Girl I Married? by Michael Miller
• Testimony by Anita Shreve
  
• Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs
  
• Much to Your Chagrin by Suzanne Guilette
  
• It Started with Pop-Tarts by Lori Hanson
  
• Who By Fire by Diana Spechler
• The White Trash Moms Handbook by Michelle Lamar
• Writing Motherhood by Lisa Garrigues
• The Vaccine Book by Dr. Robert W. Sears
• The Other Mother by Gwendolen Gross

Click here to read all about the SV Moms Group Book Club.

Naps ... the end of an era?

Last month I called the pediatrician and inquired about their abilities to perform exorcisms.  Something had happened to my perfect little two year old son.  Sadly, I was informed that not only did this particular pediatrician's office not perform such acts, but that the separation anxiety, teething, sleep troubles, change in dietary selection and all around horrific behavior being exhibited by my perfect son was, well, normal.

Deep sigh.

I was also informed that this would merely be a phase and it would pass, perhaps in four to six weeks. Well, after about seven weeks, most things did return to normal.  His molars were in, so that part was done.  I was allowed to be out of sight long enough to quickly go to the bathroom without a tantrum. And 

he started going back to his normal two to three hour naps (versus the 45-minute attempts of the weeks prior).  

The Art of Losing

I'm fluent in baseball. I know the light tink of the bat just grazing the threaded ball ("Foul!"), the whistling swish of a bat swung hard against the empty air ("Strike!"), the hard thonk of a baseball caught in leather ("Out!"). I know the ringing thud of a bat striking ball, the cleated feet tearing up the first base line, and I swear I know the cut of the umpire's arms against the air--"Safe!" That's when I can open my eyes and enjoy a few moments of my eight-year-old son's baseball game, before the next player comes up to bat.

It's been a hard year for Silas's baseball team. They're currently 1 and 13 or so with two more games left to play. It's become something of a masochist's art, attending their games. "Nice try, Ethan!" we parents have become adept at calling. "Way to stop the ball, Trevor!" Sometimes another mom will lean into me after a good inning and say something like, It's only four and seven! I think they might have a shot of winning this one--wouldn't that be GREAT!