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Archive for November 11th, 2007

Mommy Wars Meme

11 Nov

This semi-fake meme from Mommy Tracks cracked me up. My sides in the battle are picked in italics below.

The Mommy War Meme

Part 1. C-Sections and Elective Induction

A) Control freak psycho – You’re willing to risk your life, the life of your child, and probably the life of your third-cousin-once-removed just so you can plan the birth of your children around the schedule for Oprah.
OR
B) Laid back pregnant martyr – This is simply the first in a lifelong series of selfless sacrifices you will make for the apple of your eye. Even if the kid wants to take up residence in your womb until he reaches Heavy Weight Boxing Championship proportions you should never, EVER interfere with nature.

2. Pain Relievers During Labor

A) Epidural-addicted weenie – You are again risking the life of your beloved, this time with your desperately selfish need for relief. You are proving early and unequivocally that since you don’t have the physical stamina to ‘breathe’ your way through 50 hours of squeezing a nine pound human out your vagina, you will be a complete and total failure as a mother.

OR
B) Drug free and proud – Well, damn you, aren’t you just drug free and proud. VERY, VERY, VERY PROUD.

3. The appropriate place for birthing

A) Paranoid Hypochondriac – Apparently you don’t appreciate that birth has been happening since the beginning of time without assistance. You’ll be attached to wires at the hospital, confined to your bed like a prisoner.
OR
B) Housebound Hippy – So convinced you are in the power of nature that you’ll risk your child’s life by birthing at home in the tub while combing your underarm hair.

4. Circumcision or No

A) Evil Personified – You sliced away at that poor little boy’s penis you evil, inhumane witch of a woman.
OR
B) Evil Personified – Despite your husband’s protests, you chose not to snip, but you’re ready to send out for a mail order bride and pay for therapy when the many years of locker room taunting finally push him into a deep depression all.because.of.you

5. Breastmilk or Formula

A) Cold Rubber Nipple- You fed your baby formula out of a plastic bottle with a cold rubber nipple, and now, not only is an Ivy League scholarship totally out of the question, your child will never be able to connect emotionally with anyone. He’ll be an emotionally cold rubber nipple of a person – just like you.
OR
B) Warm Mommy’s Milk – Your belief that breast is best carries you through undaunted. Your baby will ween himself when he’s ready to give it up. So what if you have to interrupt recess so the kid can have a nip. Sleepovers, no problem, you can pump and send it along in his Superman Thermos. Your child will never leave your side, but life should be interesting for you when you’re taking classes at Harvard.

Can I be in the “c” camp? For medical reasons, I had to do both, but I pumped and successfully did both for about 6 months until I switched to formula only.

6. Breastfeeding in Public

A) Repressed Conservative Matriarch – You’ll starve your baby before enduring the shame of baring the slightest of nipple ever-so-briefly during dinner at TGIFriday’s
OR
B) Nurse-In Lactivist – You pretend to care about feeding your hungry newborn, but actually you just thrive on flopping your boob out so you can make repressed conservative men squirm during dinner at TGIFridays.

7. Working or Staying Home

A) Materialistic Shrew- Hiring someone else to raise the children you never should have had so you can return to work just to eat fancy, expensive lunches and buy those cute Jimmy Choos
OR
B) Domestic Goddess – Singlehandedly responsible for the reversal of decades worth of feminist advancement because you stay home, watch soaps and eat bon bons all day while that degree you never should have bothered to get gathers dust in the bottom drawer.

8. Cocktail Playdates

A) Drunk- Obviously you’re a lush, stuck in college and downing tequila poppers on the playground
OR
B) Humorless – Not only don’t you ever indulge in the devil’s drink you really believe beer labels should simply read “Women who are [or have ever been] pregnant should never drink alcohol… again – EVIR.”

9. Television

A) Pro-TV – Raising the next generation of mass murdering psychopaths
OR
B) Anti TV – Raising the next generation of Scripps Howard Spelling Bee Winners.

 
 

Heading home?

11 Nov

The New York Times has a piece today on the incentives Ecuador is offering to its citizens to return to their homelands. The problem, as pointed out in the article, is that although many people want to return, they probably won’t because the economy there is very weak.

“I have a wife and three sons in Ecuador,” said Cesar Tella, a 23-year-old waiter who on a recent afternoon was sitting in the waiting room of an American branch of Banco del Austro, an Ecuadorean bank. Mr. Tella has not seen his family in five years. “We talk three times a week,” he said, “and every time, they ask me when I’m coming home.”

If Mr. Tella stays away, it is for an obvious reason: Ecuador’s economy has been a shambles since the late 1990s, when the banking system collapsed and inflation skyrocketed. Ecuador’s poverty rate last year was more than 38 percent, and unemployment is 8.8 percent, nearly double the rate in the United States. Home prices and utility rates in Ecuador can approach American levels, but the average wage is far lower.

“I was a nurse, and I was making $150 a month,” said Erika Iniguez, 27, who came from Ecuador in July and is taking an English class near Roosevelt Avenue. “And the wages don’t go up.”

For this reason, many Ecuadorean New Yorkers say Mr. Correa’s plan will fail.

It seems to me that if the Republicans are so fired up about the influx of undocumented immigrants, they should stop cutting off or stifling programs that help these countries and start returning aid and targeting programs that will help strengthen there economies. People don’t want to leave their countries but they will if there is a better way to provide for their families. It’s for exactly that reason that people will also choose to stay here.

 
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Better Sunday

11 Nov

I think I’m feeling better today (she says hopefully). Last night after my marathon nap, I got a lot done on my outline. Now I’m sitting in bed (legs hurt in a chair) with my laptop on a Levenger bed tray reading for class and continuing work on my outline. I’m a bit tired, but the mental fog seems to have lifted! :smile: Hopefully this means the meds are starting to sink in, although even though the side effects are easing, the pain is not – boo. Doctor said it could take a few weeks.

Pumpkinhead is so freakin’ cute it kills me!! He loves the “If you give a ___ a ____” books and some friends of my parents got him the animals to go with the books. His favorite “trick” is to bring the mouse up to me with its body tucked under his shirt and only the cookie sticking out. I say “Yummy, a cookie!” Then when I discover that it’s attached to a mouse, I scream and go “Ewwww yuck!” and he races away giggling hysterically. He’ll do this at least 10 times in a row. Cracks him up and I get more and more dramatic every time. Yep, we’re so weird. :lol: I just told him he has GOT to go downstairs because I really need to get cracking on my studying (she says as she blogs about it).

I have my Nectar smoothie in hand (just water, ice and a scoop of Caribbean Nectar powder), a banana and a 2% cheese stick. Not as fun as chocolate, but less sleep- and cellulite-inducing. :cool: Besides, I have an Oh Yeah protein bar for later if I need a chocolate fix. The chocolate/caramel ones are delish!

 
 

Holiday Gift Ideas

11 Nov

We are trying to do a low-key Christmas this year, in part because Pumpkinhead is way too spoiled for his own good and in part because we’ve spent $5k on our immigration attorney and even more on medical bills. :evil:

Chilihead at Don’t Try This At Home
is hosting a Holiday Shopping Carnival on Monday, November 12. I’m posting mine today because I won’t have time tomorrow.

1) Charitable Giving. I have seen the difference quality animals make in the life of a family (specifically my in-laws) living in impoverished countries. Heifer International is a fantastic organization that allows you to purchase a variety of different animals to help families in need around the world. Those families then pass on the offspring of their animal to other families to try to keep the chain of giving going. I think this is a great gift to give your child because not only is it fun to browse the animal catalog, but it’s wonderful to talk to them about the ways in which one animal can make such a huge difference to a family.

2) Memories Scrapbook. Instead of making a regular scrapbook, how about making one for a grandparent or special friend where each page recounts a special memory. You can find scrapbooking supplies at pretty much any store these days and you can get beautiful colored pens to write your stories. Another version of this is a memory jar where family members write down or type up memories on scraps of paper and throw them in the jar. Last Christmas we did this for my grandparents, both of whom passed away this year, and it was such a joy to watch them go through the memory jar and recall memories we kept close to our hearts that perhaps they had forgotten. They kept the jar on their living room table. Here is a link to a site with great tips on making your own scrapbook.

3) Handmade Gifts (by someone else…). Have you discovered Etsy? It is an online crafts show with unique jewelry, art, candles, tapestries, etc. I love the jewelry and covet many of the artists’ creations, especially this one (the hint would be great if my husband or family actually read my blog! Darn Anonymity!). You can find some wonderful pieces here and the nice thing is knowing that you’re probably getting a one-of-a-kind creation for a friend or family member. If you want to try an easy craft product yourself, how about making a macrame plant hanger? I did this once when I was a broke undergrad and my mother still uses hers to hang a pretty fern. It was fun and easy! For more homemade gift ideas, go here.

4) Green Toys. Not only are these toys less likely to be recalled, they also are recycled so you’re saving the earth while spoiling your child. FatBrain Toys tell you where the product is made and what it is made of and has some really unique and different options. They also offer free shipping on orders of $75 or more. Even better, buy locally. Try to visit local markets and stores where you can find products made close to home for your child or loved one.

5) Reading Materials. For those of you who are like me and would rather read a magazine with substantive pieces targeted to your life than fluffy junk pieces, how about a subscription to Pink or Brain, Child? Pink is a magazine that celebrates women, particularly those that enjoys having a thriving career and raising great kids simultaneously. Brain, Child is written by women authors worldwide about a variety of topics that challenge mothers today. I love the segments that have two authors, each arguing strenuously on one side of an issue. I would encourage you to gift these magazines to the women in your lives (and perhaps give yourself the gift as well!)

UPDATED TO ADD: Today’s Celebrity Baby Blog features the coolest necklaces!! I really want one bad and they have a discount:

Exclusively for CBB Readers: Use code CBB15 for 15% off your next Blend Creations order of $50 or more.

Cool Mom Picks Holiday Guide
Final points.
a) When I purchase anything online, I always go to NaughtyCodes.com first. It gives me a list of all of the current offers that site has and the various discount codes I can use for my purchase. I save a ton of money this way and it also helps me figure out where to shop.

b) Consider green methods this Christmas. Purchase a live tree and then take it to a mulching facility for reuse (fake trees aren’t biodegradeable). Make homemade ornaments, especially popcorn and berry strands that can later be fed to outdoor creatures. Use LED lights. Have a wrapping paper party where the kids paint newspaper or recycled blank paper. Send e-cards or create a special web page with your Christmas letter, pictures and maybe even your kids singing a song. Make/buy fabric bags and have your kids paint them with fabric paint. Use the bags as “wrapping” for presents. Go to GreenDimes.com to stop the over-excess of holiday catalogs and other unsolicited junk mail in their tracks.

c) Consider volunteering as a New Year’s resolution. I know it’s hard to find time to volunteer with children, but there are plenty of virtual volunteer opportunities. CharityGuide has a great list of 15-minute opportunities. Oh the Joys and Ima (off and on) the Bima have whole posts with links to various organizations. My favorite virtual opportunity, for those of you in the DC area, is In2Books, where professionals partner with local schools to promote literacy. You read six books over the school year and correspond with your partner child about the book. All of it is done online in a secure space.

 
 

Weekly MILS Roundup #19

11 Nov

The Weekly MILS (Moms In Law School) Roundup** is the brainchild of Saramel. It is hosted on a rotating basis at the PT-LawMom and A Little Fish in Law School blogs and is usually posted no later than Monday morning. Next week’s MILS Roundup will be hosted by Butterflyfish.


** Note — Law Students and Lawyer Moms, please join the Mothers in the Legal Field (MILF) Book Club


Best Tip of the Week
Legally Certifiable
Mama Lioness (good for you!) — Diary of a Law School Mom
InjusticeKnocked Up (and in Law School)
The Incredible Edible EggLagLiv
Indulging in the RidiculousMagic Cookie
Getting it OutPeanut Butter Burrito
The Right Thing to DoFrequent Citations
Crazy Sexy MamaMerits of the Case
Another WinnerAdventures of Law School Mama
Unspeakable PainKidSquared
Fighting BackJuris Mama
A Bunch of StupidityA Little Fish in Law School
Grade-Sharing Etiquette2L Wannabe

***IMPORTANT MILS ROUND-UP NOTICE HERE***

In case you didn’t see the post, Saramel is taking a hiatus from blogging.

Butterflyfish and I would like to continue the roundup but would like a third blogger. So, consider this an open invite to any MILS who is interested. Even if you are interested but don’t want to start until after finals, let us know. :)

There is no write-on competition or callbacks or humiliating initiation rites (largely because Butterflyfish didn’t really go for my 50-part questionnaire and background check suggestion… kidding). You just have to be a MILS, express interest, and be someone who posts on her blog regularly (i.e. more or less once a week).

Please email: ptlawmom at G Mail dot com. We’re confining it to my email address so the first interested blogger who meets that criteria can be “offered” the “job.”

If you’d like to have your blog added to the MILS blogroll for weekly review or would like us to consider a specific post, drop the hostess(es) an email or leave a comment at their respective sites.

**Hat tip to the “original” Roundup — Evan Schaeffer’s Legal Underground and Divine Angst