All By Myself

I finished a project all by myself!  For myself - totally and utterly unaffiliated with my kids!

I signed up for a stained glass class at the local glass shop and this is my first project.  I thought it'd be nice to do something creative once in awhile.  Since I went back to school, changed careers, and had kids I haven't done any art.  Sad I know but it's the way it is right now.  The kids will get older, it will get easier.

Now I'm off to get the second project drawn up...

I've shared this post:
DIY Craft Projects
Mom on Timeout 
Salt Tree

We Are Paper Toys

I picked up the book We Are Paper Toys at an author reading at Inkwood books, one of independent bookstores in the Bay Area.  You can visit their website here.  Even if you don't live in western FL it's worth visiting the website for their staff suggestions.  I love other people's reading lists and their staff has good taste.  It's been a fun book because it comes with a CD that has many of the projects in PDF that you can print out.  We've made all kinds of little critters.

The author reading I went to was for Lauren Buckner's Parentwise.  It's been a helpful book.  It's thin but takes awhile to get through because the author requires a lot of reflection through journaling or other ways to see yourself better. I've read quite a few books on how to make the toads 'better' but not enough on both taking responsibility for and care of myself.

Why Women Still Can't Have it All

This month's issue of The Atlantic has a good article by Anne-Marie Slaughter.  You can read it here.

Fresh Air interviewed the author and it's being aired 6/21/12.  You can listen to the audio on the NPR website here.

She brings up a lot of interesting points.  My husband (a government professional who travels regularly) and I have many conversations along these lines that I'm sure other homeschooling families have had as well.

She doesn't address the nuts and bolts economic issues that most women face.  That's both the essay's strength and weakness.  She doesn't get bogged down in specifics but also doesn't acknowledge that it's not possible for most women to get the level of assistance that she has bought for her family.  It's not a guide to personal choice as much as an invitation to have some broader conversations.

Not only can women not have it all, we have to make hard choices...

Motherhood Reconsidered

I had a conversation with a friend about the challenges of motherhood and the culturally unacknowledged conflicts a lot of us have when the very next day there was a piece in the Utne Reader on the same topic (149 Sept. Oct. 2008 Bundle of Trouble by Robin W. Simon). They don't put the piece on their website but it is available for purchase throught the original journal Contexts (The Joys of Parenthood, Reconsidered by Robin W. Simon). I would try your local library for either journal.



The article discusses issues such as studies that show parents of grown children have no greater well being than adults who never had children. So why did I have the munchkin?

National Registry of Mothers

National Registry of Mothers / Motherhood Museum Initiative


EXCITING NEWS FOR MOTHERS AND MOTHERHOOD SCHOLARS!!!


The motherhood foundation has established a national registry of mothers. The National Registry Of Mothers is the founding project of the Museum Of Motherhood, a project initiated by The Motherhood Foundation, Mamapalooza and The Association for Research On Mothering (ARM).

Everyone who IS a mother, HAS a mother or wants to SHARE a mother story PLEASE REGISTER YOURS. Entries will be archived and be made available as the Museum moves from virtual to real in the Village of Seneca Falls, NY, home of the Woman's Suffragette Movement and Women's Hall Of Fame.


For more information on the National Registry of Mothers or to stay updated on the Museum of Motherhood initiative please e-mail ARM and Mamapalooza at: mommygirlgogo@aol.com, aoreilly@yorku.ca, arm@yorku.ca

Writings on mothering wanted

WANTED: Your Stories (& Check out this MUST SEE film!)

MOTHER: THE JOB is launching a national multi-media exhibit in San Francisco this fall. The exhibit is another step in raising individual, societal and political consciousness of the need to value the work of mothers - all mothers - by implementing policies that help today's families live more balanced lives in the work place and in the home.

Your words will live in the "Hidden in Plain Sight" section of the exhibit - an entire floating wall covered with writings by mothers. The writings, placed side-by-side will create a faux mural at first glance, reminding us that the work of mothers is indeed "hidden in plain sight."

The stories will be reprinted from your original works sharing experiences of:
A) Sacrifices incumbent upon women during the child rearing years. This might include anything from career pursuits, to respect, to simply enjoying an hour alone.
B) The unique journey of child bearing and child rearing
C) Being the primary caregiver of a child in the absence of the birth mother.

All writings welcome - if you are a primary caregiver of a child, you are a mother!

It's fabulous! Don't miss it. View it now. To learn more about the entire exhibit log on to www.motherthejob.org.

Mothering Survey

My husband and I were both grad students once so I'm very sympathetic to student research. A woman, who's also a mom, in the School of Public Health at University of WA (full disclosure - my husband and I both have degrees from UW) is conducting a survey for her research.

Help all womankind by taking 10 minutes for fill out the survey here.

Motherhood Manifesto - May 2008

A manifesto according to Webster's is "a public declaration of intentions, opinions, objectives, or motives, as one issued by a government, sovereign, or an organization."

So the Motherhood Manifesto from MomsRising.org calls for:

M - Maternity/Paternity leave
O - Open flexible work
T - TV we choose and other after-school programs
H - Healthcare for all kids
E - Excellent childcare
R - Realistic & fair wages

We watched the Motherhood Manifesto documentary and most of the discussion focused on the work/life balance issues above.

The week we had this meeting a report came out from Save the Children ranking the US 27th for mothers, down from 26 last year. You can read the press report here.