Romi Lassally, Editor in Chief of the Truu Confessions sites (including True Mom Confessions), is distributing a weekly rundown of highlights from her sites. The concept is for people to unload their thoughts about what really matters in life in an anonymous way to form communities of people supporting each other to make it through all the nuttiness we experience. One example: Not So Quiet Time - “If I thought I could actually do it comfortably, I would go to the bathroom and try and take a nap while sitting on the toilet.” Check out this week’s list.
In the world of TV, things happen fast, so read the following and, if you know someone in Los Angeles who can call the number below today, you could be a tube star before you can say, “Gee, these strained carrots look good on my button-down shirt.” By the way, the show correspondent mentioned below is likely to be the beautiful mom and TV personality, Brooke Burke.
Tim Palazzola of the the daytime medical show, The Doctors, is helping produce a segment on family health; they are looking for Stay At Home Dads to participate.
Specifically, they are looking for a Stay At Home Dad that has more than one kid (ages 1 - 14) that is some what new to being at home during the day and has questions/ concerns about managing the household while his wife is at work. They have a special medical correspondent that we would like to send to that dad’s house to help him get things in order. The feeling of the piece is very positive, triumphant, and fun.
They are looking to start work this week, so any interest is appreciated. Call 323.956.8627 for more information. Good luck, dads!
Thank God for kids. In all the doom and gloom of the flu, the economy, and general cynicism, children break through with perspectives that — at the very least — make us laugh. Simply click over to this kid drawing of her mother at work and read the mom’s very sober clarification. Has anything like this happened to you? Just last week, my four-year-old announced to his carpool that, “I have the meanest mommy.” “Why?” asked the mom who was driving that day. “She won’t let us roast marshmallows in our fireplace.” Ah, the injustice perpetrated on the young.
For this week’s Family Matters with Tracey Serebin, Tracey asked me about 5 tips dads might like to have before they have a baby. Listen in and hear about planning for paternity leave, managing all those well-meaning friends and family members who want to visit your exhausted household, and avoiding spontaneous expenditures that come from your overjoyed but non-budget-conscious state of mind. Tracey’s interview with me on her Internet radio program runs 30 minutes, following her segment with a mom expert. Log on to the new installment and click “Listen Now” or “Podcast.”
Man, it’s going to be tough for President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama to stay consistent, but I continue to be thrilled to have these two as parenting models. The Chicago Tribune reports that, among the family habits the Obamas follow are reading regularly to their daughters and having a date night for each other. They may be raised on a pedestal by some, but there is a lot of down-to-earth living going on there that makes us realize they have many of the same challenges we do.
Each year, I stumble to the finish line of the 12 months and look forward to a fresh start. Regarding resolutions, most of what I want to improve or change in my parenting life is not new — which says a lot about my success as a resolver. I still want to manage my temper better and get in and stay in shape, among other goals. This year, I want to spend more one-on-one time with each of my three kids. One note I am trying to keep in mind is that I should not expect perfect resolution and not worry what others think. I need to accept small victories and celebrate improvement.
Lisa Belkin, who writes the “Motherlode” blog at the New York Times, has her own thoughts on New Year’s Resolutions. What are a couple of your own goals?
On November 4, 2008, I watched Barack Obama give one of the most humble and moving political speeches I have ever seen. As he spoke, I said to my son, “Listen to this man speak. The way he says his words and the meaning he gives to them. That is a role model.”
Two days later, my son delivered his own election speech, to try to become president of his school. Although he lost the race, he had practiced his words carefully, adopting some of Obama’s cadence and calm passion.
This nation of ours has diverse opinions on our President-Elect, not all of them positive. However, I am brimming with pride at the choice of this man — our first African American president. His selection shows we are a country willing to listen to new voices and to hope for better days ahead as led by this dedicated man.
I am also absolutely tickled that we have a new first family that reflects my generation of parents and my children’s generation of kids. I look forward to seeing how he balances work and family for himself, how his wife embodies a working woman with two school-age kids, and how his daughters reflect their own issues of growing up, albeit in the fishbowl of the White House.
I will watch with a critical eye as Obama endeavors to unite a nation and improve our quality of life. But I am also inspired to help him as much as I can by being an active member of the fatherhood party he now leads.
In a still-declining economy, it’s hard to read an article that tells me I’m doing all kinds of financial preparations incorrectly. The article posted at Yahoo, called “The Top Five Financial Mistakes Parents Make,” says that moms and dads neglect to buy enough life insurance and are lacking in the amount they invest in their children’s college funds. When you’re just trying to not go into debt with all the expenses of current daily life, it’s hard to plan ahead. But there are all sorts of little errors I make in budgeting, including making too many impulse buys, and this worldwide money crunch is just the time for me to start financially healthier patterns that will put my family in a better position moving forward. I will continue to post articles about family finances, but please post your ideas and opinions about saving money.
Between what really seems to be happening with the economy, the presidential election rhetoric, and the media’s constant sounding of alarm bells, most of us are feeling awful about the economy. This is just one posting on this issue, so it’s likely the tip of my financial iceberg talk. Just yesterday, I heard about a father’s murder-suicide of his entire family and that drove the topic home in the worst way for me because it shows how much money rules our lives.
I do know money’s important, and I realize what I have to say may sound cliche, but this recesssion/depression/funk/whatever you want to call it must not dissuade us from our priorities. We can all weather this storm and, as parents, owe it to our children to keep our senses so that they have us around to be there for them. We may not all be able to afford the same things, but we can give them shelter and food and love — and that is really all they NEED from us. The rest is about our own egos and what we think we should give them.
I will ramble more, in days to come, but please comment on this posting and let’s continue to strengthen our support for one another, online and in person.
Listen to this week’s podcast of Tracey Serebin’s Family Matters and hear me talk about a dad’s role in helping mom recover from childbirth. Actually, I don’t know if anyone actually recovers — perhaps the term should be “reasonably functions.” In any event, Tracey’s interview with me on her Internet radio program runs 30 minutes, following her talk with a postpartum nurse/doula. I’m now a regular guest on Tracey’s show, which is growing rapidly (more news to come on that end). You can log on to the new installment and click “Listen Now” or “Podcast.” Or go directly to the podcast. Let me know what you think.
