I Took The Mom Pledge

I didn't need much of a nudge to take this pledge. Thanks to Cristi of Motherhood Unadorned for the prompt.

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This pledge is not just for bloggers. It's also important for readers and commenters to read the words and take the pledge. It's about supporting each other, empowering each other and not bullying each other. So please consider taking The Mom Pledge by clicking here.

The Mom Pledge

I am a proud to be a mom. I will conduct myself with integrity in all my online activities. I can lead by example.

I pledge to treat my fellow moms with respect. I will acknowledge that there is no one, “right” way to be a good Mom. Each woman makes the choices best for her family.

I believe a healthy dialogue on important issues is a good thing. I will welcome differing opinions when offered in a respectful, non-judgmental manner. And will treat those who do so in kind.

I stand up against cyber bullying. My online space reflects who I am and what I believe in. I will not tolerate comments that are rude, condescending or disrespectful.

I refuse to give those who attack a platform. I will remove their remarks with no mention or response. I can take control.

I want to see moms work together to build one another up, not tear each other down. Words can be used as weapons. I will not engage in that behavior.

I affirm that we are a community. As a member, I will strive to foster goodwill among moms. Together, we can make a difference.

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Join the community here and take the pledge!

A night out at the Theatre: Mom's the Word

Picture a mother telling her friend a story. She and her son were having the worst day and she finally broke down in tears. The most amazing thing happened after that. Her son gave her a hug and was an angel the rest of the day. (This reminded me of something I experienced on a bad day with Jack - see The Job of Parenting). Her friend agreed, Oh ya, I use that trick all the time, but you know what works better than tears? Pretend your dead!

I'm paraphrasing from a skit I witnessed last night at Theatre Calgary's Mom's the Word: For Crying Out Loud. If this production comes to your town, you need to go see it. I laughed so hard I cried. Hysterically funny!

The audience roared with laughter, as scene after scene from our own lives were acted out in the funniest ways. One mom described  starting out each day as Mary Poppins and ending up Cruella De Vil. Who has not felt that way some days?

There was a brief skit about the challenge of preparing three meals a day - three different meals a day - three nutritious and different meals a day - every day. I could really relate (see Lunch Should be a Four Letter Word).

Writing humour is not easy and I was surprised at how hilarious this play was. Of course, motherhood is full of funny moments, sometimes tragically so. It was a long play - about 2 hours - but still I wanted more.

There were touching moments too, dealing with such topics as changing relationships with our kids and husbands, and dealing with a diagnosis of breast cancer.

Superbly written, and so well performed. Thanks for the laughs, ladies!

Here's a clip from rehearsals. If you are unable to see the video below, click here to view it on blip.tv.

The Stylish Blogger Awards

The lovely Robin of Farewell, Stranger, recently honoured me with the Stylish Blogger Award! I can't tell you how it has inspired me. It's been a rough year (we've had many nasty colds), and I lost a bit of steam this past week... or has it been two weeks? Let's just say that May has not been a stellar posting month. But now, armed with some killer antibiotics and encouragement from Robin, I'm ready to put my best face forward again. Thanks for the award, Robin, and thank-you for your honesty and bravery in sharing your travels through motherhood! You are an inspiration!

According to tradition, having received the Stylish Blogger Award, I must share 7 things about myself with all of you and then award 10 fabulous new (to me) bloggers the Stylish Blogger Award.

Okay, all set? Got yourself a mug of tea or a cup of joe? Feet up, nice and relaxed? Here are 7 things you may not know about me:

1. I have freakishly accurate Name That Tune skills. Seriously. I can hear as little as one bar of an obscure song and tell you its name and artist. Music so pervades my brain matter that I remember lyrics and guitar riffs more easily than anything, including what I just ate for lunch. If I want to remember something, I just need to set it to music.

2. I dislike housecleaning intensely. In fact, I'm not a fan of domestic life in general. Occasionally I get the urge to cook something, but if I take a few deep, cleansing breaths it passes soon enough. I exaggerate slightly. I am told that I make an amazing assortment-of-stuff-we-had-in-the-fridge snack tray, and I'm pretty good with a blender. I really don't like to cook, but I do like to eat. I'm always on the lookout for easy and delicious meal ideas, so if you've got one, I want it! I'll share some of my favourites here too. I don't want to see anyone waste any more time than is necessary in the kitchen (unless they're having a party).

3. I would like to try martial arts, but I'm so uncoordinated I'm afraid I'd kick my own butt.

4. If I won the lottery, I'd be a professional student. I'd be totally lazy about it and skip lots of classes, but I'd still learn a bunch. I love to learn new things. Also, if I won the lottery, I'd travel the world! I'd learn a lot on the road. Right. Scratch the professional student career. Who needs an education when you have money? On second thought, scratch the world travelling thing too. If I won the lottery, I would eat out every day - all day. Of course, I could do that while I travel. Un-scratch the travelling thing. Boy, being a millionaire is a more complicated than I thought!

5. I like hiking, camping, a big roaring fire, and any other way that I can zen out (that doesn't involve meditating - every time I try to meditate I end up planning how I will redecorate the living room - it gets expensive). I love the outdoors, but as I get older I become more of a fairweather outdoor enthusiast. In the summer, I try to get out as much as I can. In the winter, I'd much rather watch this video of a crackling fire and eat marshmallows out of a bag than go outside.

6. I would like to learn how to play golf, without all the whining and swearing. I hear it can be done.

7. I'm a passionate person. I have a hard time NOT standing up for the little guy. It gets me into trouble sometimes. I'm trying to learn to pick my battles and to focus my energy on creating positive change in the world. Though I've always had an ability to see both sides of an argument, I'm still working on appreciating all of the ways of looking at a thing. I'm trying to find a balance between voicing an opinion and standing up when it is right to do so, and being open to seeing things in a new way.

And now to pass on the Stylish Blogger Award to 10 fabulous bloggers who I have recently come to know and love.

First a word about the award. If I was being videotaped (with my knowledge) while blogging, I would probably endeavour to be stylish in the nice shoes, love the hair sense of the word. But since no one can actually see me, I'm happily typing away in my 'comfy pants'.

So if it's not about our clothing or hairstyles, what does it mean to be a stylish blogger?

These very deserving bloggers - some of them writers or aspiring writers, some of them moms, some of them both writers and moms - have plenty of style. Being a stylish blogger, in my view, is about being bold and brave, and sometimes venturing where no blogger has gone before with beautiful results.

With this award I honour the way these ladies present themselves, their honesty, their creativity, their sense of humour and their sharing nature. Thanks to all of you for the laughs, the tears, the encouragement and the support!

1. The lovely and talented, Ashley Graham - She's caring and supportive of fellow writers and bloggers and a great Twitter friend!  Check out her top tweets of the week. Yes, she's already received numerous awards from her peers, but she's worthy of a few more.

2. Tonya of Letter for Lucas - Like me, Tonya uses her blog about life as the stay-at-home mother of a young boy as a means of therapy. I wonder how many times the words SAHM and therapy appear together in a sentence. Tonya, I hear you girl!

3. Rachel of Cool Bean Mommas - She's very funny and original, and her food posts make me salivate... almost enough to cook. Even though I have one child and not three like Rachel, I still relate to her Mommy Evolution post. I started this gig full of energy, armed with a camera, scrapbook and plenty of crafty ideas to stimulate my child's creativity, and now consider it a good day if my child has been fed and has matching socks.

4. Carri of Adventures in Mommyhood - She understands that being a good mom and a love of vodka can co-exist. Her blog is super stylin'. She's getting lots of follower love already, but there's a good reason for that. She's blunt and hilarious! Bottoms up, Carri!

5. Kim of Let Me Start by Saying... - She wrote one of the most tragically beautiful posts I've read in a long time (Exhale). I'm grateful for her honesty and her courage, and for giving me a benchmark to measure my own writing against.

6. Leighann of Multitasking Mumma - Her recent Vlog still has me chuckling. She's won this award before too, with good reason. She's another brutally honest blogger (I'm sensing a trend here), and the results are highly entertaining. Thanks for the laughs, Leighann.

7. "J" and "S" at Venti With the Girls - Their posts are thoughtful and funny. On Mondays they host a Monday Vent. Let it all out! Then come back at the end of the week for Bright Side Friday to express your gratitude for the good stuff.

8. Louise Wise of Wise Words - Louise supports her fellow authors by showcasing their works on her blog. She also supports other bloggers by featuring writing or book-related articles that have resonated with her. She's a friend to the self-published author and all lovers of books!

9. Elizabeth Ann West of EA West Writing - She provides a wealth of information to would be writers on her own journey to becoming a self-published author.

10. Nicole of My Idealife - Nicole is a new blogger like me, a mom like me, and I find her musings on motherhood highly amusing. Show her some comment love!

My Family Rocks: Post-Mother's Day Reflections

Okay, I'm taking another crack at a post I wrote last week that was subsequently lost by Blogger. Nice! Let's see how much I can remember....

On Mother's Day I was sick with a cold. Sucks to be me, you say. Mmm... it wasn't all bad. Not that I wanted to be sick... again.... but it was just a cold (there are worse things in life), and in the end it turned out to be just what the doctor ordered.

 Retrieved May 16, 2011 from http://twinpossible.com/when-mom-gets-sick-oh-no

A couple of weeks ago my husband asked me what I wanted for Mother's Day. I was just amazed to be asked that question more than 24 hours ahead of time. After I got over my shock, I jokingly said I'd like to sleep all day. I have been burning both ends of the candle, fighting off colds, and was exhausted. There were all sorts of reasons why that wasn't going to happen. We had other plans such as attending a Mother's Day/Birthday dinner for the matriarch of the family. But it was a nice dream.

Well, I came down with another nasty cold and guess what happened? I pretty much spent the day in bed. That's right. I got my wish. I couldn't go to dinner and risk making our 94-year-old aunt sick. Life essentially came to a halt. Well, except for the laundry that needed doing - sheets needed to be changed. Moms know this - no matter how sick you are, your to do list does not do itself. 

Thanks to that cold, I had time to slow down! My boys were great caretakers. They brought me food and made sure I had hot tea to drink. It was a wonderful Mother's Day! What I needed more than anything (besides sleep, which is just a standing order around here), was a chance to lay back and do nothing much of anything. Ahhh. 

Thanks boys. You two are the best. Thanks for caring about what I wanted and thanks for looking after me when I needed it!

By the way, if you find yourself sick, here are some tips on how to handle being a mom at the same time.

Is there an ideal person for you?

I was part of a conversation about the ideal woman - okay I was lurking around a conversation about the ideal woman - and who or what that might be. It wasn't a serious conversation, but I started to really think about it. I can't help myself. I'm a thinker.

Retrieved May 16, 2011 from http://tarotcardpsychology.wordpress.com/2010/09/21/10-weeks-to-attracting-your-ideal-partner-week-1/

It occurred to me that since the only constant is change, what is ideal today is something entirely different tomorrow. People grow and change in small ways as part of a plan or in reaction to what's happening around them. Since people change, no matter who you choose or end up with there will be some adjustments to be made along the way. Focusing on some ideal and expecting it to last is not only pointless, it's like wearing blinders all of the time. Life is made up of ideal moments that will pass us by if we are always looking for something else.

What do you think? Is there an ideal partner? Have you met yours?

Edited to fix an embarassing typo. New question: Is there such a thing as life without typos?

Children's Author Spotlight: Oliver Jeffers

One of Jack's favourite authors is Oliver Jeffers. According to the lovely woman who works in the children's book section of my local Indigo store, when she reads Jeffer's Once There Was a Boy books, the boys sit very still and listen very intently. Imagine! Boys sitting still! These books are categorized as preschool to grade 2, though we have enjoyed them since Jack was a toddler.

Our favourite is still Lost and Found, the first one we purchased. This first story in the series is about a boy who finds a penguin at his front door. He then sets out on a mission to find out where the penguin belongs. It's an endearing story of friendship.

To read the rest of my post on Oliver Jeffers' books, please visit Cookie's Book Club.