"and that's the way it is"

Another touchstone in American life has passed...rest in peace, Walter Cronkite.
My family frequently watched and discussed the news as we ate dinner and so I (felt like I) had dinner with Walter Cronkite often!
My Cronkite story: I was backpacking in Greece, getting ready to go back to London, where I was living (as a student) at the time. There were ferry hijackings & stuff happening so there was major security at the airport in Athens. Soldiers with machine guns and such. I guess jetways were a risk so they transported us to the tarmac on a shuttle bus. I was feeling a bit nervous until I realized that I was standing next to Mr. Cronkite. I looked at him with recognition and he smiled, nodded & said hi - and I felt completely safe...his voice was so calming. And somehow I felt if he was there it must be OK. I will forever remember him fondly.

c-sections before 39 weeks - how you can help

Laura Shanley, of Bornfree/unassisted birth movement is looking to bring attention to the creation of premature babies via unnecessary early cesareans and she would like women to help...read on:

I am looking for women nationwide who can participate in media interviews to
promote a new educational campaign from The March of Dimes and United
Healthcare aimed at informing women and physicians about the risks
associated with C-sections before 39 weeks of gestation. I am looking for:
1. Women who are currently pregnant and feel strongly about carrying the
baby the full term (more than 39 weeks) and not having a C-section, unless
the procedure is medically indicated; 2. Women who have previously had a
C-section before 39 weeks gestation and felt the procedure was unnecessary
or had the baby end up in the NICU.

Please contact me at laurashanley@comcast.net
<mailto:laurashanley@comcast.net> and I will connect you with my son, Will
Shanley, who is the west coast director of public relations for United
Healthcare. Will is reaching out to print journalists across the nation and
encouraging them to write news stories about the new March of Dimes campaign
and the risks associated with early C-section.

Thanks in advance for your help in telling this important story!

Much love,
Laura

Laura Shanley
Bornfree! The Unassisted Childbirth Page

evolution

This morning my youngest said he had to go to the bathroom on the way to his first day of camp. If he had been my first or only, I'm pretty sure I would have stopped someplace. But since he's my third, I instead said, "ok - tell your camp counselor when we get there sweetie". Tough times growing up the youngest, I guess!

oh - and it didn't even occur to me to take pictures...oh well - I can always capture day TWO of camp!

watch politicians discuss breastfeeding

A piece on Huffington Post showed a Senate committee on Tuesday discussing breastfeeding and legislation that would make it easier for working moms...a bit awkward, but the committee did the right thing and voted in favor...

...allowing mothers more freedom to breastfeed longer after giving birth has obvious health benefits for the children. While Congress debates how to balance health care reform and costs, Merkley's amendment also could have economic ripples. According to the press release from the Oregon Democrat's office comes this statistic: "A recent study by the United Breastfeeding Committee found that if half of the babies in the U.S. were exclusively breastfed for six months, we would realize potential savings of up to $14 billion a year in health care costs for childhood illnesses."

Yowza...$14 billion a year in savings!

when he grows up

Recently my youngest, five, told me (and then told my husband a few days later) that when he grows up he wants to "be a dad and make art". Totally makes sense because he will sit for hours and draw, color or paint. One of my other kids overheard and told him he couldn't just be an artist because then he wouldn't make any money. Wow - such complexities from these kids of mine...

My youngest asked me if that was true and if you had to make money. I told him that some artists do make money, that he should try to find a way to do what he loved and still make some money because he might feel sad if he worked only to make money, but since at least some money is necessary, he could always make art, whether that was his paying job or not.

Hey - maybe he could become an attorney and then decide that being an art-making doula suits him more!

welcome Lola Rosemarie!

My oh my - you were worth the wait - 10lb 5oz! Your momma discovered her voice and sang powerfully throughout her labor with you...
Wish you had been here in time to see the most incredible crescent moon and then the spectacular sky at sunrise...a beautiful day to be born.
I hope your beginner's luck at nursing continues - most impressive!
Welcome, little "peach"!

Gardasil followup

Not sure of the date of this clip - but it seems like this is an ongoing news story...note that they say this vaccine is safer than most by about 50%...not very comforting in light of the clip.

a nicer mom

Backhanded complement? Hmm...
Last week I overheard my middle son tell my youngest,

"We're lucky we don't have a nicer mom, otherwise our house would get so messy...luckily mom complains all the time for us to put our shoes away and stuff"

Gulp. I DO constantly, err "remind", sometimes LOUDLY, to "take your shoes off why are your backpacks in the middle of the floor turn off the lights feed your hamster close the door turn it down don't eat in there PLEASE flush the toilet wash your hands do your homework take off your muddy socks..." and on and on, over and over. I get so sick of hearing myself nag. I try to assign jobs but no one really seems to take it seriously or keep up consistently, including me...I'm pretty lame at following routines, frankly, and so I totally get that I'm part of the problem (and then there's my husband...oooh boy)

And I get resentful. Ugly thoughts about ungratefulness. Though I try not to use that word because I was often called it as a kid and found it hurtful. But I still think it. Does anyone notice or care that I'm constantly picking up and doing all the things that parents who are mostly at home do? Does anyone appreciate it? Appreciate me? Maybe if I bang around childishly when unloading the dishwasher again, someone will notice and say thanks! Ha. Such a cliche...

So here's my question:
How do you manifest kinder feelings about the mundane tasks around the house? How do you get your families to do what needs to be done without so much haranguing? I have hopes of turning this frown upside down and figuring out a way to get everyone involved so I'm less grumpy and they are better prepared for life. What's working for you?
SOS - please send a lifeline so my kids don't have to give backhanded complements...'cause I prefer them straight up!

can't imagine

"A supporter of Iran's moderate presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi holds a piece of paper that reads "We write Mousavi, they read Ahmadinejad" " -Reuters

over the last few days I have been listening to reports on the election in Iran. Wow. Can you imagine the fury people are feeling at having the sense that their election may have been tampered with/stolen and then discover that texting, cell phone and internet access had been blocked? Rallies have been banned, but people are gathering anyway, in spite of riot police and retaliation.
I keep trying to put myself in their place - what I would have felt like if our election last November had gone differently and then we were denied the ability to connect and express ourselves about it. It is younger, more moderate people who will now feel disenfranchised. Truly horrid.

The good news:

Source: www.npr.org

State television quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordering an investigation into allegations of election fraud, marking a stunning turnaround and offering hope to opposition forces protesting the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.