Mama Saga: One Mother's Journey

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Feeding the Homeless on Thanksgiving

This morning I spent a little time helping Volunteer 4 Long Island to assemble packages of food, personal items (toiletries), and clothing for those who are homeless or living in emergency and temporary housing.

Even the littlest volunteers helped make cards to go in the packages.

Those who did not have small children then went out and distributed the packages to the people living in the surrounding woods, abandoned and condemned buildings, and shelters and temporary and emergency housing.

Watch this amazing video of their efforts Feeding the Homeless in 2008--I guarantee you will be moved!

As part of my work with Bloganthropy.org, I launched @Volunteer4LI on Twitter, got a basic website up and running, and directed people to their facebook page. Jeanine, who co-founded the organization with her husband, said that all of the kind bloggers and tweeters who helped spread the word (especially those who are part of Long Island Tweet-Up - @LITweetUp) got them dozens of additional volunteers. And we're going to have Jeanine share on Bloganthropy how they got started with this wonderful effort. Hopefully we can see how social media can help others get projects like this started in their own communities!

Jeanine's husband told an amazing story illustrating how even small acts of kindness can plant the seeds for salvation. He explained that the goal for today was not only to feed empty stomachs on this one occasion, but to feed hearts and souls for a lifetime.

I am amazed at the good works this organization does. If you are on Long Island, please join. Even if you are not on Long Island, please see their projects and I hope they will inspire your own efforts.

Monday, November 9, 2009

End of the Innocence

Today my three year old daughter got a pink hobby horse from our trip to the dollar store because she had been trying so hard to be good lately.

Then she decided to beat-up on her baby brother. Walked up right behind the kid and shoved him down. Hard. Completely unprovoked.

So, I put the horse away. (Really, I've just run out of ideas here, people.)

She asked me where he had gone and I told her I put it away, she'd get it back when she plays nicely, etc.

But she persisted with the continuous stream of questions:

Where is the horse? How long does she have to be good to get it back? Will I donate it? If the other little girl pushes her little brother, will she donate it back?

Finally, I told her the horse went away because he only likes to play with kids who are nice to their little brothers and that he would come back when she treated her brother nicely.

"But mommy, how can he do that? He's just a pretend horse...."

Photo Credit: Horse

Monday, November 2, 2009

Port-of-Delight

In a lot of ways, it still feels like a dream.

A few weeks ago, I saw tweets flying back and forth about winning a vacation from Voyage.TV. Normally, I would have just assumed it was either "too good to be true" or that my chances of winning were infinitesimally small. But then I saw that Liz @Mom101 (and Cool Mom Picks editor) had actually won (and gone on) a trip to Barcelona. Wow.

My husband and I used to travel all the time (Rome, Florence, Venice, Sicily, Angkor Wat, Bangkok, the Greek Islands, Prague, Budapest, Romania, Belize, Mexico, Peru, Edinburgh, the Orkneys) but since we've had kids we haven't had the opportunity--the time, energy, or money.

On a lark, I sent out a few tweets and then the one that won:

I found out I won on a Friday. My husband had actually been planning to take the following week off but the demands of work were making our "staycation" dwindle day by day. Since he already had requested the time off, when I won, we decided to see how quickly we could make the vacation happen.

There was also the matter of the kids.

My 1 year old nursling is very attached. So, we decided to take both children and turned the romantic getaway into a family adventure. With Voyage.TV covering airfare for my husband and I and the hotel, we were able to purchase the kids' tickets and upgrade the hotel room.

By the following Wednesday, we were in New York City picking up expedited passports for the kids and by Thursday we were on an airplane, headed to Lisbon.

And we are so glad we decided to "go for it".

Watching my daughter dance through Medieval Castles, Gothic Cathedrals, and stone-paved plazas was the memory of a lifetime.

We explored the ramparts of the Castle of São Jorge, rode an elevator to the oddly tranquil open-air nave of the Carmo Convent (the roof collapsed during the 1755 Earthquake), and climbed the seaside Tower of Belem.

We took a day trip to Sintra and Pena Palace, constructed over time in fits and starts of Romanticism so that it looks like a conglomeration of every tale of knights and ladies you've ever heard. The approach is through a dark, ethereal forest, completing the fairytale atmosphere.

Our last evening was spent at the end of Europe--the westernmost point.

On the way home, we enjoyed one more bit of luck: a woman with the patience of a saint played with my son during the transatlantic flight.

This Tweet Your Trip contest really helped lift my spirits and recognize all the blessings we enjoy.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Halloween - Wordless Wednesday

Get your Wordless Wednesday HERE and over at 5M4M.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

They Are Very Considerate

My son has decided that I need more sleep. And he is enforcing this by waking up regularly and demanding that I join him. As soon as I cuddle him, he falls fast asleep. The moment I attempt to put him down, he cries. If I finally get him to bed, he is back up within the hour.

I try to imagine it from his perspective--he spends an hour trying to get mommy to sleep: reading books with me, cuddling, nursing, singing. And then finally, just when he thinks he has me down for the night, he wakes to discover I am not there. Sneaky mommy. Just what does it take to get mommy to get her much needed sleep?

And then there is my darling daughter. Lately she has taken to asking me how much I love her. Being a bit of a sap, I told her:

I love you more than there are stars in the sky.

Tell me more, mommy.

Well, sweetie, I love you more than there are pebbles on every beach. More than there are grains of sand in all the deserts in the world...more than...

Do you love me more than this light?

Huh? Ummm...well, yes, sweetie. I do love you more than this light.

I love you more than the hamper, mommy.

Well. Ummm. That's good to hear, little one.

More than the hot pink hamper, mommy.

Thank you, sweetie.

Monday, October 19, 2009

You Say It's Your Birthday!

The day before my birthday I found out that I won a trip to Lisbon! Yes! To Lisbon! from my new BFF's VoyageTV thanks to some 140 character Twitter poetry. And yes, I played the married to an Iraqi vet card. A girl desperate for a dream vacation has to do what a girl's gotta do. You could win, too.

On my actual birthday, my husband found a crafts festival. Yes, I am truly a sucker for a good craft festival. And he bought me this fun, red, enamel, flower cuff bracelet. A little more bold and dramatic than my usual but I think it is fun.

Then, my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law showed up to play with the kids. Since Junior actually did not scream his lungs out as soon as I moved two inches away, Captain Commander Dad and I ducked out and went to an adult restaurant! with low lights! ambiance! real china! Sorry for the absurd number of exclamation points but eating out without having to clear a two-foot radius around the baby or answer the preschooler's questions about how her food "got dead" is truly noteworthy in my life.

And the birthday fun did not stop there! The next day we went out for Indian food, my favorite (although this meal was interrupted by the antics of our children). And today I got to got to another local favorite, the Tea Time cottage, home of delightful tea, delicious scones (I had the seasonal pumpkin raisin), heavenly lavender, friendly goats, and a charming garden with ponds (a perfect place for searching for fairies with a fairy-obsessed preschooler).

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Baby Too Fat for Health Coverage?

REALLY?

They denied a newborn health coverage because the baby is "overweight"? And this baby is breastfed and was a good size at birth, so its weight is completely normal. In fact, a chubby, breastfed baby is likely to grow into a thin, healthy toddler.

This is just absurd. What a stupid company.