Search Results for: blog moms sacrifice for kids during the holidays

Olympic-Sized Sacrifice

No sooner did their children make international headlines as Olympic gold medalists than the parents of gymnast Gabby Douglas and swimming superstar Ryan Lochte’s parents garner worldwide attention themselves… but not the good kind. Leave it to TMZ.com to break the news that Douglas’ mother, Natalie Hawkins, was forced to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy just months before her 16-year-old daughter made the Olympic gymnastics team. According to court records, Hawkins has been granted time by a federal court to reorganize her finances and pay down the nearly $80,000 of debt she has accumulated since going on long-term medical disability … Continue reading →

Society’s Perception: Moms vs. Dads

So much has been said and written about author Rahna Reiko Rizzuto’s decision to give up primary physical custody of her kids, so she could move to Japan to pursue her career—–most of it is far from flattering. Actually, most of it is scathing. In her book, “Hiroshima in the Morning,” Rizzuto explains why she “didn’t want to be a mother” anymore and what precipitated her decision to leave her husband and two young kids, so she could interview atomic bomb survivors in Japan. According to Rizzuto, she left her family for four months in order to complete research for … Continue reading →

Moms and Stress

Moms are stressed. Stress is bad. Stressed out moms die young. That pretty much sums up a new study, which links heart problems and women who live and work in high-stress environments. According to researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, moms, who continually expose themselves to stressful situations, are more likely to have heart problems than ladies who chill in laid back environments. Or who have laid back personalities. The study featured more than 17,000 women, who were followed since 1999, and sorted into four different categories depending on their levels of stress. Cardiologists evaluated the women based on how … Continue reading →

Mommy Blog Bashers

Have you ever considered that you could be helping a struggling single mom of four young children make ends meet each time you click on a link that leads to her blog? Earlier this year Oprah Winfrey devoted an entire show to the “Secret Lives of Moms.” It featured an audience full of women drooling at the chance to discuss the joys and pitfalls associated with raising the next generation. A portion of the episode spoke to a “new” kind of motherhood, in which women no longer suffer in silence about negative parenting experiences, mistakes and lack of maternal instincts. … Continue reading →

Stay-at-Home Moms are Priceless

Actually, they’re worth about $123,000 if you believe Salary.com’s latest calculations. Yes, all you dads, who constantly berate your spouse’s decision to give up her career in the “real world” and make child raising her priority, I have news for you: Stay-at-home moms are worth six figures. Way more, if you ask the children they pour their hearts and souls into raising, but I digress. Salary.com has once again tried to put a price tag on the tasks stay-at-home moms accomplish in a year’s time. Have you ever wondered how much moms should really be raking in? According to the … Continue reading →

What Do You Do With Pictures of Other People’s Kids?

It’s that time of year again… time for your mail carrier to put on the weightbelt as she lugs batches of holiday greetings from around the world and crams them into your mailbox. As I mentioned in a previous blog, I thoroughly enjoy getting Christmas correspondences (even the ubiquitous four-page family newsletters packed with pertinent personal details like the fact that Susie lost her front tooth in August, Sam was successfully potty-trained in May, and Rover dragged a skunk home on Halloween). What’s more, any of these holiday greetings include adorable pictures of family and friend’s darling children (some of … Continue reading →

Holidays and Family Dysfunction

Twas the dinner of Christmas and all through the house everyone was stirring… while visions of food fights danced in their heads. If that pretty much sums up your family gatherings during the holiday season, then you might want to take a cue from Demi Moore and Bruce Willis. That’s right; the famously divorced Hollywood couple is now giving tips on how to avoid conflict during holiday get-togethers involving extended family. According to the actors, there is a way to co-exist with your dysfunctional family members minus the drama and fights. After all, they say, they do it on a … Continue reading →

Keeping Your Kids Safe During the Holidays

So, yesterday my friend calls to ask me if our Christmas tree was up and decorated. (It is.) Then, she proceeded to tell me that after spending three hours trimming her family’s 7-foot Douglas fir the entire thing came crashing down… on her 16-month-old son. Fortunately, he didn’t suffer any major injuries, but since the fall the tree has been banished to the corner of the living room and is trapped behind a wall of child safety gates. Not that it really needs the protection given that her son is now deathly afraid of the fir. My pal’s anecdote serves … Continue reading →

Hey Moms… What’s On Your Christmas Wish List?

Dear Santa, All I want for Christmas this year is peace, good health… and a Dyson vacuum cleaner. Best Wishes, A Mom In a previous blog I touched on moms, sacrifices, and the holidays. Moms (in general) are notorious for knowing exactly what’s on everyone else’s Christmas wish list while never considering drafting one of their own. So why is it that mothers have such a difficult time coming up with a holiday wish list? I can’t speak for other moms, but I would venture to guess: A.) They’d rather spend the money on their children B.) They don’t have … Continue reading →

Moms Sacrifice for Kids During the Holidays

In other news… the sky is blue and snow is white. For days I have resisted responding to the now infamous New York Times article, “To Buy Children’s Gifts, Mothers Do Without.” But the brouhaha that has followed its printing has become so phenomenal I figured I might as well add my two-cents worth. As you can imagine the article with the extremely trite title received a backlash of vicious replies from mothers around the world. “To Buy Children’s Gifts, Mothers Do Without.” DUH!! When don’t mothers do without? Before I continue on my soapbox I should note that the … Continue reading →