Read for the Record Today

Today is Read for the Record day.

Check out the campaign, and find out where the closest event to you is happening today.



My local Starbucks is taking part this afternoon and is offering freebies for parents and kids - whoo hoo! Literacy and caffeine, a happy combination I'll take any day.

Who knows, maybe The Story of Ferdinand will be just what it takes to get Miss E to stop asking me to read this book to her a million times a day?



I don't read it anymore, we recite it together without even looking at the pages! But, whatever keeps her interested in books and reading I'm all for it.

Hopefully you'll be able to catch a Read for the Record event today, if not, you can join in online.

Society! You need to grow up!

Much has been said about the Bill Maher debacle on nursing in public, I won't rehash it since it has been covered extremely well by other bloggers, here, here and here to mention but three.

What amazes me as much as the idiocy of Bill Maher's comments are the debates that rumbled on in the comment sections of some posts on the issue. It is so sad to see that so many people, including many women are so against nursing a baby in public.

Comments I've seen made on the issue in blog comments and elsewhere are:

"I don't want to see anyone's blue veined engorged tit at my dinner table"

"A baby doesn't need the distraction of a busy restaurant, go take them somewhere quiet to eat"

"I can't stand to hear the sound of a baby slurping at the breast" (and a bottle fed baby doesn't slurp, right?)

"I have the right not to have to see you breastfeed, as much as you have the right to breastfeed"

Then there are people who have obviously made assumptions that when a woman breastfeeds a baby they must need to be half naked to do so?

I have nursed both my children, my first for 17 months, and Baby J is still nursing at 11 months. I have no doubt that some of my family and friends had some level of discomfort over my choice to nurse for this long - but I don't care. I know I did and am doing what is best for my babies.

I have paid attention to other people's comfort levels, and when it was possible I would nurse in another room so as not to make people uncomfortable. If it was not possible I went ahead and fed my baby anyway. I've nursed on planes, in restaurants, at the Mall, at the park, during playgroups and in stores. I have done so in the most discreet way possible. I have never received disapproving looks, nor have I received any comments on what I was doing. Perhaps I live in a more enlightened part of the country? (I doubt it, I live in the redneck capital of Florida *snort*).

Maybe I have a different take on this since breastfeeding was demystified for me by seeing my own mother breastfeed. I hope so, because then there is hope for my kids' generation - that they will not carry the same prejudices or distaste on the subject.

'So, what's your point Annie? You said you weren't going to rehash all of this' I hear you say.

I guess my point is this. If you have a problem seeing a mother care for and nurture her baby. In the way that nature intended, with the best possible substance available. And if you have a problem with a mother providing that nourishment on demand, which is the best way to provide it, meaning that sometimes yes, she'll have to do it in a public place, then they are most definitely exactly that. YOUR PROBLEMS.

Mothers should not have have to justify themselves on this issue. We should not have to respond to the Bill Mahers of this world. We should not have to be asked to cover up in a restaurant, or be escorted off a plane for feeding our children. Who would do any of these things to a mother bottle feeding a baby? It's the same thing - feeding a child, involving a different vessel - plain and simple.

Society - you need to get over this prudish misplaced discomfort you have with breasts being used for their intended purpose. It is unnecessary, juvenile, and downright irritating!

It's confirmed. I'm 'Just a Mommy'!

Conversation between Miss E and I in the car returning from the weekly grocery shopping.

Miss E: Baby J is a boy.

Me: That's right. Who else is a boy in our house?

Miss E: Daddy!

Me: Good girl. Are you a boy?

Miss E: *chuckles* No, I'm a girl.

Me: Good girl, that's right. Who else is a girl in our house?

Miss E: Hmm, I don't know.

Me: Is Mommy a girl?

Miss E: *chuckles very loudly* NO!

Me: Well, then what am I? Is Mommy a lady?

Miss E: No!

Me: Is Mommy a woman?

Miss E: *laughing uproariously* No, you're not, silly.

Me: Well? What am I?

Miss E: You're Mommy!


Bang go any notions I have of proving myself to be witty, intelligent and worthy as an individual beyond motherhood. At least in my daughter's eyes!

Please use and check your children's car seats!

Two small children, involved in separate accidents in my city have had to be airlifted to a Children's Hospital in Tampa with serious injuries. One was a 6 month old infant involved in a head on collision on a road with a 30mph speed limit. The other was a 3 year old sitting unrestrained in the passenger seat while her mother turned into a side street into the path of oncoming traffic which could not avoid hitting her. The car was hit exactly where the 3 year old was sitting.

There are no reports of how the infant in the first accident was or was not restrained - it has me wondering though. The second accident happened in a not so good part of town, and the mother/driver refused a blood test. I could make many judgments based on these facts, but will avoid doing so since that's not the point of my post.

As responsible parents, many of us research safety ratings of equipment we use for our kids. There are many expensive car seat options out there. None of which are any use whatsoever if 1. they are not installed, or 2. not installed correctly.

The statistic in my county is that 95% of car seats are installed incorrectly. So, 95% of kids traveling around are not adequately protected in the event of an accident. In addition, poorly installed car seats can be the cause of injury in an accident where the child is injured by the straps or the chest buckle for example.

We read our owner's manuals for our kids' car seats - the infant seat, and later the convertible car seats. We followed the instructions to a 't'. Wanting to be absolutely sure they were installed correctly, I have had them checked by a certified car seat technician each time. Each time she has helped me improve the installation - so despite our best efforts, the seats were not in fact installed 100% correctly.

For a few minutes of my time, I have the advice of a specialist, and have her overview my technique in installing the seats, and importantly, in positioning the child, and the straps in the seats. With this comes the peace of mind that I have protected my children as well as I can by restraining them appropriately in the car.

Please have your children's car seats inspected by a qualified technician. You can find one in your area by contacting your local hospital, or your County Sheriff's Department. Do it today! You can check out Safekids USA for information on your State's specific safety laws and requirements.

You should also ensure that every adult traveling in your car wears a seat belt. Adults not restrained by a seat belt can become a deadly missile in the event of an accident, further endangering your children in the back.

As my Mum has often said to me, people wouldn't dream of transporting their breakables when moving house or after buying some expensive item, without wrapping them in bubble wrap and securing them appropriately. People need to afford the same duty of care to their kids!

Thank You for thinking I'm Nice!

Although I don't feel 'nice' many days, especially when errant drivers, stubborn children, or any combination of irritating miscellany conspires to drive me nuts, Jennifer (Playgroups are no place for children), Jessica (A Bushel and a Peck), have presented me with the Nice Matters award. Andi (Poot and Cubby) also awarded me the 'Nice Matters' award via email.


And, if you can stand it - I am also the very proud recipient of the Big Fat Wet Kiss Award generously bestowed by Jenny (Absolutely Bananas). This is all the more cool for the fact that Jenny made this herself, crafty photoshop hexpert that she is!



Thank you ladies - these awards will look 'nice' hanging on my new blog!

I'm pretty sure that most of the bloggers to whom I would pass these awards, already have them, but I'm going to share some more anyway.

I would like to pass the 'Nice Matters' blog award to the following bloggers who have been great in their posts, emails, and in their comments:

The Good Woman (My Wee Scottish Blog)

Kimberly (Temporary?Insanity)

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

Deborah (The Humble Housewife)

Remembering

Looking forward to a day at Disney's Magic Kingdom, my Sister and I, on one of my many trips to Florida, were traveling up Interstate 4 towards Orlando.

Full of plans on which parts of the park we could go to first, where we would eat lunch, where was best to shop, we thought nothing of the outside world. We thought nothing much of the break in the radio to inform of a plane hitting the World Trade Center in NYC, besides declaring it a terrible accident, and feeling for anyone injured or killed.

We processed through the entrance to Disney - eager to soak up the atmosphere, to feel that magic that even at almost 30, still made me tingle with childlike excitement. I was keen to see parts of the park that I had missed the first time I visited, so we decided to move around in a counter-clockwise route. We had managed to take in all of Main St USA, and some of Tomorrowland and had made our way back to the Cinderella's Castle when the great booming voice came over the public address system:

"Due to circumstances beyond our control, the Walt Disney Parks are now closing. Please proceed immediately to the nearest exit".

My Sister and I, as puzzled as everyone else, waited a few moments. The message was repeated and we knew we hadn't misheard. We made our way to the exits - so disappointed and very confused. Yes there were clouds in the sky, but nothing threatening. No mention on the weather reports of a looming hurricane that might shut down the parks. What on earth could cause Disney to close?

On our way out through the gates, I asked a security officer what the problem was she said 'I can't tell you much Ma'am. All I can say is that America has been targeted in a terrorist attack, and I mean a major terrorist attack'.

Heading back to the car park on the ferry it dawned on me that this was probably something to do with that plane crash. Nothing could have prepared us for the news we heard on the radio as we both traveled to what is now my home, stunned.

Stunned at the enormity of this heinous act - on hearing that a second plane had hit and one building had collapsed. Stunned at the fear, panic and loss suffered by those in those buildings. Fear, panic and loss echoed by loved ones not in the buildings.

I cried for most of the rest of that day as we sat with the rest of the world and watched coverage of what happened. As I thought of families scrambling for news of their fathers, sisters, mothers, daughters, brothers, my heart was breaking. How much worse must it have been to be those families?

On this, the first time that September 11th has fallen on a Tuesday, as in 2001 I remember all those people setting off on a day like every other. I remember the men, women and children who died at the hands of evil in those buildings and on the planes. I remember the sacrifice of heroes setting out to save them. I remember the families left behind to pick up the pieces and carry on without them.

I remember, too, my responsibility as a parent to raise loving, compassionate and tolerant children. To instill in them a respect for all human life and ensure that they carry no extreme religious or political baggage. To ensure that they are part of a better generation in which they can continue to pursue peace in this world, and make sure that this never happens again.

I remember.

Ten Years

Ten years ago today something happened that tipped my world upside down.

Something that was to open my eyes, my experiences, my heart, my love.

I came to America for the first time, arriving to join other family members for my cousin's wedding. I got to experience the closest thing to tropical paradise I'd ever seen when we stayed in the islands of Sanibel and Captiva in the Gulf of Mexico, where the wedding took place.

I sat on white shell beaches, watching sandpipers dot in and out of the foamy surf. I marveled at pelicans diving for their lunch a little way offshore. I swam in warm green waters and felt tiny fish brush against my ankles. I felt like I was on a travel show and 'Wildlife on One', all rolled into one.

Among white egrets, and lush hibiscus, the Bride and Groom finished all those last minute preparations. We gathered in the small white church and watched them celebrate their love, and join their lives. Little did I know sitting there in that church, that two days later I was to meet my own future husband, the day before I flew back to Ireland.

Who would have believed that this Irish guy whom my cousins counted among their very good friends, who wasn't at the wedding due to previous boozing with his buddies Gaelic Football commitments in San Fransisco, would come into my life and change it, completely?

My practical, rational side dictated that the odds of ever seeing this man again, having met him the night before my vacation ended were negligible. My heart and my gut however told me something different. As I looked out of the airplane window into the dark, watching the grid-like pattern of the street lit city of Miami grow smaller as the plane climbed, I knew something was different and I wondered had I just met someone important. Pipe dreams? Delusions? Maybe - but I am living proof that some dreams can come true.

Through our unconventional, separated by 4000 miles and the Atlantic Ocean, courtship, we had many phone calls when we chatted about all the usual getting-to-know-you stuff. We engaged in frivolous chatter, and serious discussions where we'd be the ones to set the world to rights. I had many more trips to Florida to visit him, and he came home to Ireland several times, too. Many times I'd ask myself 'where is this going?' and once we did try to end it, both agreeing that living a half a world apart wasn't exactly conducive to a thriving relationship. I did at one point try make my peace with the fact that we were not 'meant to be' and however much that hurt I stopped calling him. He continued to keep in touch with me however, and so we hovered for a while in a limbo of not moving forward and not breaking off completely either. Then he blessedly survived a very serious accident, and his attitude to 'us' took on a more serious and determined slant. Knowing that he could have died in that accident also made me realise that deep down where I didn't even want to admit it to myself, I really, really loved this guy. He's the first and only man I've ever loved, and will be the only man I will ever love.

Five years after meeting him, I moved to Florida to be with him - five months after our engagement. We got engaged while I was on vacation here, and I flew back to Ireland alone, two days later - I like to keep running themes in my life like that.

We are so different in lots of ways. I am college educated, my husband is more of a graduate of the school of life kind of guy. He is an extrovert, and I am more reserved. He is a risk taker, I am not! (He's a good housekeeper, I am not, but he's taught me a lot and I'm getting better ha ha!). We are the same in many ways. Our values and family upbringings are very similar. Our morals, dedication to our families and attitudes to our own little family and parenting are virtually the same.

Here we are 10 years, a transatlantic courtship, a wedding and two babies later. I still miss home, but I can truthfully say that I am very happy. I am up to my ears in Fisher Price, afraid of the outcome of my son's medical tests, and today dealing with our first kiddie puking experience if you can believe it since Miss E was born nearly 3 years ago, but I am happy.

Here's to meeting you 10 years ago D, I love you and am so glad you happened to me!