I Am Mom Enough

Ok, I know we've all seen the Time Magazine cover

asking if you're mom enough.

I'm sure many of you

have either written a blog post

or read a blog post about it too.

And then there's the bunch of you

that have gotten into 

Facebook conversations about it.

It's everywhere.

Women are now asking themselves

and each other;

Are you mom enough?

So here's my thing.

I tend not to make my blog controversial.

I'm fairly easy going. 

However,

this whole thing has gotten me

pissed!

My personal feelings about the cover

are just that,

my personal feelings.

Who am I to judge another mom?

Motherhood isn't exactly the easiest job. 

And while I'd like to say there isn't a manual on Motherhood,

apparently there are many.

But how dare anyone judge another mom

because they don't do the same thing.

Yes, personally I wouldn't breastfeed my almost 4 year old.

But again, that's me.

What I'm utterly offended by

are the various blogs and Facebook conversations

making mothers who don't breastfeed

or co-sleep

out to be horrible moms.

I am mom enough!

Ethan had latching issues.

According to Dr Sears,

I'm not mom enough.

Ethan was,

and still is,

underweight.

I supplemented his bottled breast milk

with formula.

According to many Facebook conversations

that doesn't make me mom enough.

I didn't co-sleep with Ethan.

I have nothing against co-sleeping.

It's just not for me. 

I tend to toss and turn when I sleep,

and was terrified I'd roll on top of a sleeping Ethan.

How dare Dr Sears imply that doesn't make me

mom enough!!!!!

And now,

there's a Facebook conversation

about those 

"protein shakes" for kids.

Things like Pediasure.

It almost seems like the breastfeeding moms

are against those moms that give their kids these shakes.

Well, I'm one of those moms.

Ethan hates milk.

Scott brought some Carnation Essentials

back from his trip to Canada.

Ethan loves it.

He went from barely drinking a glass of milk a day

to asking for a glass of milk 

a few times a day.

So how can that be a bad thing?

How can I not be mom enough?

Yesterday at school

Ethan's class had a Mother's Day tea.

Each child said why they loved their moms.

No child said it was because their mom

practised Attachment Parenting. 

Ethan said he loves me

"because she buys me toys."

Hey, Dr Sears,

guess what?

I am mom enough!!!!!!

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 9

Ethan often enjoys playing outside

with our guard and gardener.

A couple of weeks ago,

he was upset that we would not let him play with them.

They were playing checkers

outside the gate,

and well,

we didn't want Ethan outside the gate.

He was devastated.

He wanted to learn how to play.

Easy enough,

I played with him.

Checkers is Ethan's new favourite game.

I came home the other day

and wondered why it was so quiet in the house.

Walked into the living room

to find this;

Happiness is finding someone to play checkers with.

Before: A Larkstorm Short Story - Dawn Rae Miller

You might remember my gushing

over how much I enjoyed reading

Larkstorm

last month.

Well while I await for the arrival of

Nightingale

Dawn Rae Miller 

has provided me with a little...

beginning.

Before is just what the title says it is.

A short story that occurs 

three years before Larkstorm.

It is the evening of Lark's

brother's binding ceremony.

She's nervous about seeing her mother.

Anxious to meet her new sister-in-law.

If you've never read Larkstorm

but are thinking about it,

read this, 

and you'll be hooked.

If you have read it,

read this and you'll have many

Oh! now I get it 

moments.

Beck is a smart one.

He's known for a long time.

Deadlocked - Charlaine Harris

Tuesday May 1st

couldn't have come any sooner.

It was a day I had been waiting for.

It was the day that the newest

Sookie Stackhouse book would be out.

I waited forever

for Deadlocked.

Sookie is like a dear friend.

I hadn't seen her since last year.

I was looking forward to catching up,

but dang Sookie,

you're not the same!

I'm not sure what it was,

but I wasn't as excited reading about Sookie

as I have been in the past.

Sookie's been through a lot.

I get that.

In Deadlocked

she's convinced everyone's conspiring against her.

Ok, maybe not everyone,

but she starts to distrust a lot of people.

Felipe de Castro, Vampire King of Louisiana

has arrived. 

During his visit with Eric,

a half were woman is found dead.

And yes,

Sookie was right,

it was a conspiracy,

but it wasn't as interesting as her past mysteries.

Although,

I do have to admit

the ending grabbed me.

What will happen with Sookie and Eric?

Is our favourite Viking vampire gone?

Will there be a new beginning for

Sookie and Sam?

Will book 13 grab my attention once again?

Only time will tell.

Writer's Workshop - Lies I Tell

List of Lies You Constantly Tell

This week MamaKat 

asked us to share a list of lies

we constantly tell.

I'm sure you're surprised to hear I tell lies.

I know, I know

you thought I was so wonderful.

But it's true,

I tell some lies.

Here are my top 3 lies.

Well,

at least the lies I don't mind sharing.

Lie #1 - I lie about my age.

Shocking, I know. 

And no,

 I will not admit to my real age.

Let me just confess

I'm not really 32.

Lie #2  - I lie about my weight.

I know you don't care

about my weight

but I do.

And I refuse to admit

that I've gained some weight.

Lie #3 - I lie to Scott.

Ok, it's not an evil thing.

And really, I don't consider it a lie.

I just don't admit that the new shoes are new.

I just tell him I haven't worn them in awhile.

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 8

The weather here has gotten strange.

I'm not sure what season we're in

or how to dress.

The mornings are cold.

Not cool.

Cold.

We're talking jersey and scarf weather.

Then, by breaktime

the jersey comes off. 

Lunch time the scarf comes off.

Is it winter?

Is it summer?

Not too sure?

Well....

the pretty flowers we see

make up for the lack of understanding.

Happiness is pretty flowers reminding you it's really not that cold out!

Fifty Shades of Grey - E.L. James

Last summer,

I read the book 

Shades of Grey

by Joleen Naylor.

About a month ago,

I came across a post on Facebook

where a mate of mine states

she needs to finish reading 

Fifty Shades of Grey.

I was a little confused.

She made it sound like it was a famous book

and why did she add the number 50 to the title?

Then last month,

my colleague comes into my classroom 

asking if I've heard of Fifty Shades of Grey.

Nope.

She said everyone's talking about it.

We Googled it.

Jodie summed it up as

housewife porn.

Well now,

everywhere I look

people are talking about this book.

There are endless discussions

on FB groups about it.

So I caved.

I bought the trilogy on iBooks

and was up all night reading it.

Ok,

let me just say

after reading the book

I'm not sure what the whole fuss is?

I know it began as a fan fiction

from Twilight.

But you don't need to be a Twilight fan 

to enjoy this.

It has nothing to do with vampires.

It is not meant for your teenaged daughter.

It was not as shocking as I expected it to be.

Does that mean I'm a 

"smut expert"?

(mate's words, not mine)

Am I happy I caved into the pressure?

Undecided.

Am I glad I read it?

Yes, actually.

Smut aside, 

I did enjoy it.