My Pep Talk to Me

I wrote a post in February about staying in the positive: Keep It Movin'

But every once in a while, I need to remind myself of this concept. I need to remind myself that I am in a much better place now than I was years ago, when I held grudges, felt helpless in how some people treated me, and let others make decisions about how and when they were going to insert themselves into my life. I think I've done a pretty good job over the years of cutting out the negativity, the drama, and the foolishness - and ultimately taking control of who I surround myself with... who I let (and consciously don't let) into my life. And now I apply that to my immediate family (probably even more so than with myself) - if you can't respect me, my husband, or my children... if you try to bring negativity to us... if you choose to live your life in a dishonest way... if you try to manipulate, control or bring us down...  BUH-BYE! SIONORA! ADIOS!

My BFF Oprah Winfrey (oh, she's your BFF, TOO?! ; ) ) says it best with some of her favorite quotes:

"When you know better, you do better." - Maya Angelou

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Alfred

Einstein

"Forgiveness is letting go of the hope that the past can be changed." - Oprah

"Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher." - Oprah 

"Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down." - Oprah

I truly appreciate my close friends and family. I appreciate their honesty, sincerity and the positivity they bring to my life! And like I said in my post in February:

Negativity and the like can only slow me down... and I've got too many good things going on to get tied down in that nonsense. Interested is being a part of the positivity? Join in! Not interested in change and letting go of the nonsense of life? Sorry, but I'm just gonna "keep it movin'" right by ya.

My Southern Belle Says Dawg and Cawll

We are big fans of Nick Jr. around here. Yo Gabba Gabba, Wow Wow Wubzy, Wonder Pets - Nick Jr. is our channel of choice. Not that we actually watch it, but it provides great background noise during playtime. The only time Miss Paige really tunes into it is when her favs - Moose and Zee - pop up between programs. She watches their memory and matching games and shouts at the TV like she really just found the matching puzzle piece. Gotta love her enthusiasm : )

So today, Moose and Zee were doing a rhyming game, and the word to rhyme with was "DOG". No problem, right? WRONG! Well, wrong if your mama is a transplant from New York and still has an accent on certain words - coffee (caw-fee), talk (tawlk), hall (hawll), water (war-ter), etc. Dog happens to be on of those words (dawg). So when the options came up as a rhyming word for Dog, I panicked. Here were the options: House. Car. Frog. The obvious answer is Frog - duh. But when you say "Dawg" for Dog and don't say "Frawg" for Frog, they don't rhyme. I don't say "Frawg". I say "Frog". The next set of rhymes came up, again to match up with DOG. The options were: Shoe. Cat. Hog. OH JEEZ! I don't say "Hawg". I say "Hog".

And then my mind started racing... am I setting my children up for failure when it comes to rhyming? And what about spelling?! Ok, that is a little dramatic. But it never occurred to me that having Miss Paige mimic my speech patterns could have a negative effect. Will her teachers think she's crazy? Will they try and correct her speech? I saw a Dateline once where they featured adults who "mysteriously" began speaking with English accents (a la Britney Spears circa 2006). She is already saying Dog, Call and Ball with a NY accent. Ay yi yi.

So now I have a dilemma: Can I change the way I speak, when the accent is already ingrained in me and it's use is subconscious? Do I need to? Can I just explain to her that Mommy says things differently (as does one half of her family tree!)? At the end of the day, does it even really matter?

I remember in first grade having a teacher's aid tell me I was writing my lowercase cursive "o" incorrectly. I was writing it like my sister did - with a little loop dipping into the "o" rather than just having it go straight across the top. I remember informing her - yes, at the wise old age of 6 - that I wasn't doing it "wrong" - just differently. And in my mind, that was fine.

I know in my heart Paige isn't going to have long term issues if she happens to say some words with a NY accent. There are a lot worse things in the world that she could do: like root for the Florida Gators or Auburn Tigers : ) Just kidding... (although my husband, Daniel, doesn't think there is anything funny about that). GO GEORGIA BULLDAWGS!!!

Breastfeeding: Public Nudity and Sexual Exhibitionism?

There are a lot of messed up things in this world. Breastfeeding is not one of them.

Over the past two weeks, we've been bombarded with stories of products and offerings that not only prey on the innocence of children, but can ultimately be destructive to them as they develop into individuals. First there was news a few months back of Abercrombie offering "push up triangle" string bikini tops for children as young as 7 and 8: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/BUSINESS/03/26/abercrombie.bikini.controversy/index.html  Next came the Sketcher Shape Ups for children so they can firm up their legs and butts: http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/national/051611-parents-protest-skechers-shape-ups-for-girls  And the final straw came just last week, when a mother went on national TV describing how she gives her young daughter injections of Botox in order to help her keep up with the competitive pageant circuit: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/girls-300919-sneakers-young.html

What the fuzzball??

Yes, Abercrombie has changed it's online description of the controversial bikini top from "push up" to "removable padding". Sketchers has said it is only encouraging young girls to exercise (because I guess regular sneakers can't be used for exercise?). And the Botox-injecting mom has lost custody of her daughter as she is being investigated by child services in California. Public outcry - most likely from the mama bears - was heard loud and clear.

So with all these messed up things going on all around us (the above being only a teeny, tiny example of the extent of the foolishness), why has local government decided to target an issue that doesn't harm - but instead helps - children. It's healthy. It's natural. It's not offensive. And a small suburb of Atlanta, GA - Forest Park, GA - has just banned it. What is it? BREASTFEEDING!!

That's right. Forget about crime rates, about unemployment, about government corruption - the local government of Forest Park, GA has decided to focus it's time, energy and tax-payer dollars on banning breastfeeding in public. Think I'm lying? Read about it here: http://www.wsbtv.com/news/27920007/detail.html and here http://www.parenting.com/blogs/show-and-tell/melanie-parentingcom/public-breastfeeding-banned-atlanta-area


Here are the "highlights":

A new law in metro Atlanta will ban breastfeeding a child older than 2 in public areas as part of a public indecency ordinance, reports WSB-TV, a local ABC affiliate. 

On Monday evening, in a misguided effort to prevent public nudity, a new public indecency ordinance was passed in Forest Park, Georgia, a small city about 9 miles south of Atlanta. According to the new law, women cannot publicly breastfeed a child older than 2 years of age. City manager John Parker said of the law, “It sets up a process whereby we can try to control nudity throughout the entire city,” and called it a proactive step.

Control public nudity?! What is really going on in Forest Park?! Is public nudity that rampant among its residents? I'm sorry - but this is one of the most foolish things I've ever heard of.

And right after reading these articles, I came across another "controversy" - is it wrong for young children to pretend they are breastfeeding their dolls and stuffed animals? Read the discussion here: http://theleakyboob.com/2011/05/are-children-who-pretend-to-breastfeed-their-toys-in-danger/

Are people seriously concerned about this?! Miss Paige imitates everything I do - you should see her pretend to talk on a cell phone! It's hilarious! The other day she got a hold of a makeup brush and started imitating me putting on bronzer. And when Lil D is born in just a few weeks, I expect Miss Paige to most likely imitate me breastfeeding him (fingers crossed that it works this time around!!) with her own dolls and stuffed toys. It's just the way kids are - they imitate their parents as they learn and grow. I really can't believe people have a problem with it. I just don't get it.

I have to wonder if the lawmakers of Forest Park, GA really equate breastfeeding with sexual exhibitionism? And people who are uncomfortable with children imitating their mothers breastfeeding really see it as over-sexualization of our youth? According to their actions, they do. Since when is breastfeeding sexual?? Push up padded string bikini tops for 7 year olds? Definitely attempting to sexualize children. Breastfeeding? No way. Getting 7 year old to worry about firming their butts and thighs? Unnatural and unhealthy. Watching a mom breastfeed her baby? The most natural and healthy act a child can witness a mother do. Shooting a child's face up with poison? INSANE! Shooting breastmilk all over your child's face while trying to nurse? Hehe... just kidding. I was trying to keep the comparisons going : )

Even though I wasn't able to breastfeed Miss Paige and began using formula after a few weeks of failed attempts to nurse, I still see the value in breastfeeding and respect all the mamas out there who are able to offer their children such a gift. And mamas who couldn't breastfeed for any number of reasons (like me) or made a choice not to - I respect you too! Because being a mama is hard work. We need to respect each other and support the choices of our fellow mamas - and fight against the craziness that tries to tear us apart.

Can I get an Amen? : )