I’m Thinking of Blogging Again, Anyone Out There Anymore?

I’m thinking of blogging again.

I stopped blogging a few years ago for two reasons. One, Chicago Moms Blog went away and I lost my larger forum for my posts and two, some of my relatives found out I was blogging and the pseudonym I was using so I didn’t feel like I could be as open and honest.  Today, I feel like my relatives have moved on and would not know whether or not I’m back to blogging again unless I tell them.

Why do I want to start blogging again? Well, I think I need the outlet again. I’m having marital problems and I can’t talk to my husband about them because he is not listening or trying to fix what is wrong.  So much is going on in the world and I’d like to “discuss” it with others (and vent) and, again, when I try to talk to my husband about current events, he stares at me blankly. Sometimes he flat out says, “What does this have to do with me?” or “I really don’t care about that issue . . . ” Nevermind the fact that I care about it and he could at least feign interest for my sake.  I have friends and we do discuss current issues, but I don’t see or talk to them everyday. When I have a burning issue, I just want to get it out of my system.  I’m thinking this is a typical problem the SAHM faces.  It is rare to have an adult conversation.

I don’t need a big audience and I probably don’t need any audience but I was just wondering if anyone is still around and “following” me.  Say “hello”.  Thanks! Sophia

What Is Going On With This Blog?

Good question!  My anonymity has been compromised so I’ve had to remove the majority of my posts. Whether this blog will continue at all, or whether I will have to trash three years of blogging and begin again under another pen name, I haven’t decided yet.  This is all too fresh and I am very very very distressed about this.  Any suggestions?

When I Questioned the Feds and Why You Are Needed Now

This week, CongressDaily published some of my conversation with Secretary of Agriculture Vilsak. I hope someone in power will read it and understand that we can’t just talk about the health of our children and invent new programs to “help” them.  It is a question of where we are putting our money.  All the jumping jacks and walks to school must be supported by healthy food!!!  The love of a fresh spinach salad with a whole grain roll will last long after they leave school.  Yes, walk to school, but many children are greeted by donuts and Fruit Loops.

Good quality food costs money and it is worth it to spend it on our children!  Please, please make your voice heard right now!  The easiest way is to go here to send an email where it matters most or to telephone the Capitol Hill switchboard at 1-800-815-3740 and ask to speak to your U.S. House Representative.  Tell him or her that you want an additional dollar per lunch allotted in the reauthorization  of the Child Nutrition Act,   that, in addition to the extra dollar, you want the following:

• Increased quality of meals served in the school meal program; including less use of highly processed foods which are high in fat and sodium, increased fresh and high quality fruits and vegetables, more whole grains, and reduced overall sodium content.
• Strengthened nutrition standards for school meal programs and competitive foods.
• At least $50 million mandatory funding for Farm to School programs. (Healthy Schools Campaign)

Why You Will NEVER See Me (Or My Children) at the Circus

New startling photographs prove what has been known for a long time, that Ringling Brothers tortures elephants.  It is not ok to torture animals for our amusement!  My children have never been to the circus, and will never go as long as animals are abused in this way.  Don’t shut a blind eye to this. Please look at these pictures taken by a former animal trainer for Ringling Brothers.

Seriously?

Really? Eat fried chicken and cure cancer?

This is Susan B. Komen Campaign’s latest idea. I’ve had it with the “buy this and cure cancer” crap.  Maybe I would feel differently if I had cancer, but I’d much rather give the 50 cents to fight cancer than buy this.  I think I really lost my faith in this pink campaign when I saw a pink vacuum cleaner for sale.  “Clean for the Cure,” oy!  Isn’t this all just not-for-profit run amok?

My School Lunch Revolution

Click here to go to my recent post on Chicago Moms Blog about my three-year long battle with our school lunch program and what we can do about it now (write your representatives!).  Also, see this recent article here (not written by me) and one in the New York Times (also not by me).

How to Live a Healthy Life (Book Review: National Geographic’s Green Guide Families)

Look Inside the book at Amazon.com (I don't have any affiliation w/Amazon other than the fact that I'm a customer)

Did you know that if you are good to our earth that you will also be good to yourself?  I don’t mean in an indirect way, that we’ll all have have a better place to live, etc.  I mean, if you, for example, use cleaning products that don’t pollute the earth’s water, then it just so happens that you won’t be polluting the air you breathe in your own home and the table you are eating your food off of will be safer too.  I’ve been “going green” ever since we adopted a dog in 1999 with severe respiratory problems.  I had to discontinue using those popular brand cleaning products which contained  bleach or ammonia in exchange for non-toxic, non-polluting cleaning products like vinegar and baking soda.   Because I am sensitive to chemicals and would suffer a sore throat whenever I cleaned with those toxic products, I was thrilled with the change!   When we moved into our suburban home a year later, we continued to protect our dog from harmful toxins by refusing to use artificial fertilizers and weed killers on our lawn.  Ten years later, our lawn may have  few more dandelions than the lawn next door, but it is still beautiful, and it doesn’t poison me, my dog, or my children.

Thanks to Chicago Moms Blog, I was given a copy of National Geographic’s Green Guide Families by Science Editor Catherine Zandonella.  This book’s secondary title, “The Complete Reference for Eco-friendly Parents” is, in my opinion, a misnomer.  It should be, “The Complete Reference for Healthy Families and a Healthy Planet,” because the information in this book should be of interest to all parents, not just the “eco-friendly” ones. This book makes it easy to protect your family and the earth from toxic pollutants because all the research and data is consolidated into this one easy guide.  Oh, how I wish I had this ten years ago.  Oh, how I wish I had this book when I was pregnant.  It would have saved me the countless hours I spent pouring over medical journals, magazine articles and books trying to make sure everything in our home, from the clothes we wear, to the paint we put on our walls, to the food we put in our mouths was as healthy as possible.  There is an amazing amount of information packed into this 400 page book and every parent should know what is in here, from  the hormone-disrupting toxins found in popular sunscreens( p.212) and endocrine disruptors in many baby care products (p. 208) to weighing the health risks and environmental impact of reusing carseats (p. 214).

I love that this book suggests that parents go to my favorite site for ratings on the health risks for make-up, cosmetics and sunscreen:  www.cosmeticsdatabase.com.   The guide explains ingredients such as sweeteners and preservatives in a way that is easy to reference and easy to understand.  It has ideas and guidance for healthy birthday parties, Easter, Passover, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  The book even explains how to pick a healthier toy and a healthier chocolate treat (for you and the planet).  I’m so excited about this guide that I’m going to buy one for my brother who is expecting his first child.

She’s Disgusting, I’m Disgusted

“She’s disgusting,” said my girlfriend, as she talked about her ex-boyfriend’s wife.  “Don’t you think she’s disgusting?” she asked.  “Ummm . . . ” was all I could say.   I was at a loss.  I understand my friend’s feelings of jealousy over the ex who chose someone else (ten years ago and my friend is happily married to another).  I’m not a saint and I do engage in gossip now and then, but I’ve been trying really hard to stop doing that.  My biggest challenge comes when, as in this case, I’m playing catch-up with a girlfriend who lives out of town and with whom I haven’t talked to for a year.   She was calling someone disgusting and I wanted to support her because girlfriends should support one another, right?  But  I knew this alleged “disgusting” person.  I had nothing against her and, in fact, I didn’t know one thing disgusting about her.  But what harm would there be in validating my girlfriend’s insecurities by agreeing with her?

It’s all that negative energy out there.  I don’t want to be a part of it.  I have so much negative energy floating around me because my husband’s family has ousted us that I just can’t go there at all.   The upshot of it all was that I didn’t agree with her and clearly, she was disappointed in me.  I was particularly unyielding to her persuasion in this case.  There was something in particular about that phrase, “she’s disgusting” that got under my skin.  While I was in the shower just a few days later, it hit me — Donald Trump.

I’ve been watching Celebrity Apprentice and during a recent episode, Cyndi Lauper brought up the name of Rosie O’Donnell.  Trump and O’Donnell had a well-publicized tiff a while ago.  On Apprentice, Trump’s reaction to the mere mention of her name elicited this harsh response:  “She’s disgusting.” Trump said this to Lauper, even after knowing she was  O’Donnell’s dear friend.  My response?  Money and power does not guarantee class.  Indeed, Trump has no class.  On national television, he tells O’Donnell’s friend that O’Donnell is disgusting.  What happened to, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”?  I’m constantly telling that to my children.  Shouldn’t we, as adults be practicing it ourselves?  When someone acts out on national television, I always assume that their bad behavior must be ten times worse in private.  After all, they know they are on camera.  I’d hate to see how Trump behaves when the cameras are off!  I was so disgusted by Trump’s performance (note:  I am not calling Trump disgusting, I am calling his actions disgusting, there is a BIG difference here), that when I heard the same words coming out of a friend’s mouth it felt very, very wrong.

What should we do when  a friend is behaving badly in this way?  Should we call her out on it? Stay silent? Go along for the sake of getting along?  I still remember something that happened to me fifteen years ago when I was in my twenties.  My roommate was driving me crazy and I had just found our her checks were bouncing to our landlord.  As I was venting my frustration by bad-mouthing my roommate to my girlfriends, one of them put me in my place.  She called me out on my poor behavior.  She said, “[your roommate] is also my friend and you shouldn’t be telling us all of this.”  Immediately, I knew she was right.  Even though everything I was saying was true, I had no business talking about another person that way.  It was disrespectful and beneath me.  I’m not going to say that I have been a perfect person since then, but I learned a valuable lesson that day and it was one I hope to never forget, especially if I’m ever on television.

Book Reviews: Annabel Karmel’s Top 100 Baby Purees and Top 100 Finger Foods

Participants at Chicago Moms Blog and our sister sites were fortunate to receive free copies of two of  Annabel Karmel’s books, Top 100 Baby Purees and Top 100 Finger Foods which, I believe, were originally published several years ago in the U.K..  These books contain beautiful photographs and the recipes are user-friendly because they clearly set out the ingredients and the time it will take to make the recipe.   The baby puree book, in particular, describes appropriate ages for particular foods, but I would suggest consulting your pediatrician on these matters.

In regard to the baby puree book, unfortunately. and maybe this is my own “thing,” but I simply can’t endorse any baby puree book that doesn’t stress the importance of using organic ingredients.  I scoured the book and could not find any mention of “organic” in any of the recipes.  Her “quick and easy meals for a healthy and happy baby,” will not, in my opinion, result in a healthy baby without explaining to mothers why using organic ingredients is so important.  Karmel discusses “nutritional needs,” allergies, and lactose intolerance in children quite a bit, why not discuss organic ingredients as well?  Furthermore, her recipes incorporate many purees with beef and chicken [we don’t eat this at all in our family], with no mention of the dangers of bovine growth hormone or the unhealthy amount of antibiotics found in non-organic beef and chicken.  I don’t think this is a problem in the U.K. as they don’t use bovine growth hormones there but since she has decided to bring her book here to the U.S. this issue, in my opinion, must be addressed  for new mothers.

I was ready for some new ideas for my children, so I was excited to receive the Top 100 Finger Foods book. There is not a lot in there for vegetarians like our family.  I did make one recipe that was almost a success.  I tried the Baked Parsnip and Sweet Potato Chips recipe.  Baking took a long time and although the edges got brown, those were the only crunchy parts.  This was the first time my husband ate parsnips so I will be making it again.  My children preferred the baked sweet potato I prepared in case it was a flop.

Overall, I was disappointed by the lack of creativity in some of the dishes.  I was hoping to add some new items to our tired repertoire.  However, some of the dishes featured were commonplace recipes for pancakes, french toast, pizza, and quiche.  I was surprised she included nachos as one of her “healthy” finger foods.  The recipe was not a revamped nutritious version.  Karmel uses real store-bought tortilla chips.  Indeed, the recipe is similar to the very same nachos we are desperately trying to get off the cafeteria menus of our public schools.   At one point, even she concedes that she can’t think of anything else to make the number of recipes add up to the 100 the title promises “for a healthy, happy child,” stating, “I have included recipes for brownies and mini jam tarts [not even whole wheat by the way!].  After all, you are only a child once.”   Her jam tart recipe has two “ingredients” which are jam and store-bought pie crust.

I’m sorry to say that I’ve been disappointed by these two books.  I expected something comparable to Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron.  No matter how many books Karmel has published and no matter how many beautiful photographs she includes, Yaron will, and still remains, my “go to girl” for all things food, babies and toddlers.

Diary of a Second Grade Mom

Read my latest post on Chicago Moms Blog here where I share my anxiety when my daughter feels left out by her friends.  I wasn’t a popular child myself so I know what is like to feel left out, and all those feelings came back to me.