TheMommyBlog

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 Family, Momversation

How do you balance work and motherhood? Today, Heather Armstrong of dooce asks the Momversation panelists how they deal with working while raising children. Do you feel guilty about the time spent at work or away from your kids? What’s your advice to Heather and other working moms?

Join the conversation by leaving a comment below or participating in our related forums:

• How do I adjust to returning to work after maternity leave?
• Work-At-Home Moms: Sharing tips and tricks

Tuesday, November 18, 2008 Family

And boy, are my arms tired!

What are you people telling your kids about the financial crisis? Any of it sticking? I was having the hardest time explaining why the simple solutions my kid was coming up with—while insightful—wouldn’t do jack.

“But why can’t we just fix it? Why can’t you just go out and get a job?” Wait—that was last month’s question. And the previous month’s.

“But why can’t we just fix it? Why can’t the government just make more money if everyone needs it?”

“Well, sweetie, if you flood the market—with money, or gas, or marbles—suddenly the value of that item goes down. Then you’ve created an inflation problem. Usually we see inflation in the form of gas prices, which were artificially jacked up, but it can also happen with a sudden and significant influx of cash.” I actually said “influx of cash” without laughing my head off.

“But why can’t they just fix it?”

“Because it’s the economy, not a wand. If it were that easy, people way smarter than us would have already solved it and we wouldn’t even be talking about the price of marbles.” Ever.

“But I don’t get why they can’t help.”

“You mean like they helped the failing banks? Like that? Well, sweetheart, people way greedier than us put one over on the rest of the world. And the government is helping. A LOT. But that doesn’t just come out of thin air, it comes out of our taxes.”

“WHAT?”

“What did you think we paid taxes for? It costs money to run a government and to serve five hundred dollar bottles of wine at a dinner party for world leaders meeting to discuss the crisis. Taxes and the redistribution of them are helping us get by right now. Without taxes, there’s no unemployment benefits and no free school lunch program.

“Let me put it this way: let’s say you had five apples, and the lunch lady wasn’t there to set everything up. You could probably sell those apples for twenty bucks apiece because everyone would want one.” And they’d pay it too, with all the pocket money or gold bars kids in this neighborhood seem to have access to. Better yet, do you take American Express? “But if you had a thousand apples, you might get twenty apiece for the first couple sales, but then people would notice that big stack of apples behind you and wait until the price came down. And you’d lower it in a hurry to sell all those apples before they went bad. In fact, at some point you’ll be thinking about paying kids to take them away because you don’t want a great, stinking, rotting pile of apples left over. That’s because people would buy what they need and then walk away. Once they don’t need your apples, you’ll be dropping that price like a To-Do List just to make a few more sales.”

At this point, his eyes were kind of drifting over my shoulder to the opposite wall where he could see the reflection of Flapjack in a framed print behind us. So I continued, “And that’s when my leg fell off and I had to staple it back on.”

“What?”

“Hellooo. You just stopped listening. I was talking about supply and demand and apples.”

“Oh. Why would I sell apples?”

Monday, November 17, 2008 Momversation

That’s right, how about a little post-child sex talk first thing Monday morning? Hmm? The timing had me giggling… and then I remembered that I’m one of the panelists and ran over there to see it myself. See you there!

Oh, and Dad? You can just pretend you watched it, okay? And all my brothers? EARMUFFS!

How do you mentally, emotionally, and physically regain your sex life after giving birth? Rebecca Woolf of Girl’s Gone Child asks the ladies of Momversation.com how their sexuality was affected after they had a baby, and what it took - or takes - to get back to their sex lives. What was your experience after giving birth? What adjustments or changes did you make to your sex life after having kids? Tell us in the comments or on Momversation, and visit our related forums for more advice:

• Sex after having a baby
• Caught in the act!

Panelists: Heather Armstrong - Dooce, Mindy Roberts - The Mommy Blog, Nataly Kogan - Work It, Mom!, Rebecca Woolf - Girl’s Gone Child.

Thursday, November 13, 2008 Me, Me, Me, Other people who write

Natural childbirth or C-section? It’s a popular question, but Daphne Brogdon of Cool Mom wonders: What’s with all the judgment around a mom’s childbirth choices? Watch what the ladies of Momversation say, and tell us what you think. Is there a “right” or “normal” way to have a baby? And what’s the best way to deal with the judgment? Let us know what your experience was by leaving a comment here and checking out our related forums:

• Is it important to mothers to experience natural childbirth?
• Should I get a doula?

Panelists: Asha Dornfest of Parent Hacks, Daphne Brogdon of Cool Mom, Mindy Roberts of The Mommy Blog, Rebecca Woolf of Girl’s Gone Child.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 Family

Congratulations to our Joe’s Jeans giveaway winners! Great signs, great pics, I cannot wait for each of you to receive your free pair of Joe’s Jeans. I would marry mine if I could.