Mama-luia

It's time for another edition of What's New, starring, My Family! Elijah It was because of him that I decided to write this post... because... one week ago today, he took his first steps! After months of cruising around the furniture, and letting go for a step or two, he took off and walked across the living room into his father's arms. I was in the kitchen and heard SCREAMS coming from the adjoining living room, so I dashed over, thinking the older kids were bludgeoning each other, only to behold the last half of the blessed milestone. He was terrified by the excited screams from his siblings, though, so the whole event ended in tears. Thankfully, they were quickly soothed by me as I came to pick him up and congratulate him on his Very Big Boy feat. {Now is where I shed a wistful tear for the fleetingness of my baby's babyhood.} Elijah is such a social child! I thinks he finds his mornings while Anna is at school rather dull. Of course, I like to play w...

There has been oodles and oodles of time spent navel-gazing writing and thinking about 'self-care' in the mommy blogosphere. When I click the latest link, I expect to discover a new and crucial revelation about the need to attend to one's own needs, but I find myself usually left wanting. "Self-care isn't selfish!" we are reminded endlessly. "Put on your own oxygen mask first!" To all of this I nod appreciatively, only to read on for a few sentences to uncover the benefits of getting a pedicure. Almost without fail, pedicures, beauty regimes and hot coffee drank in silence are given as examples of good self-care. I am here to say, enough already. It's time to change the conversation on "self-care." We live in a culture that celebrates the need to "treat yo'self." Writers online can't help but preface a silly statement with "this may seem like a first-world problem  but " and then proceed to show ho...