children
Children: Our most valuable natural resource.
Becoming a Cancer Mom
Let’s face it: being a mom is hard. Whether you are a working mom or a stay at home mom, it’s hard. Five years ago I took on this task and gave birth to my first born: eight pounds, fifteen ounces. Healthy baby boy. For three years, I worked little jobs, but nothing serious. Then we got pregnant with our second, and I became a full time, stay at home mom. Awesome right?! It was. Then, March 13, 2017, our lives changed forever.
By Jessica Phillips7 years ago in Families
Why I Would Put My Child in Daycare Even If I Didn't Work
I sobbed, like most mothers out there, all the way home the first time I dropped my son off at daycare. Ugly, can’t catch your breath sobs. When I was leaving and was holding back tears, a woman made a comment “First time huh?” I could only nod. While it was a day I still wouldn’t go back to, how oddly grateful I am that my husband and I were forced to be put in that situation where our son had to go to daycare.
By Tiffany Williams7 years ago in Families
They Say a Picture Says a Million Words
Three years, $30,000+, and a mother who chose a drug-dealing, wife-beating husband over her own flesh and blood fresh out the womb. That's what it took for my dad to get custody of me, and for what? A better life? There is always someone with a life worse off than you, right? That's what they told me growing up, as if it was their way to tell me to just be happy with what I have. Growing up, it was mostly my dad and those around him until my stepmom came in to take the role of "mom." Even then I got the occasional reminder that there was, in fact, another lady I was supposed to call "mom." That term meant shit to me growing up because I never really knew who to call mom. The biological choice was awarded custody of me because in NYS, any mother can get custody of their kids and good luck getting it from them. You could be a horrible mother, crack head of all crack heads, child beater of all child beaters, and you still have custody somehow. It's unbelievable. Trust me. I know because I was the child in the middle for years and years. My Bio mom, whom we'll call Susan for (ID protection of my profile) wanted custody of me for one reason and one reason only: DSS. And for those of you who don't know the abbreviation, it stands for Department of Social Services, AKA food stamps and free rent give away center. To her, I was a meal ticket and free housing. To this day, you'd never believe me when I say she'll admit to that very fact. I vaguely remember the good times, but for some unknown reason, no matter the age, I've always remembered the bad. I remember standing under the doorway and this unknown man throwing dagger knives above my younger sister and I. He thought it was funny as he held a cigarette in his teeth and laughed, throwing another. I remember waiting in the window on nights of school concerts with a "guaranteed promise" she would show up to support me and enjoy what I worked so hard for. I remember being late to those concerts because I was so sure she was coming. I remember being young on Christmas day waiting with my dad at Stewart's Shop for over an hour for her to take me for a holiday and her not showing up. My dad called and called and there was no answer until she picked up only to say she wasn't showing up to get me. Tears in your only child's innocent, yet desperate eyes. How do you fix it? You can't. She's going to remember every single bit of it all. Even the free milkshake the ladies gave me to cheer me up didn't make it better. It merely coated the way back to my car seat for the ride back home. I remember all the promises of spending the weekends with her and "no gas," "no money," and the no to anything excuses for years and years. I remember the anger you caused me and the depression that consumed me over the years. I remember the damage you did to me because you weren't the mom I needed you to be. I needed you there for a lot of things and you weren't anywhere in sight. I fought with my dad to defend you and told his wife she wasn't my mother when all she tried to do was raise me into a proper woman. For years, the fighting went on and so did the oncoming damages that are now what have scarred the only relationships I have left with my dad and stepmother. I fought so hard and so long with someone who could care less I was even breathing.
By sara sullivan7 years ago in Families
Motherhood at Its Finest
As a new mother, there are a thousand challenges I never thought I'd ever have to endure. I always used to be one of those people who would say, "I'm never having kids. I'm never getting married." Well, here I am, 24 years old, and I now have been married twice and have a beautiful baby boy. I wouldn't trade the life I have now for anything even though I didn't think I would cut it for motherhood.
By Nicole Hallman7 years ago in Families
Leukemia Changed My Life
I had a lucrative career as a Surgical Technologist. I was a single mom of 2 girls; divorced from their father in '09, and we lived with my mother as it made my life and theirs easier to have Gram to help out with parenting. I'd worked in my field for only 3 years, but had worked up through the line to be Lead Tech at the surgery center that I worked at.
By Stephanie Ledlow7 years ago in Families
One Step Forward
A couple of months ago, my family and I were blessed with a beautiful miracle, my baby sister. She was prenatally diagnosed with spina bifida. The road that led my mom and our family to the birth of this baby was a long and difficult one, especially since when she was diagnosed at about 18 weeks, my mother was encouraged to terminate.
By ABEGADII ZENGOOL7 years ago in Families
Young Girl
As I wake Mollee up for school, we start fighting about being quite due to her siblings who are asleep (which are 5 and 20 months). I watch her brush her hair, she brings me a brush to style her hair, and she only brushed the middle in the back. WHY? You must ask. She doesn't like brushing her sides due to fly a ways and her bangs will get in her nose (she has side bangs), now that is done we move to breakfast. I ask her what she would like she runs (once again) quite please, to the kitchen. She yells from the kitchen “ I am quite”. I try to keep calm at this moment because I have been up all night with the baby who is teething. I ask again what she would like for breakfast. She wants a candy cane. I said no. She said cookies, I just gave the mommy look of no. She crosses her arms and stomps around because she doesn't want fruit or even a bowl of cereal. So I tell miss prissy she had one more chance to choose. She doesn't want ant anything and walks out. Five minutes till leave to go to school she decides she wants breakfast. I told her to eat it at school because she can't eat that fast and would be late, again I'm the bad person. So I ask her if she got her teeth brushed. Her answer was no because I wouldn't let her have breakfast. So she runs in the bathroom, tells me she brushed her teeth (I believed she did a mouth rinse and called it a day). So we go out the door to school she gets on her bike. Which it's 45° with a 40 real feel and windy. Told her I would take her and because I wouldn't let her ride her bike, she was mouthy and told me she was gonna be late if she rode in the car to school. So I got her in the car and listen to her cry and pout for three half blocks to school. Told her to dry to tears, can't go into school with a wet face. While I give her kisses on her forehead, hug her and tell her to have a good day. She turns to me and tells me she would if she could have a candy cane for breakfast. #dangcandycanes. This all happened in 45 minutes of our school morning. Once she gets to school about five minutes, her teacher calls and asked if my daughter had breakfast, and I told her the same story. Her teacher laughed and could hear a smile and said I have a child like that and stated her child is still that way after 13 years. So when my child came home that afternoon I asked if she had breakfast, she did and her teacher watched her. I said she did this because she called me. Mollee started yelling at me she told her teacher I starved her over his candy cane (I gave the mommy look of YOU DID WHAT). So after dinner that night I asked her if she wanted a candy cane for a snack, she didn't she wanted hot chocolate and I about fell over.
By Pasty Frazier7 years ago in Families
Newfound Excitement of a Tired Mom!
So, it was my 27th birthday yesterday, and to be honest I was feeling pretty bummed all day with the stresses that come with this crazy adult life. I was worrying about finances with the holidays coming up, I was worrying about my house not being clean enough, and most of all I found myself worrying about the fact that I wasn't excited to be celebrating another year on this earth.
By Samantha Fushtey7 years ago in Families
Tired as a Mother...
I'm tired, and not like the normal tired. The tired of being a mom, tired of being a student, tired of being a wife, tired of being tired. I'm busy, like always, if I'm not taking care of kids, getting my husband set up for the day or doing schoolwork, then I'm doing laundry or cooking or doing something. When does it end? When do I get appreciated? Don't get me wrong I love my kids and my husband but why am I everyone's slave? My husband and I have been together a little over 3 years and we came to the marriage with 3 children (2 girls from his previous and 1 boy from my previous) we then added one more boy. All our children are under 8 years old and though we have 3 of them part-time, I'm a full time mom. Oh, side note, we also live with my in-laws, yes they’re great but that’s 2 more mouths that I’m responsible for feeding. That’s 2 more people I need to make sure have dinner plans before I just decide I don’t want to cook for.
By Mother Superior7 years ago in Families
When You Think You Can't Go Anymore...
Moming is hard... Let's be honest, the title 'mom' is a small title for so many roles. I am a chef, I am a nurse, I am a story teller, I am a taxi driver, I am a teacher, I am a master cuddler, I am so much. I am so much more to my children than I even realize.
By Mom Of Four7 years ago in Families