Archive for April, 2008
Garage Sale Alert!
Every budget-savvy mama loves a good garage sale, and there is a HUGE one beginning today in Rogers and continuing through Saturday. There are at least three neighborhoods participating – the Manors, Highland Knolls and Ridgecrest. They’re located on Pleasant Grove Road, just off the Pleasant Grove exit from Interstate 540. A few years ago [...]
5 Minutes with a Mom
Name: Robyn Nolen from Little Rock, AR (have lived somewhere in Arkansas my whole life) Children: Sophie (8), Charlie (6), Meg (3), Abe and James (15-month-old twins) 2 girls/3boys Where were your children born? Sophie born in Little Rock; Charlie in Fort Smith; Meg in Fayetteville; Abe and James Little Rock (we came full circle) [...]
Life With Ladybug: Painted Into a Corner
I was one of those kids who really did get a pony for Christmas. It wasn’t because my family was wealthy, definitely not, we just lived in the country and my dad got a good deal on a slightly older model Shetland. I was 8 years old and I recall writing a Christmas list with [...]
Advice: Mind Your Mama
Dear Jennifer, I’ve been friends with “Amanda” for several years now. But lately it seems like our conversations are completely one-sided. I spend a lot of time on the phone listening to what’s wrong in her life, and she hardly ever remembers to ask how things are going in mine. I want to be understanding, [...]
Drama for Mama: American Idol
With only four weeks to go until the big finale, there’s no room for mistakes. We expect the remaining six contestants to wow us every time they step up to the mic. On Tuesday night, some of them did. Others… not so much. The theme of the show revolved around the music of Andrew Lloyd [...]
Drama for Mama: Dancing with the Stars
The sixth week of Dancing with the Stars began with a not-quite-perfect cha-cha by Jason Taylor and Edeta. Shannon Elizabeth and Derek did the rumba but the judges said there wasn’t enough hip action, a remark that made Shannon get a little teary-eyed. (Some have hinted at a real-life romance between these two.) Marlee Matlin [...]
M.E.N.D. Supports Grieving Parents
I was recently talking with two new friends about one mother’s impending adoption when the conversation turned to a horrific topic: infant death.
One mother endured her infant daughter’s death within 35 minutes of the baby being born and the other mom lost her 21-month-old son. I had not broached the subject, but after they did, I told them I was working on a story for MotherLode about a local non-profit that supports parents after they lose a baby through miscarriage, stillbirth or early infant death. I gently asked my two new friends if they had sought help through support groups like this after their babies died. Neither did. One said she didn’t want to talk to anyone and just barricaded herself in her home. I silently wondered if I might do the same. The other mom didn’t choose to become part of a grieving group but did find it helpful to commemorate her baby girl’s life with candlelight services like those conducted by a local non-profit, M.E.N.D. (Mommies Enduring Neonatal Death).
Once a year in December, the chapter hosts a service for parents to remember their babies, said Pam Morren of Fayetteville, an officer on the M.E.N.D. board. The local group meets at the Jones Center for Families on the first Tuesday of the month to support parents who are in pain. Pam has been there. Her own son, Schuyler, died of SIDS on Dec. 23, 1997, when he was 12 weeks and two days old.
All Akimbo: Little Boy Blue?
I overheard a mom at story time a few days ago mutter, “Oh, your daddy will like that,” after her young son chose a piece of pink construction paper for a craft project. Her voice dripped with sarcasm, and it made me think. Although Mojo chose a green piece of paper on that particular day, [...]
Beauty Buzz: Ask Amy
Dear Amy, My little sister is getting married next week, and I’m the matron of honor. Both of us cry at the drop of a hat, so I know we’ll both need a waterproof mascara that really does its job so we don’t look like a runny mess in the wedding photos. Know of a [...]
2 Recipes for that Meat and Potatoes Guy (or Girl)
Long before there was a Food Network, Christa Roy of Springdale was taping her own cooking segments with the help of her two younger sisters who served as culinary assistants. Christa’s mother still has the cake-making video her oldest daughter made illustrating how to, as the instructions say, “mix well by hand.” Her mother walked [...]
Drama for Mama: Desperate Housewives
Bree and Catherine agreed to work together to organize a big charity ball, an event Bree had always directed in years’ past. Rick, the former chef at the pizzeria, showed up to say a friendly hello to Lynette who he flirted with like crazy on past episodes. Tom was furious when he learned Rick had [...]
Drama for Mama: Brothers & Sisters
Our favorite dysfunctional family drama is back, and it started with a steamy scene between the newly divorced Sarah and her business consultant Graham. Let’s just say that the business looked very, very personal. Robert lost the Republican nomination, and he and Kitty started the in vitro process. Isaac asked Nora to move to D.C. [...]
Devotion in Motion
Sometimes I catch myself going through the motions at church. I get caught up in the routine of doing this, then this, then that and I forget to focus on the moment – to absorb what each part of the service can offer. Last Sunday, the congregation sang a song I’ve heard many times, and [...]
The Rockwood Files: Burned on Re-entry
When a spouse is traveling for work, he might as well be on Mars. Because he’s too far away to help. Oh sure, the traveler is there for emotional support via cell phone, but that doesn’t help get the kids fed, bathed and corralled into bed at night. It doesn’t get the laundry folded or [...]
The Mother’s Day Getaway Giveaway
Tell us how your baby arrived and win a relaxing reward from Luxe Derma Spa and Beauty Lounge! Every year on my daughter’s birthday, I pause at 4:34 p.m. and allow myself time to remember the moment she officially made me a mother. I never expected it would be by C-section, but that’s where I [...]