Archive for 'Mom Blogs:' Category
The Rockwood Files: The Countdown to Summer
By Gwen Rockwood, newspaper columnist and mama of 3 There’s a countdown underway. My boys announce it each morning as they bound down the stairs to leave for school. “Seven more days of school, Mom!” Jack called out happily as he slung his backpack over his shoulder. They’re even coordinating their clothes around the countdown. [...]
Life with Ladybug: What I read at the “Listen to Your Mother” Show
By Shannon Magsam I look down at my exposed chest and think, wow, porn star. At the end of each overinflated balloon, the nipples are covered in red, angry lacerations. The idea of anything touching them, even my thin cotton night shirt, is inconceivable. I pick up my newborn baby girl and cradle her in [...]
The Rockwood Files: The Rejection Letter
By Gwen Rockwood, newspaper columnist and mama of 3 Today I got a rejection letter for a book manuscript. It hurt. It wasn’t the first one and won’t be the last, but it still hurt. I keep waiting to develop the thick skin all the writing advice books say you need to survive in this [...]
Getting Healthy for Good: Glaring at the “bright side”
By Laurie Marshall Being adept at looking on the bright side is one of the most endearing, and simultaneously most annoying coping skills I can claim to have. It has gotten me through some times in my life when I was staring at some pretty seriously closed doors, extremely steep hills, and ominously gray clouds. [...]
The Rockwood Files: The Dream Car
By Gwen Rockwood, newspaper columnist and mama of 3 Now that our oldest son has officially hit double-digits in age, he’s thinking of his future – his driving future. His 16th birthday is still six years away (thankfully), but suddenly cars are very cool. “Mom, I decided what kind of car I want when I’m [...]
The Rockwood Files: The Sissy Versus the Snake
By Gwen Rockwood, newspaper columnist and mama of 3 The snake sighting in our yard had been haunting me. Every time I stepped outside, I scanned for signs of it – the way wary beach goers check the water for signs of a shark fin. Then two weeks ago I was home alone with the [...]
Life with Ladybug: Y’all, she found my blog
Well, it finally happened. I’d been a little worried about it through the years. Busted. The lady in “Ladybug” stumbled across nwaMotherlode, and of course she clicked on the blog title she knew was about her. I know I’ve left some things out of posts, this concern evident just around the edges of my words, [...]
Inconceivable Mama: Mind Games, Superstitions, Weird Math and RESOLVE
By Inconceivable Mama The longer you struggle with infertility the more mind games you tend to play with yourself. You begin to question your every move to the point it becomes obsessive. I find myself wondering if the caffeine in my coffee kept me from getting pregnant. Did that huge sneeze I had last Thursday [...]
The Rockwood Files: Real-life remote control
By Gwen Rockwood, newspaper columnist and mama of 3 A few years ago, a friend told me I absolutely had to get a DVR, which is short for “digital video recorder”. Some people call it TiVo. “It will change your life,” she said. I was skeptical. But she was right. It has changed my life [...]
The Rockwood Files: The Toddler Dog
By Gwen Rockwood, newspaper columnist and mama of 3 There’s a toddler in the house – a four-legged, floppy-eared toddler. And he’s making me crazy. How is it possible that I could love the little beast so completely and want to throttle him at the same time? Charlie, the Beagle baby we adopted, is now [...]
The iPad app your kid is gonna LOVE: Toontastic
As I type these words, my kids are sitting on the sofa in our family room and — instead of mindlessly watching cartoons — they are creating their own. We just downloaded this iPad app called Toontastic from the iTunes store, and I’ve gotta tell you… this thing is pretty amazing. I’m LOVING it. (Click [...]
Military Mama: Cruise Control
By Jade Stone Have you ever just felt like your life was on cruise control? You know, when everything is moving, not too fast, not too slow, no oncoming traffic or obstacles to maneuver but rather just cruising along watching everything fall into place? Well so far, that’s how pre-deployment training has been. It’s certainly [...]
The Rockwood Files: A Spring Thing
By Gwen Rockwood, newspaper columnist and mama of 3 For the past month or so, I’ve been waiting for Mother Nature’s punch line. Because the unusually mild winter and the spring-like temperatures in February and March felt like a practical joke. I resisted the urge to pull out my sandals, and I’ve kept my winter [...]
Empty Nexter: Three lessons we can learn from the Queen of Rock ‘n Roll
By Carrie Perrien Smith Tina Turner was born Anna Mae Bullock in 1939 to sharecroppers in rural Tennessee. She developed her singing voice in church and participated in talent shows. Like many kids, she grew up in a family haunted by her parents’ tumultuous relationship. She and her sisters lived with grandparents and a cousin [...]
The Rockwood Files: Kindergarten shot bravery
By Gwen Rockwood, newspaper columnist and mama of 3 I got a lesson in bravery today from a 5-year-old. Our preschooler, Kate, knew she’d need kindergarten immunizations before she could move into the elementary school big leagues this fall. Her preschool teachers have been talking about it for months now, encouraging everyone in the class [...]
Inconceivable Mama: Blocked fallopian tube and HSG
By Inconceivable Mama Last month I shared with you my Conceptual Plan. We’re currently in phase 2 – Timed intercourse. All I can do now is laugh at how clinical this has all become. What else can I do? Crying and anger have gotten me nowhere. Jealousy of the 16-year-old student in my class who [...]
Life with Ladybug: A slave to pets
By Shannon Magsam, Ladybug’s mama and pet parent I’m back home after dropping my daughter off at school in the morning and I walk over to my computer. I’m itching to get to work. I have stories to write, clients to call and social media to appreciate. As soon as my butt hits the office [...]
The Rockwood Files: In-flight fishing
By Gwen Rockwood, newspaper columnist and mama of 3 I watched a man fish today at 30,000 feet above the Earth. He was sitting across the aisle one row ahead of me on an airplane heading for home. Wearing tiny white earbud headphones connected to an iPhone, he fished for nearly an hour on his [...]
Getting Healthy for Good: A series of Calgon moments
By Laurie Marshall Do you remember those commercials for Calgon that featured a woman standing in the midst of family chaos yelling “Calgon… take me away!”. The next shot shows her relaxing leisurely in a lovely tub filled with delicately-scented bubbles. Well, I am taking issue with that commercial. I mean, that bath soap didn’t [...]
The Rockwood Files: Why I can’t renew my driver’s license yet
By Gwen Rockwood, newspaper columnist and mama of 3 By this time next week, I’ll be 39. The actual age doesn’t bother me much but the number is downright embarrassing. Thirty-nine sounds like it’s desperately clinging to its sense of youth. It’s slowly circling the mid-life drain, trying not to get sucked in. As far [...]