On Frantic Mama, Julia Arnold laughs about the less glamorous side of new motherhood. In my world, the counter is always sticky, and the floor is never clean.
Monday, March 28, 2016
I'm on Scary Mommy!
I'm so excited to share a personal essay I wrote about the bittersweet transition we can feel as we transition from one stage of life to another. It was featured on the super-huge site, Scary Mommy.
You can find it here.
Thank you so much for your support!
~Julia @ Frantic Mama
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Five Friday Faves: Early Spring Edition
It's MARCH!
Hooray, hooray!
I'm celebrating the early signs of spring by sharing a few of my favorite things with you, my most wonderful-est readers.
Let's get this party started.
Ball Hoppers: I had one as a kid, and I recently remembered just how much I loved it. It's one of the best toys of all time. I had to search Amazon for one (I wasn't sure exactly how to search "ball thing with a handle for kids to hop on"), but I eventually found this affordable one. It's the perfect size for my almost-6 year old and my 3 year old to "share" [and by share, I mean setting a timer for 3 minutes each to switch back and forth]. For the record, I guess they are called space hoppers, hoppity hops, and sit and bounces. Who knew?
Married at First Sight: Have you seen this reality show? Probably not. It's quite random (the FYI network?) but it is also ridiculously addictive. The name says it all: couples get matched by professional psychologists and get married at 'first sight.' Will they last? If you find it OnDemand, good luck watching anything else for about 2 weeks!
Shock Top Beer: Though not technically a seasonal beer, I think this Belgian White Ale with a hint of citrus is a perfect choice for spring nights. It's light and refreshing, with just enough bite and taste to make it delicious.
UrbanMommies.com: I recently started writing for this site, and I think you'll love it too. It offers an upbeat, fun look at motherhood, including products we love, traveling tips and ideas, as well as personal narratives and realistic advice.
Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer: I received this matte powder bronzer as a sample from Sephora and I'm hooked. They clearly know what they're doing with those samples. I apply it on my face in the mornings or for a date night and it warms up my complexion without any sparkle or shine.
What are you loving this spring?
~Julia @ Frantic Mama
P.S. You can also find Frantic Mama on my new photography site, featuring horses, barns, and other scenes from country life (JAEquinePhotography.com).
Hooray, hooray!
I'm celebrating the early signs of spring by sharing a few of my favorite things with you, my most wonderful-est readers.
Let's get this party started.
Ball Hoppers: I had one as a kid, and I recently remembered just how much I loved it. It's one of the best toys of all time. I had to search Amazon for one (I wasn't sure exactly how to search "ball thing with a handle for kids to hop on"), but I eventually found this affordable one. It's the perfect size for my almost-6 year old and my 3 year old to "share" [and by share, I mean setting a timer for 3 minutes each to switch back and forth]. For the record, I guess they are called space hoppers, hoppity hops, and sit and bounces. Who knew?
Married at First Sight: Have you seen this reality show? Probably not. It's quite random (the FYI network?) but it is also ridiculously addictive. The name says it all: couples get matched by professional psychologists and get married at 'first sight.' Will they last? If you find it OnDemand, good luck watching anything else for about 2 weeks!
Shock Top Beer: Though not technically a seasonal beer, I think this Belgian White Ale with a hint of citrus is a perfect choice for spring nights. It's light and refreshing, with just enough bite and taste to make it delicious.
UrbanMommies.com: I recently started writing for this site, and I think you'll love it too. It offers an upbeat, fun look at motherhood, including products we love, traveling tips and ideas, as well as personal narratives and realistic advice.
Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer: I received this matte powder bronzer as a sample from Sephora and I'm hooked. They clearly know what they're doing with those samples. I apply it on my face in the mornings or for a date night and it warms up my complexion without any sparkle or shine.
What are you loving this spring?
~Julia @ Frantic Mama
P.S. You can also find Frantic Mama on my new photography site, featuring horses, barns, and other scenes from country life (JAEquinePhotography.com).
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Barbie's Not the Devil (But I Still Don't Like Her)
How can I teach my kids to be kind to
each other and to themselves? How can I teach them to be confident,
inquisitive, happy children? Children that will gradually grow into
young adults and then, unbelievably, adults.
As far as body image and beauty are concerned, I tend to focus on my daughter; I understand a
woman's point of view and all that it covers. Also because it's hard to argue with the fact that there is a more
intense, incessant stream of unrealistic images depicting what girls,
young women, and adult women should look like.
Currently, at age 3, my daughter
appears to think of her looks very little. She's blissfully unaware
of the oiled, tanned bodies that lurk behind the glossy magazine
covers and the scantily-clad women depicted as enviable on the
screen. She prefers to wear her favorite polka dot shirt and
orange-striped pants-- it appears that to her, clothes must simply be
comfortable and colorful. She wants her hair out of her face; a
barrette I place in her hair each morning takes care of that.
When will things shift? When will she
begin to wonder if she's pretty? When will she wonder if she's thin
or curvy or sexy enough? When will she learn that our culture places
disproportional value and importance on women's looks? I hold my
breath, I thinking of those moments. Of her wheels turning, urging a
second or third glance in the mirror.
What can I do as her mother to help her
navigate a world that places such a high value on female perfection?
Because regardless of what I'm up against, I will continue to protect
her the best that I can.
Though I have few perfect solutions, I
make attempts.
I make a conscious effort to focus on
her accomplishments, her talents, and her interests more than her
physical beauty. She loves painting, soccer, horses, and people. I
encourage those passions. I praise those interests.
I don't make negative comments about
myself in front of her. My daughter doesn't need to hear her mother
complain about her her burgeoning wrinkles-- is there a more horrible
expression than “crow's feet” anyway?-- or whatever else is
nagging at my psyche at the moment. Come to think of it, I don't need
to hear it either.
I take other measures too, some less
conventional.
I admit to censoring “fat” and
“thin” from children's books. Why incorporate such loaded words
into her developing vocabulary? How do you define thin and fat to a
toddler?
Gird your loins Disney fans, but we
aren't pushing her into the whole Princess Thing either. I can hardly
make myself read the endings to those saccharine stories where every
single time a prince comes and saves the desperate princess with
a kiss. I would rather buy a Minion or Paw Patrol character over a
Cinderella figurine any day.
I want my daughter to keep exploring, learning, and growing.
I don't buy Barbies. I protect her from
that aisle at the store, taking the long way to avoid the rows and
rows of impossible-looking dolls. No, I don't think Barbie is the
Devil. I don't even think the media is exclusively to blame for
eating disorders and body image concerns. But
I certainly don't think they help the matter.
I do think my daughter is beautiful--
all pink cheeks, soft little hands, and clear, bright eyes. I hope
that every mother sees her children as beautiful. I don't think
there's anything inherently harmful in thinking our daughters are
pretty. I like to feel good about my appearance too; I love a cute
new dress and bright raspberry lipstick, and I won't deprive her of
the fun of clothes and make-up as she gets older.
The point is this: beauty is not all
we are. My daughter's appearance does not make her the spirited,
energetic, creative person that she is. I refuse to let it define
her, and you can be sure as hell I'm trying to shield her from anyone
or anything that implies the opposite.
What are you protecting your child from in this crazy, mixed-up modern world? Or are you of the notion that we cannot ever truly protect them so we shouldn't try?
~Julia @ Frantic Mama
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