Mommy & Me: Splashing Saturday

When the Atlanta area forecast has no rain and a high temperature of only 75 on a Saturday in June, you just cannot stay indoors. We took a mini road trip to Little River Canyon, just over the border in Alabama.

We climbed over rocks and splashed in the little trickles of water. Amelia ended up soaking wet, but thankfully she had extra clothes in the car. Steve and I did not have any extras - and we both had a near disaster. Those rocks are slippery when wet!

Mommy & Amelia

Family feet!

Not a Mommy pic, but too cute to leave out!

Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

When the "what ifs" come true

Life throws us curveballs sometimes.

We never know what is going to happen to parents, siblings, or even ourselves. Two years ago, my sister-in-law had a dramatically life-changing accident. She is only in her 40s, but caregiving is now a front-and-center part of her life. It is not easy to think about medical scares, accidents, and aging, but it is important. We should have a plan for the big "what ifs" in life, because educating ourselves now is a whole lot easier than in the stress of a difficult situation.

I've partnered with Genworth Financial to bring you a guest post, highlighting one of those "what ifs" turned reality. This is not my post - for all who know my mom in real life, she is fine!

But these words really make you think...

Caring for Mom

A guest post, sponsored by Genworth Financial

I had a rude awakening with my mother the other day. It was Friday, the day when she usually picks up my daughter from pre-school. She’s been doing it for months now – and she loves the time she gets to spend with her granddaughter.

But last Friday she forgot. I got a call from the school. I left work and ran over to get my daughter. I called my mother from the car. She had no idea she was on carpool duty.

I’ve been so busy that I’ve forgotten things (my keys, my wallet, to call a friend, to brush my hair). And yes, I’ll admit it, when my daughter was an infant, I even left the house once without her – but I only made it as far as the driveway.

But there was something about my mother’s forgetfulness that didn’t fit with the routinely harried forgetfulness that is so recognizable to all of us. When I spoke with her, she had no recognition of what day it was and what she was supposed to do. Even more unsettling was the call I got back from her twenty minutes later when she remembered.

Obviously, she was incredibly distraught. And it has occurred to both of us that we might be entering an unfortunate period in her life when age and forgetfulness collide in the terrible thing that is Alzheimer’s disease.

This week we have a number of doctor’s appointments scheduled. I certainly hope that Alzheimer’s is not the final diagnosis. But even so, she will age and one day she will need care. I am working mom, and it’s already a stretch to find affordable childcare.

All of a sudden, I feel that we are to be launched into a whole new world of caregiving. Maybe it’s because I care for her so much, or maybe it’s because I’m completely Type A, but I don’t want to wait until it’s too late to know what we’re getting into. There’s a lot of educating to catch up on. And these are not easy issues to talk about, but fortunately, there are a lot of available resources out there. It is somewhat comforting to know that there are many other families that have gone through similar experiences and to know we are not alone.

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Post brought to you by Genworth Financial

#WW: Space for the spirit to breathe

"Space for the Spirit to breathe."

                                  -Rainer Maria Rilke

Photo from our Hawaii vacation, September 2006.
Our reward after a long drive along the Road to Hana.

Destroying her privacy?

Am I destroying my child's privacy by blogging and Facebooking? I read a commentary piece recently that made me think a little harder about what I do online. These writers argue that online activities such as mine - sharing photos about and stories of my child - are stealing away her basic human right to privacy:

"We have a right to control how much we want the world to know about us.
These are fundamental to our personal autonomy.
Our children deserve the same protections."

At first, this column really hit home - and hurt my feelings. Am I an awful mother for blogging and posting about my child? Am I a big, mean, nasty dictator stripping her of her rights?

You know...
I do not think so.

On my personal account, where I share the most information and photos, I know all of my Facebook friends. I have selected every setting possible to ensure those friends, and only those friends can see what I post. I check those settings frequently to catch any changes Facebook has decided to sneak in.

I post a lot about my daughter, because the Facebook friends I care about are family and close friends with children of their own. To be honest, I may not have survived the first few years of motherhood without Facebook as a sounding board and support mechanism shared with other parents whom I respect and love. I am a better mother because I found support when I needed it the most.

With my BalancingMama Facebook page and this parenting blog, I have set clear limits. I do not post certain kinds of photos of my child. I never discuss details of my marriage or share stories that intrude on someone else's life. I will not write any details about my job, employers, or coworkers. I try my best to hold close any information that would allow a stranger to specifically pinpoint our location.

Do I write a lot about Amelia?  Yep.

Do I share a ton of photos of her?  Of course!

But do I ever share anything that I think would damage her? That would keep her from getting a job in the future? NO.

Does the big Facebook ad machine have ways to get and share my information? Yes... in a way. But as an advertising professional who actually buys Facebook ads, let me tell you: I do not know how to obtain any personal information about specific individuals. Can I target by interest, children, age, college? YES. But do I have any way of knowing who exactly fits within those categories? Names? NO. Are there ways to do so? ...maybe? Not in the simple ad buying tool Facebook has for the regular, legitimate advertisers. Internet privacy, cookies, and ad targeting sound scary to many, but from the actual advertising side, it seems like most people just do not understand how it really works.

When she gets a bit older, I will show Amelia this blog and my Facebook pages. If she asks me one day to stop sharing so much about her? I will shut down in an instant. Her privacy is absolutely important to me and I will give it precedence. When it comes her time to choose, I will respect that.

In the meantime, I will keep on sharing. But as always, with discretion.

Parenting bloggers - what do you think?
How do you balance privacy and sharing info about your lives?

Celebrating freedom - with a freebie!

Parks and pools are packed. The stores have their Memorial Day sales. And I have a quick & easy giveaway!

Thanks to Purex, I have two coupons for a free bottle of new Purex Triple Action detergent to share with you. Pop on over to the BalancingMama Facebook page and "like" or comment on the post there. I will pick a winner on Tuesday evening, May 29. I will try to contact you immediately, but make sure to check back to see if you won!

And if you don't win, you can still get coupons and deals from Purex on their Facebook page. Here's a $1.00 off coupon!

Happy Memorial Day and good luck!

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Disclaimer:
I am a Purex Insider and help spread the word about the Purex® family of laundry products. As an Insider, I receive sample product and incentives in exchange for participating in brand related activities.


U.S. mailing addresses only, please. New winner will be selected if I do not receive a confirmation & mailing address within 48 hours.

Four weekend days!

We keep correcting her - "It's three weekend days, honey."

She is so excited that she just can not hear us. We probably sound like the adults in Peanuts cartoons.

Waugh waugh wahmp waugh waugh...

The calendar on our pantry door shows her usual weekly schedule; school days, home with Mommy days, and two weekend days (indicated by a blue heart - our favorite days). We get a bonus this weekend! She has already announced this to two friends and a few strangers.

"Four weekend days! Did you know we get four weekend days?!?"

Cuteness. I am thrilled that this is such a big deal to her. She likes us! She really, really likes us!

Happy long weekend to all! I hope your families are with you - and excited about it - also.

A new chapter

She put on her favorite dress this morning. She selected not one, but two necklaces. Her pink sparkly shoes waited by the door, ready to take the outfit up yet another notch. Oh - and we couldn't forget the purple sparkle bow for her little curly ponytail - on the side.

My girl is growing up.

She unbuckled the lap buckle on her car seat for the first time this morning. She released my hand before we arrived at her classroom. She giggled when a good friend (a boy friend) immediately grinned and exclaimed his greetings to her.

But I don't want her to grow up.

Today is the final day of her school year in the "3s" classroom. She will return next week for summer camp, but without her two closest friends and with different teachers. She will need to find some new best buddies. She will learn new things. Mid-August begins her final year at the school were she has blossomed and been  loved since she was only three months old.

I will miss this school family.

A new chapter will be starting before I know it.

An almost-wordless Wednesday haiku

Footsteps in the sand.

The sea washing onto shore.

Where I long to be.

It seems like a lifetime ago, when I took that long weekend trip to Jamaica with my sister. I missed my little girl like crazy, but the trip was fantastic. The quiet peace of a beach (without kids) is the ideal remedy for my tired, balancing, sometimes failing self.