On MLK Jr. Day 2010, the Feminist Women’s Health Center asked me to volunteer and march with them at the King Day rally.Here are picture of me and Ben( my little activist) at the parade.
We walked for Women's Reproductive Rights!
My little activist
Volunteers of the Feminist Center
Her drum says "Beat Hate"
Because of King they get to march hand & hand
Last night Benjamin (my two year old) kept me up because he said his ears hurt. At first I checked his temp and when I realized he didn’t have a fever I disregarded the claim. However, an hour later when he was still holding his ears and waking up every ten minutes to express is discomfort. I started to panic. My son is pretty vocal, so I didn’t get him just holding his ears and saying they hurt and nothing else.
What could this mean? I thought. Why is he doing this? I look at my husband for answer. With the same puzzle look in his face as me. We were both in the same place…with no explanation. I was starting to worry because Benjamin would not let go or let us look at his ears.
My husband tells me just leave him when he is ready he’ll let us see. And while I sat there 
in the living room watching Ben, I wondered. How do people do this for more then one child? The thought of something really being wrong, It was hard to live with, I was sitting there feeling helpless and wanting so bad to make my son feel better. All sorts of things thought were running through my head.
What if his ears are ringing because he is losing his hearing? Or what if something is leaking from his brain causing his ears to hurt, yes I know totally weird. But I could not help myself… I started to think this is why I feel I can’t do more then one kid.
The stress of raising a kid for me is sometime more then I can handle. So, why do we do it over and over again, (I mean human beings) People tell me all the time it gets easier with the second. But I am so sacred I don’t want to take that chance. I tell my mom all the time I think one is all I can handle. She says “you are over thinking it”
I watched a movie last night – I will not go into the topic because it is not appropriate for this post, but one of the women in the films said about motherhood. “It is the best most life fulfill, worst, heart-wrenching job in the world.” (Something like that, anyway.) I am like yes, and my boy is only 2.
I feel for all the worrying and trying to do the best that I can. It will never be enough, I will somehow – mess it up, over think it and not enjoy it the best way I should. I can’t get over it, when you want to be the best parent you can be… it will forever be the hardest thing you’ll ever do.
BTW-Benjamin is fine; I don’t know what all that was about. But he woke up fine; I think I am going to take him to the doctors anyway, just to make sure.
Till tomorrow folks,
Carolyn
This is my first Thankful Thursday, and Iwant to take this opportunity to ask all who read this blog to give. I personally only give to the Red Cross when international disasters occur. I trust them, and I know they know what they are doing.
I am asking everyone to give because we here in America have so much to be thankful for. It is in times like these, we must remember that as bad is it may be here, it is far worst in other countries.
I encourage you to give…even if only a little. Whether its time or a small donation, the Red Cross could really use your help.
Here is a link to the Red Cross http://www.redcross.org/portal/site/en/menuitem.d8aaecf214c576bf971e4cfe43181aa0
/?vgnextoid=91fe1a53f1c37110VgnVCM1000003481a10aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default
Remember every little bit counts.
Till Tomorrow,
Carolyn
Immigration Reform Campaign kicks off in 50 states this week!Today! It’s time we (Americans) really take this seriously.
Today will be a very long and busy day. Here is my to do list for the day…really just today!
Notice how I forgot dinner, it’s a good thing I am writing this down I would have forgotten. I have to throw something in the slower cooker now. Daddy will take care of the rest.
Life of a mommy! Till tomorrow
Carolyn
This morning I am losing my mind. I have signed up to do all of these things–that, by the way, I love. But honestly I don’t know how I find the time to do it. For this post, I wanted to share with you some information regarding organizations to which I volunteer (in addition to mommy and school work and school work). It’s sort of an intro to what I would do for a living if I got paid. Here they are in the order for most time given.
This morning I help at the Decatur Education Foundation, here is a little info on them:
The Decatur Education Foundation works to help Decatur youth realize their full potential,
not only in the classroom but also through learning experiences that contribute to personal development. We do this by generating financial support from individuals and organizations, awarding grants and and administering scholarships, and engaging the community to contribute their time and talents to activities that ultimately benefit Decatur’s youth. As an independent non-profit enterprise, DEF fills a unique role in our community.
Tomorrow I will be at the Feminist Women’s Health Center working on The Lifting Latina Voices Initiative (LLVI). LLVI’s overall goal is to empower Latinas through our volunteer projects, learning experiences and workshops and to develop a diverse group of Latinas to become our future leaders, activists, and engaged citizens.
Specifically, the Initiative is concerned with the serious reproductive health disparities affecting Latinas in Atlanta. The LLVI provides opportunities for leadership for Latinas by outreach to this community through the Latina Leadership Committee, educational workshops, grassroots organizing, and related projects. Through our advocacy trainings and programs, we will work to ensure that Latinas’ voices are heard and counted in the policy debates that affect their lives, realities and communities.
We are a powerful voice . . .
We Have the Right to a Healthy Life!
I will also give at least two hours to Georgia Women for a Change (I help with odds ends – on as a legislative aid) Here is some information on them:
Georgia Women for a Change is the new name of the Women’s Policy Education Fund, which together with its sister organization the Women’s Policy Group, has been a progressive voice for all women throughout Georgia when it comes to developing and advancing policy that affects women’s lives. We are a think tank — we are a community of women and men across the state who believe in equal rights for women and girls
And last but not least - The Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO) is established to increase representation of Latino/Hispanic elected and appointed officials, to proactively address the issues and needs of the Latino community, and to engage the Latino/Hispanic community in the democratic and policy process across the State of Georgia. (I will be making calls for them this week- it’s Immigration Reform Week)
On some future date, I will write about the organizations individually. Today, I am trying to keep up with the blog-a-day calendar.
To conclude, I want to highlight these non-profits on my blog, because they are doing wonderful things in the state of Georgia for minorities. I hope you stop by their websites and see for yourself all the that theses guys do.
Till tomorrow,
Carolyn
Yesterday was suppose to be a quick day, uneventful if you will. My husband and I were taking Benjamin to a birthday party and then we were just going home. Not at all how it turned out.
We ended up on my family’s side of town and without going into a long story about yesterday’s events. Let’s just put it this way:
family + wine + late night = one sick- unhappy mommy.
So until tomorrow,
Carolyn
I really wanted to make this an interesting post, but instead of just going to talk about how today would be my last day on BlogSpot.
New address: www.mommiesarepeopletoo.com
When I initially took the challenge I took it for fun. It’s funny because now I really have a following. People get it and I didn’t think anybody would, but mommies are people too. This blog was just a way for me to convey my frustrations as a new mom. Growing up believing that when I became a mommy that’s all I could be. It was much harder after I became a mommy and reality set in. Anyway, I mean to say that I was not really taken this blog seriously. I am not a writer by any means. I was looking for something to do.
However people are reacting and like what I am doing. As a result I decided to go full-fledged and really make this into something. And that is why I am moving to www.mommiesarepeopletoo.com
Once again for those who have not had an opportunity to read my other posts? Here is the idea behind Mommies are People, Too. Aside from being a mom I am an activist. I volunteer for different organizations around the Atlanta area that deal with either immigration issues Latino issues or women’s issues, this is important to me and it is what I believe to be my life’s work or my calling. I want to give this to Benjamin – I want him to know that mommy was the change she wanted to see in the world. If I do nothing else for my son I want to give that sense of community and a sense of responsibility for others, I want him to see problem and feel a sense of duty and honor in wanting to repair it. Really I want him to grow up and be proud that his mother did not stand on the sidelines.
My mother once explained it to me after I asked her why; God gave his only son for us? Here is what she told me (I swear these words have stayed with me ever since, and it the only thing I remember of all the conversations I have had with my mother.) She told me that Jesus was here to show us how to help one another we are all brothers and sisters and we are all in it together and this is our home and like I would take care of my brother and her if they needed me. I should do that to my fellow human beings. And I want wholeheartedly for my son to have the same values and compassion.
on that note,
I’ve hope you’ve enjoyed it so far, please continue to check me out on www.mommiesarepeopletoo.com
After having been married for around two years my husband and I decided to have another baby. At this point my husband son was almost 10 years old and we been a relationship together for around three years. It seemed like a reasonable amount of time to have a new baby.
While walking through IKEA, myself, my husband, and our youngest son, Ben, found what turned out to be an exceptionally valuable item. Actually, this item turned out to be one of the most valuable things we’ve bought in quite a long time, and it only cost about 15 bucks. But before I tell you what that item is, let me give you a little background.
My husband and I have very different sleeping patterns. He is the type that falls asleep within 10 seconds of putting his head on the pillow, while I might mull around for an hour or so before falling asleep. Also, once he’s asleep he’s pretty much dead to the world, while I get up intermittently throughout the night — – always have. I also suffer from a mild case of night terrors (this is really great for my husband!) This means that throughout our marriage my husband was awakened many nights — at great frequency!
As it turns out, our youngest son has the same sleeping patterns that I do. While most newborns develop semi-normal sleeping habits by six months, our son never quite did–even when he was a year-and-a-half and talking. As you might imagine, are combined sleeping dysfunction was a joy and a pleasure for my husband.
Fast-forward to IKEA: so the three of us were walking through the labyrinth that is IKEA, and our infant son was drawn to a light blue nylon and plastic tent. Because I’m not working, money is a little tight. So, we normally take some time in deciding how we spend our money on nonessential purchases, and this certainly seemed not to be essential. But, it was only 15 bucks so we decided to go ahead and buy it– without understanding the true value of the tent.
This tent would soon reveal itself to be the best money we’ve spent in a very, very long time. Our son decided that he wanted to sleep in the tent. Sleep. Rather than finding his way into our bedroom at some point in the night, and keeping us up for an hour or two, or wailing because he couldn’t “find his sleep,” Ben chose to sleep in his tent! Hallelujah! For the first time in almost 2 years, my husband and I were able to sleep, uninterrupted, through the night. It wasn’t until we were able to experience the joys of uninterrupted sleep that we realized how long it had been since we last had it.
Almost instantly, we experienced a lessening of stress levels: Stress levels in our relationship, a decrease in overall tension, and just a better sense of well-being. All of this derived from a flimsy $15 tent.
Meet the Monden’s: This is me and my husband Chad on our 5th wedding Anniversary (Last May)
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