I'm going on a vacation!

Well sort of. Due to many reasons we usually don't get to take a vacation. The last one we took was about 3 years ago when Enzo was much smaller. We went over to the White Mountains in NH camped for one night and took him to StoryLand. Then we packed up the car and headed to Maine for a few days of camping there. It was fun but too much driving and not enough relaxing.

This time we are heading back to to the White Mountains to go to StoryLand again. If you have never been there it is an amazing place for families. It is a small family style park with more of a storyland theme. It is a very clean and well organized park. They even have what they call Mama Houses. from their website: "Our Mama's Houses are designed to provide peace, quiet, and privacy for nursing mothers and their babies. Each Mama's House has rocking chairs and diaper changing stations in shaded comfort." that rocks!

I grew up camping with my family in the White Mountains for two weeks every summer. I have never known any other kind of vacation. We stayed in tents that my father made. I wish my family was ready for tent camping but we just don't have the equipment yet or the vehicle to cart it all in. This year I found some very affordable cottages to rent. A separate bedroom to stick the kids in, a kitchen, living room with another bed for us to sleep in and a screened in porch. The cottage sits right next to a brook. It is a half hour drive to Storyland and close to lots of other White Mountain attractions. It costs more than camping but less than a hotel. We are only staying for three nights but it will be so much fun. I have to wait a while though before we can go. boo-hoo. JB's job is insane in the summer.

I am just so happy I can actually dream about getting away - even if it is only for three nights.

Hundreds walk to take back the night

I am proud to say I participated in the annual Take Back the Night march and rally last night put on by the Women's Rape Crisis Center. Hundreds of us marched from the UVM campus through the downtown streets raising our voices against sexual violence against women. It was especially moving when we walked past one section of Main street which where we marched in silence out of respect for UVM senior Michelle Gardner-Quinn was last seen on surveillance video before she was abducted, sexually assaulted and killed Oct. 7.

It felt good to march, it felt good to shout, it felt good to raise my voice and with hundreds show our city will will not let the night and our streets to be taken from us.

Read full article here
See video here

My thoughts and prayers to all the mamas, families and friends of anyone at Virginia Tech. I am sick with grief over this situation.

Happy Easter

Pink Kiss Necklace

New in shop

Flooded basement

Last night JB through in a load of laundry around 7:00pm. Our washer is in the basement. We went about our evening and around 10:30pm I was washing up for bed when I could hear water from the bathroom. I went out to ask JB if he had put more laundry in since the last load. We opened up the basement door and found our 600+ square foot basement completely covered in 6 inches of water. I completely freaked out. We have boxes and boxes of personal items down there plus our old G3 computer plugged in on the floor with many other extension cords. The washer apparently never stopped filling up and instead filled our basement while we sat upstairs having no clue.

So at 12:30 in the morning our new best friend Bill from ServePro came and installed a pump. He came back this morning with two industrial sized dehumidifiers and 5 huge fans. The place is a mess. I lost a trunk full of things I had been saving since middle school, old journals, pictures, books etc. My poor guitar was saturated as well. I have been an emotional wreck all day. I know I am extremely lucky compared to what so many other people around the world have had to deal with when it comes to personal loses but man does it still sting. I know they are just things but it hurts like hell. We have a lot of work cut out for us and having no one to watch our kids for us it is going to take triple the time. So much has to just be thrown out. I am emotionally and physically drained today. But everyone is safe and that is all that really matters.

My poor guitar and a floating box. This was my studio

Thank goodness the heater stayed dry since we are getting winter weather again.

Note the water mark on the blue trunk. Everything inside was soaked. My old journals are now just blobs of ink. I wonder if the monster G3 beside it will still work.

Our new best friend Bill pumping out the water at 12:30 in the morning. Thanks Bill!

sigh . . . cracking open a beer now.

How things change (sort of)

The following was written in September of 2002. I wrote it as what was meant to be the intro to a zine I was going to start called Mamaspeak. I was 5 years younger, only 11 months into being a mom with just one kid and working full time. Well the paper zine never came about but obviously it sparked me to start this blog a few years later.

So here it is - the intro to the zine that never happened:

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MamaSpeak

Wondering who you are now has never been so confusing.
Come find out with us.
Read, laugh, cry, sigh, and submit.
Be You.

This is my welcome letter. Welcome to my world. I am sure it is not much different than yours however somehow we all usually feel so alone. I’ll get right to my stats. I am 29, married for 2 years, miscarried our first child 10/6/99 gave birth to our second 10/6/2002. Ironic? Yes, but I will leave those details for an article. Our son’s name is Enzo and he will be 11 months in a few weeks. Enzo has started walking. It is so cool. He has been trying for so long and getting really frustrated so now there is this sense of freedom and calm in our house, which has not existed for the past month. He looks like a little boy now. He is growing up so fast.

Why am I opening up my stories and thoughts for all to read? Mainly because I am sick of feeling like I am the only parent in the world. I know there are others are there, aren't there? Hello? The only way to meet other parents around here is to be a stay at home mom so you can attend the events that typically are only held during the work day. That sucks. I would love to attend a baby group, but I guess these organization think are only catering to the non-working moms. This brings up my employment status I guess. I am working full time out side of the home. Do I like it? Hell no. I would love to stay home and attend every baby group that exists in Northern VT, but at this time I am afraid to say this is not a possibility. Do I feel guilty about it? Sure I do. I hate the fact that someone else is raising my kids, I hate the fact that I can’t seem to find the magic solution in my budget that will allow me to stay home. My kid is great though and he is getting great care so I can’t complain too much.

It basically comes down to this. I am a Mom. I like music, poetry, pretending I can write songs, sewing, crafts, and most of all my family. I have not and will not let go of my creativity or individuality. I prefer alternatives to the normal baby raising ways. I am open minded and always ready to talk. I wanted to create a forum for other Mama’s to voice their ideas and thoughts and to read those of others as well. I know while I was pregnant and even now, reading first hand stories from women is one the important tools I had in preparing for birth and now surviving motherhood.

So here it is – Mama Speak. Welcome.

-originally written 9/02
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