The Mom Crowd

I’m excited to post random and sundry thoughts on pop culture miscellany for you! To start, I thought I’d share a classic Saturday Night Live commercial that is sure to make you laugh. The video quality might not be the best but you’ll be able to capture the gist of it. Happy weekend, and remember, “You’re not a woman anymore – you’re a mom!”

I am pleased to introduce to you our newest featured author Dawn! She will have a regular spot here every Friday sharing her thoughts and views of moms in pop culture. In December she received great response to her guest blog post ‘Unsung Wonder-Moms in Film.’

I am so excited that she is going to be writing for us every week! I have been following her blog for quite some time and I know that she is genuine and honest. She loves t.v., movies, pop culture, and photography. She is an active participant of Best Shot Monday and Thursday’s Theme. Her two adorable children make you want to nibble on their ears. Seriously, too cute.

About Dawn:

I am the proud mom of Lucy (born February 2006) and Eli (born July 2007). They are just seventeen months apart! Both of my pregnancies were relatively easy and fun, and I had c-sections with both kiddos. I breastfed Lucy for 13 months (yes, this overlapped well into my second pregnancy!), and I’m still nursing Eli. I have found being a stay at home mom both joyful and challenging. My husband is a youth pastor, which means I am still learning how to be content with his odd hours and frequent weekend activities. Before kids, I was an English teacher for 7 years. I’m a huge fan of movies, I watch far too much t.v., and I enjoy photography, blogging, and participating in church activities in my free time.

Be sure to stop by every Friday and give Dawn a shout out!

• ‘DwellStudio For Target’ on Tutus & Turtles

I LOVE Dwell Baby nursery stuff. I couldn’t afford Dwell items when Ace was born, so we came up with our own Ikea version. I am super excited that DwellStudio is coming to Target. Where was this nine months ago?

• ‘Birth, The American Way’ on Newsweek

I read this article in my Newsweek last week. The article is review of the controversial documentary,”The Business of Being Born.”

• ’7 Qualities You Need to Be a Great Parent to Preschoolers’ on CNN

Earlier this week we had a discussion on preschools. Here is an article to give you more tools in your Mom Toolbelt to help you parent your independent Preschooler.

• ‘Cold Meds Send 7,000 U.S. Kids to ER Each Year’ on Yahoo

The article states that the majority of the cases is from children taking the medicine unsupervised. Be sure to keep your medicines out of reach!

• ‘Love you friends, hate their kids’ on CNN

What do you do when you don’t agree with your friends’ kid’s behavior? The article explores how different parents responses. Interesting thought. Luckily I don’t think any my friends’ kids are monsters!

• An Interview with Laura Bennett from Season 3 of Project Runway on Parents.com

Laura Bennett is a mother of six, an architect and a fashion designer in the Big Apple. Yes, this article is a little dated! There was not a new episode of Project Runway tonight. I need my fix!

Bonus Link

A mom delivers her baby in her driveway on CNN

Women have a history of being hard on one another. Moms especially have a lot to be hard on each other about. “Oh, you aren’t breastfeeding?” “You gave your baby cookies for dinner?” “You let your baby watch 2 hours of Baby Einstein videos?” “You use a bumper?” We all have opinions about what pain management moms use during child birth. Each of us has our own style and attitudes about how we raise our children.

We need to support each other as moms and not judge each other. I know I don’t like it when I feel like I am being scrutinized or being told I am doing something wrong. There have been times that I chose not to do something with my baby, because I was afraid of being judged for it.

Being critical of your friends and family hurts your relationships. Speaking your mind does not always build trust. Sometimes friendships end because of criticism and condemnation. Even small remarks add up over time. We are not always aware that we are speaking unkindly to each other. We all put our foot in our mouth at times. Let’s be mindful of the attitudes that we are portraying to each other. In the words of High School Musical, “We’re all in this together!”

Here are 5 ways to help us stop judging other moms:

1. Make a choice not to judge. We need to make a conscious effort to change our attitudes and accept our friends for who they are. Making a choice not to judge will help you remember not to criticize or disparage your friends the next time you speaking about them.

2. “Seek first to understand, then to be understood,” is the fifth habit of ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ by Stephen Covey. Learning this principal can greatly change the way you engage with other people. We need to try and understand what our friends are going through and the circumstances that made them choose that decision before we even speak. We don’t always have the full story from a blog post or part of a story heard second hand. I have friends that it is their personality to keep their lives private. So when they make a parenting decision, I can’t have an opinion. Seeking to understand what is going on our friends’ lives builds up our relationships and they will feel supported.

3. Stop talking about other moms, even to your spouse. We really need to guard our tongue when it comes to gossip. It is really easy to slip into gossip when you are honestly sharing the latest news of your friend or family member. Sometimes it feels good to talk about other people. It feels good to have someone agree with your point of view. Make a concerted effort with your friends not to talk about each behind each other’s backs. You won’t have to worry about if what you said gets back to your friend and it is better for everyone! There is peace in keeping your comments to yourself.

4. Don’t give advice unless it is requested. This is so hard for me, because I love asking for advice from people. I just assume that everyone is like me, but they aren’t. I need to remember that I shouldn’t give advice or my opinion unless they specifically asked for it. If advice or insight is requested from you, then you have to be careful not to be offended if they don’t take your advice. And visa versa, you shouldn’t be offended if you don’t like the guidance you requested. Counsel and sharing experiences is helpful. Let us make sure we always speak with the law of kindness on our tongue when giving counsel.

5. Celebrate and encourage each other! We all have difficult and enjoyable jobs raising our kids and caring for babies. Be and ear or shoulder when it is needed. I enjoy talking to McKenna and hearing about all the appointments and health updates of her two kids. Tell another mom what a great mom she is! Say it in a card, in person, in an email. I don’t know a mom that doesn’t mind being praised for being a good mom. Drop off or mail a little gift to a friend. Stop by and do her dishes. There are so many ways we can celebrate each other. Lets remember to stop judging and celebrate our victories with one another!

Have you ever felt judged by another mom? Have you ever been offended by someone giving too much advice? Do you make an effort not to judge other moms?

Heidi has asked The Mom Crowd readers a question about preschools. Can you offer any help in regards to the cost of preschools? If you are in the San Antonio can you offer reviews of any of the schools in question?

Heidi’s question:

“I’m on the prowl for researching preschools in my area (1604 & O’Connor). I’ve inquired at Northern Hills (my top choice so far), Community Bible Church, Trinity Christian Academy, and San Antonio Christian Academy.

With registration beginning in 5 weeks at certain schools, I’m feeling overwhelmed because I’ve yet to visit a single site. Some locations are more costly than others, and makes me wonder if it’s worth it to pay the extra money.

Mothers, please help! Any recommendations or reviews would help me tremendously and save me tons of time and energy.”

Please share your responses in the comments. Thanks!

Preschool Bag of Link Goodies at Babycenter.com:
Intro to preschool
Signs of a good preschool
Preschool: How much will it cost?
How to find a good preschool