The Mom Crowd

(*Note: There may be spoilers in this post.  Read at your own risk!) 

Now that I’m a mom, I notice things that I didn’t notice before.  (No, I’m not talking about stretch marks.  Ha!)  I’m referring to a heightened sensitivity – a more emotional response – to things I see in tv shows and movies.   Take The Karate Kid, for example.  One of my favorites growing up.  Saw it in the theater; watched it all the time.  Thought Ralph Macchio was adorable.  Never cried.  Well, I received it as a Christmas gift this past year, and let me tell you, I was a mess by the end!  All throughout I was noticing things about Danny LaRusso that I had never paid attention to before: his good manners, his sweetness and vulnerability, his work ethic.  His dad wasn’t in the picture, which I’m sure was a struggle for him (of course, he found a father figure in the wise Mr. Miyagi.)  I’m convinced I see him differently now because I am a mom.  No longer do I see him as a Teen Beat heartthrob; no, now he’s just a sweet boy trying to figure out where he fits in.  And I was so proud of him at the end, at the big tournament, when he shouts, “Mr. Miyagi, we did it! We did it!”  It’s kinda random, I know, but I get all emotional just thinking about it. 

There are other film scenes that wreck me now, too.  Have any of you seen August Rush?  I caught it in the theater a few months ago on a moms’ night out.  Little Freddie Highmore (who’s already 16, yikes!) plays an orphaned boy named August, and he’s absolutely convinced that he’ll find his parents in New York City.  I don’t want to give too much away, in case you go out and rent it tonight, which I totally recommend you do (it’s now on dvd!)  But I will say this, without ruining anything for ya:  there is a scene mid-movie where August does, in fact, meet his dad, played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers.  Neither of them knows that they’re related, but they clearly have a connection with one another, a shared interest that brings them together by chance.  And it’s heartrending, that scene.  I could barely keep my sobs silent.  The whole movie pretty much tore me up, in fact.   And I mean that in a good way.  It’s a must-watch for all moms, in my opinion.  Just have your hanky ready.

What about you, dear readers?  Like me, do you get misty at the final scene of Walk the Line (the one involving Johnny Cash’s father)?  Does your heart just melt when you meet Jude Law’s daughters in The Holiday?  What other scenes, movies, or shows have triggered an emotional, it’s-because-I’m-a-mommy-now response in you?  Happy weekend, and if you do rent August Rush, be sure to come back and tell us your thoughts! 

Our newest sponsor, Baby Cakes, has graciously offered you, our fabulous reader, a 10% discount code to be used at her super-cute online store. Baby Cakes offers fun and trendy baby gear, accessories, apparel, and toys for babies and toddlers. To receive 10% off your order use Promotion Code “momcrowd” at check out. This offer is good through June 1, 2008.

Here are a few of my favorite items from her store. Please click on the photo for more information!

I received the most adorable personalized frame from Munchkin Designs! The owner, Lisa Komer is very talented and her products are unique, personal, and custom. Her products include picture frames (like the one I received), stationary (note cards, invitations, holiday cards, birth announcements, etc.), canvas art, albums, journals, artfolios, “birthday-in-a-box,” and she will soon be selling Big Sister/Big Brother gift sets. You can join her mailing list to be notified of all of her up and coming products.

The frame I received is great quality. I love the vibrant colors and love that it’s personalized. Darah loves it as well! Our frame arrived packaged very safely. My husband even commented on how much he liked the frame and mentioned that he liked that the glass was “real glass, and not that plasticky film that comes with most children’s frames.” Lisa’s follow-up on her orders is excellent. She sent me an email confirming that I received my order. These frames are a great way to accessorize your child’s room! They also would make excellent gifts for baby showers or birthday parties!

If you’ve read our blog for any amount of time, you probably have figured out that I’m all about anything that helps further medical research. Munchkin Designs tugged my heartstrings when I learned that 10% of all profits are donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She has a very special card designed specifically to raise awareness and further research on blood cancers. Half of all purchases of these cards are donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through August 31, 2008.

If you’ve been reading our blog, you probably have also learned that I also am a sucker for discounts! Munchkin Designs is offering The Mom Crowd readers 15% off of all frame purchases. Her website is being redesigned and will soon be taking online orders. In the meantime, to receive your 15% discount, email your order to lisa@munchkindesigns.com with the discount code: MC2008. This discount is good through April 3, 2008!

Over the last year, I have had two precious little girls in my life receive a diagnosis of leukemia. Both girls are doing well and are both in remission. One will still be receiving chemotherapy over the next couple of years though to make sure she stays in remission. I haven’t been able to help my friend who is local with babysitting her other children during hospital stays and chemotherapy treatments because of the demands (and constant viruses) of my two children which has left me feeling inadequate and wishing I could do more. These little girls are amazingly brave and my heroes. Their mothers have been such an inspiration to me and I consider it a privilege to have them in my life!

Even though I haven’t been able to physically help in ways I wish I could, I decided that I had almost a foot of hair that I could share with the ever-so-fabulous organization, Locks of Love. Locks of Love is a nonprofit organization that helps disadvantaged children suffering from medical hair loss. Most of these children have cancer or alopecia, a medical condition which causes hair loss. As moms, we all know the important role our hair plays in our confidence level. Through hair donations, Locks of Love creates hairpieces for children (both girls and boys) whose families are not financially able to purchase these expensive hairpieces. I am so excited to have participated in this mission by donating 11 inches of my hair to Locks of Love.

I will be honest, parting with my hair was not easy! I scheduled my appointment several times and chickened out because I really loved my long hair. I finally sucked it up and went in to cut my hair and share it with someone who would enjoy it even more than I did. I am so glad I did. It feels amazing to help a child in such a special way. Taking a risk and trying a new hairstyle is a very small sacrifice compared to what these children have had to sacrifice against their will. Besides, new styles are always fun to try! Katie Holmes, Jenny McCartney, and Victoria Beckham have made the bob super trendy and it’s so much easier to fix than my long, layered hair!

Ways to support Locks of Love:

• The most obvious way to get involved is to donate at least 10 inches of your hair. If your hair donation is shorter than 10 inches, bleached (highlights usually use bleach) or is naturally gray, they cannot use it for the hairpieces for children, however you can still donate it to offset the manufacturing costs. For more detailed information, please visit: www.locksoflove.org.
• You can also support Locks of Love by sending monetary donations, which are tax-deductible.
• Albertson’s Grocery donates 4% of all purchases to Locks of Love when shoppers use a special key tag. To receive your keytag, send your name and address to: volunteer@locksoflove.org
• Purchase this super cute charity bear. Ten percent of the gross proceeds are donated to Locks of Love.
• If you live in the Palm Beach County, Florida area, volunteer your time at their office.
• If you know of a child who has a chronic medical condition causing hair loss and financially disadvantaged, you can send their information to Locks of Love. Forms and more information is on their website.

This list is not all inclusive. For more ways to help Locks of Love, please visit their website. I want to end this post with a beautiful statistic I found on Locks of Love’s website. It is estimated that 80% of hair donations to Locks of Love come from children who want to help other children. I hope that my daughter will join that statistic when her hair is long enough to donate!

Let’s face it, some days life as a mom is harder than others. It doesn’t matter if you are a stay at home mom or a working mom. Life’s demands and the sacrifices it takes to love and raise our children can take a toll on us emotionally and physically. We get stressed.

I know for me there are certain things that trigger stress. My short list is: a baby that doesn’t nap well, running late for preschool (or anything for that matter), when children don’t follow directions– especially when they don’t want to get dressed and THAT is making us run late, when dinner needs to be made and the baby needs to nurse at the same time which then makes bedtimes for the older boys later than they should be, listening to the boys fight over toys, a crying baby, the long gray winter here in Pittsburgh. And that is just the short list! Hopefully it didn’t stress you out to read it.

I have learned that if everything goes the way I want it to then I won’t get stressed but that isn’t reality! I do sometimes wish the world revolved around me but I am sure it is in the best interest of the rest of the world that it doesn’t.

Since adding a third child to our family I have experienced the stress of how it has changed our family. Family dynamics and roles change with every child added and we are finally adjusting to life with a third child.

Sometimes I find myself thinking about the Serenity Prayer. It goes like this; God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change (the gray weather day after day, when boys decide to be selfish and not share, when the baby won’t go to sleep on his own), the courage to change the things I can (getting up a little earlier to get everyone ready to get out the door, being consistent in using discipline or sleep strategies, thinking about dinner earlier in the day instead of 4pm), and the wisdom to know the difference.

There are no easy answers to eliminating stress or reducing it but I did want to share some things that work for me.

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