Too Bad I Don’t Like To Talk

Well I’ve been a run around sue today.  Why, you ask?  Thanks for asking! Here’s why:

I’m questioning the safety of CFL bulbs over at Mama Speaks today.

I’m talking about how important the Mom Vote is in this year’s election at Chicago Moms Blog.

And I’m still talking about the Green Our Vaccines rally at my other blog, Stop Looking At Me, with video and canaries!  Sorta-ish.

Too bad I don’t like to talk AND don’t have any opinions, right?

Green Our Vaccines: The Prelude

So tomorrow we are on our way. My hubs and I will head to the airport ALONE to fly to Washington D.C., with only CARRY ON BAGS. You parents know what a big deal that is. The one bag we will have that we don’t normally have is my artist portfolio, which will contain our two large foam board signs with the carefully picked words we (and by we I mean my sister) painted on. On the reverse side we are gluing pictures of our boys with autism, and we will carry these signs the whole 1.5mile march. I wrote about the rally and it’s purpose over at Chicago Moms Blog here today.

It’s a big deal for us to leave the kids overnight, the routines and schedules and all the rest are very difficult for anyone else to take over, if even for one day.

But we had to go.

This rally will be the day when parents are given a voice. And with that voice we will stand up for so many children who don’t have a voice. For the kids who are injured and who slipped away from this world literally and figuratively. For the future children who are on a path to be harmed. We march for us, for them, and for us all.

In my previous post where I showed you the pic of me with Jenny McCarthy I mentioned that she and I had a moment to talk about this rally. I told her that as a parent, she was a huge inspiration to me. She travels around and around to venue after venue, tv show to tv show talking about this issue. The issue of vaccine safety. She’s not working, not acting, just spreading the word. She sincerely and genuinely cares deeply about this issue, just like so many of us at home that would never get the ear of Larry King or Oprah. Naysayers like to continually bring up her sordid past, but I fail to see its relevance. If my current opinion and intelligence were to be based on choices I made when I was younger I would be in big trouble, as I’m sure would many of you, my dear readers.

I also told Jenny that this rally will be a turning point in the cause of vaccine awareness. Not that she needed the affirmation, but she agreed and told me that it will literally be a historic rally. The huge thousands of people that are coming will be making a statement. We’ll be telling the government that they need to stop and listen, telling them to look out, because now we’re organized. We’ll be putting them on notice that a flood is coming. The dam is breaking.

And we won’t keep quiet any more.

Look for us on the news. Tell your friends to look for us on the news (entice them by telling them they’ll see Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey). Blog about what you see and hear and feel.

And if you’re in the D.C. area come join us in making history, one step at a time.

**Come back tomorrow for a special guest post that will keep you entertained (and most likely wiping away tears) while I’m away.

The Freak Flag, Tis Flying

Most of the time I think I’m normal, and other people are the weirdos.  However when I list the things we do that are not mainstream, I realize that no, I’m pretty much the freak.  Everything from co-sleeping, to parenting choices, to my own passions, to my politics, to the way we eat–all of it is what I would consider counter culture.  On the one hand, I’m happy to not be a jump-off-the-bridge-because-you-said-so kinda of a girl.  On the other hand, it does get a little exhausting constantly fielding questions about “why” we do what we do.  I should just give them my card and they can come here and read all about it.

For the most part, my decisions about who I am and what kind of a mom I want to be, were not necessarily planned out ahead of time.  They evolved organically, out of circumstance, and seemed to me to be the natural choice in any situation.  I don’t regret any of it, and I love that my life is interesting to others (because it seems pretty normal and boring, at times, to me!).  Clearly I don’t mind talking about myself, right?

The biggest thing for me is that I hope everyone realizes that just because I might be different from you, or rather, if you are different from me, I do not judge people for their life choices. I might have an opinion, but it’s just my opinion, and what we are doing as a family is what is best FOR US.  I have friends of all faiths, personalities, styles, life choices, etc.  What we have in common is that we like each others’ heart, and that is ultimately what matters.  We don’t all have to pick the same things out when we go to the grocery store or at the clothing store (or at the hair salon!) to be friends, and I’m ok if you think what I do is “weird”.  I’m strong enough in my own self to not worry about that, and I hope that you are as well.

I posted about one of my passions at Chicago Moms Blog this week, and about our diet choices at Stop Looking At Me.  I hope you’ll come visit!

Save A Life

This post is for anyone in the Silicon Valley area, or anyone who wants to be (road trip, anyone?). There is a very important event being held TOMORROW, and I would be there in a heartbeat if I could (Chicago is a little too far of a drive).

Jill, co-creator of the Silicon Valley Moms Blog Group (including Chicago Moms Blog, where I am a contributor) has helped organize a bone marrow drive in honor of her mother for the National Marrow Donor Program. You can show up, get your cheek swabbed, and make a difference. Thousands of cancer patients are waiting and hoping for a donor match–and it could be you. Won’t you find out?

Go here to read all about Jill’s passion, and spread the word. You can save a life.

Education Day: Chicago Moms Blog

I’m thrilled to tell you all that I’ve joined Chicago Moms Blog as a new contributor! Chicago Moms Blog is a part of the Silicon Valley Moms Blog group, which also includes NYC, New Jersey and DC Metro (with more sites on the way). They have a lot of great writers, stay at home moms and working moms alike. You don’t have to live in one of the cities to enjoy the blogs, because the topics are those which all moms are passionate about.

My first post is up today, and it’s Education topic day for all the sites. Come check it out!