Mom Bloggers In the News

The author of this story reports for NPR, which is where I heard a snippet of this article. I write my blog for far-away friends and family who want updates on the adventures of our family. I struggle sometimes with the desire to post my opinions about events, politics, religion, etc., but so far I've chosen to keep it light and simple. Perhaps one day I'll delve into the Universe of My Strong Opinion, but in my neurotic need to be generally liked (or at least not hated), I have so far refrained for fear of offending my 3 readers. I save my opinions for my poor husband and my friends within earshot--lucky them!--but who knows? Maybe I'll decide to lay it all out there one day and you will all get an earful.

One thing is certain: Moms are a powerful market force. We talk to each other a lot and value other moms' opinions. We buy stuff. We often buy EXPENSIVE stuff if we think it will make our children safer, happier, healthier or cleaner. There is a whole world of moms who buy the hip colored strollers, the preciously monogrammed dress, the custom-made cakes. (I'm not judging, I am often one of them!) So this mommy blogger thing is big--and has the potential to be bigger. So keep your eye on us (well, them?). Women may yet change the world, one poopy diaper story at a time!

http://www.statesman.com/life/content/life/stories/other/2009/07/12/0712momblogs.html

July Rocks!

(In PJs ready for Parents' Night Out at Amelia's daycare)


In addition to the fun that you see in posts that follow this one, we have: gone to dinner with family and friends, grilled out, gone to art camp, gone to zoo camp, played at the Collierville water spray park, been to 2 VBS's, hosted playdates, spent time at the gym pool, played dress-up, played games, written stories, made new friends, gone to Parents' Night Out (and stayed up til 11--ALL of 'em!), created a little art at Paint-A-Piece, watched the baby barn swallows on our porch, read a lot of books, spent the night with Granna & Papa, gone to a Redbirds baseball game, had Family Movie Night, seen Up! and Ice Age in the movie theater, and tried to fill some big shoes. A few pictures follow:

Playdates & Pools & Porches

A few pictures of the girls with their friends--playing outside, playing inside, at the zoo, at the waterpark in Mississippi. Ah, summer!

Girls' Day Out

I had a day off. I had the two oldest girls. The house was feeling...well, boring. So off we went for a day of adventure in the Big City. First, the Dixon Art Gallery and Gardens. (No art pictures allowed, but the girls sketched some paintings with colored pencils & we hung out in the gardens quite a bit.) Next, Hibachi lunch--eating with chopsticks & enjoying the flame-grilled show. Finally, the Pink Palace to see the dinosaur exhibit and cool off in the planetarium. If I were a stay-at-home mom, I'd love to think we'd have days like this all the time, but I think the part that made this day most special was how rarely we get to do it. Yes, we do LOTS of fun things as a family, but it often seems rushed and planned and sometimes obligatory. This day was about us, spending time together, with no schedule to follow and no one to meet. Yay for my daughters!

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow!

Rebecca spent a week at Children's Ballet camp with a theme of "Annie." Though they haven't yet had the opportunity to see the play, our girls have watched this movie (both versions) a gazillion times. So Becca was thrilled to bits to get to dance and sing in her end-of-the-week recital. They performed Tomorrow and You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile. (Now that you've read that, you're singing them, too aren't ya?) I am proud to say that she didn't seem the slightest bit nervous and hammed it up like a true star.

Red, White & Beee-yoo-tee-ful

We had a great 4th of July weekend! It was hot--typical for Memphis--but actually a little cooler than it has been in previous days, with a little breeze (which, we later realized, was bringing in the rainstorms in Jackson and the Memphis-area showers, but we're not complaining!). On Friday, the girls and I spent the day together, hula-hooping, going to the Farmer's Market, playing board games, playing in the sprinklers and the kiddie pool, washing the cars. That evening, we went to our town's celebration. Molly won the Best Patriotic Dress contest, we won a door prize (Sonic gift card), and Rebecca & Amelia played on the playground with Papa and Granna. Then the big girls had a sleepover with above-mentioned grandparents. Saturday, we walked in the Balmoral neighborhood parade, with the grandparents cheering us on, then adjourned to their place for chillin'-and-grillin' with fresh farmer's market corn and burgers. For the evening, we hit the pool party with my co-workers and their families in Jackson (another playground, an amazing pig-shaped cake, some fireworks before the storm, fishing in the lake and pooltime fun). We got back to Memphis in time for sparklers, Roman candles and other assorted goodies at our place. This morning, we rounded out the weekend with a morning at church, then a visit to my 100-year-old grandma. We are now The Best Kind of Tired!

The Livin' Is Easy

We're about half-way through summer. This is Independence Day weekend! The Marshes have stayed good-n-busy. We returned from vacation on June 8 and haven't slowed down! A truly incomplete list of family activities and events thus far: playing in the sprinklers & the kiddie pool, 2 concerts at the Levitt Shell (Todd Snider and Juke Joint Duo), reading tons of books, catching lightning bugs, walking the dog, eating barbecue, grilling out, cooling down in the pool, washing the cars, baking cupcakes, playing with friends, eating ice cream, going to the Farmer's Market, playing board games & card games, going to summer day camp (yoga week, tent week and paint-the-fence week), making smoothies, making homemade ice cream, making juice popsicles, riding bikes, painting pictures, making cards, going to church, playing on playgrounds, spending the night with grandparents, hanging out with Aunt Meredith, going to the movies, having Family Movie night, seeing "Wicked," going camping.



















Coming up: Fourth of July fun, art camp, zoo camp, theater camp and who knows what else!