Archive for March, 2012

I have always been fascinated by elections and how different demographic groups vote. I am wondering who Moms voting in Super Tuesday will be choosing and why? (This question isn’t just for Republican moms. Dems can vote since Georgia is an open primary state.)

Is there a Republican candidate that is courting the Mom vote this year? Is there someone you feel is talking about the needs of families and other issues you are interested in?

What are the issues and stances that will grab your vote today?

Is there a soccer mom/hockey mom/regular mom voting block? Is it a group being courted?

(Try to keep it constructive and nice. I have a non-political topic popping up at noon. It has a video you will not believe.)

Continue reading Moms: Who will you vote for in the Republican primary? »

We all know that metro Atlanta has a very high foreclosure rate and that housing prices have continued to drop dramatically. However, there is a new number out for Atlanta that I hadn’t seen but it sure makes a lot of sense.

According to an infographic on The Huffinton Post:

“The number of people living in poverty in the suburbs of major metropolitan areas increased by 53 percent between 2000 and 2010, as compared to an increase of 23 percent among city-dwellers. (The sources for this information are the Brookings Institute and the U.S. Census Bureau.)

And guess what metro area had the greatest suburban poverty increase … Atlanta! You can see a map of the suburban poverty on this link. But I posted the numbers of suburban areas with the biggest increases below.

Suburban areas with the biggest increase in people in poverty, 2000-2010

Atlanta

367,038

Chicago

277,549

Houston

235,056

Dallas

231,896

Miami

212,981

Detroit

202,551

Riverside, …

Continue reading Poverty increased 53 percent in suburbs; Atlanta shows biggest increase »

Lilina’s fifth birthday party is this weekend. (I can’t believe she is going to be 5!!! You guys were there for it all — pregnancy and birth!!) And, I am trying to decide whether to have her open presents at the party or do them later at the house.

We’re doing her party at a playground. I have games planned, a scavenger hunt around the park, a piñata and time built in to play on the playground. I’m also making cupcakes. I lean toward letting her open the presents at the park in front of her friends. That’s the way we always did it when we were little, but somewhere along the way parents stopped doing that.

I can’t decide why parents stopped letting their kids open the presents at the party. Here are some possibilities:

1.  Too time consuming? The other kids got restless.

2.  Made the other kids jealous?

3.  The other kids wanted to then play with their new stuff?

4.  Too time consuming when you’re paying for a venue – did this happen when people started …

Continue reading Do you open birthday presents at the kid’s party? »

I fell asleep and ended up watching “Modern Family” a day late! Even though I am behind on the topic, I still thought it would be fun to discuss “Monsterating!”

In the episode dad Phil’s worst nightmare comes true: All of the ladies (mom and two teen daughters) get their periods on the same day. Their cycles have synched and Phil and his son are horrified by this prospect. The girls are moody, emotional and foggy headed. Phil describes it to his son and nephew as “Monsterating!”

Dad Phil says just tip-toe around it! Never discuss with the women that they are being emotional, irrational or the fact that they are menstruating.

Claire, the mom, tells the camera that Phil is dead wrong. She wants him just to acknowledge it.

I couldn’t get the stupid video player to load correctly on the blog so I am having to give you links to follow. The first link is a mash-up from AOL video of a scene where it comes out that Phil and the son are afraid of the “Monsterating.”

But …

Continue reading ‘Modern Family’ takes on the horror of ‘Monsterating!’ »

It was long believed that women were born with a lifetime supply of eggs, which were depleted by menopause. But a new paper from Massachusetts General Hospital suggests egg production may continue into adulthood. The study is published in the March issue of Nature Medicine.

Researchers have isolated stem cells from adult human ovaries that can mature into eggs and may be capable of fertilization.

From HealthDay:

“Dr. Avner Hershlag, chief of the Center for Human Reproduction at North Shore-LIJ Health System in Manhasset, N.Y., said the study is ‘exciting’ but emphasized the work is still very preliminary.”

“This is experimental,” Hershlag said. “This is a beginning of perhaps something that could bring in new opportunities, but it’s going to be a long time in my estimation until clinically we’ll be able to actually have human eggs created from stem cells that make babies….”

“[Lead study author Jonathan Tilly, director of the hospital’s Vincent Center for Reproductive …

Continue reading Too old to have a baby? Stem cell finding could extend a woman’s egg supply »

There is a very odd story on Yahoo News about how the Chinese government is going to be softening it’s messages, although not it’s policy, about families only having one child. Obviously we all know about the one-child policy in China but I have never read their PR campaign for it. It is shocking!

From Yahoo News:

“People’s Daily cites several examples of “harsh slogans,” including those “which sometimes even threaten criminal acts.” The newly instituted program, slugged the “face-washing project,” will offer more proactive slogans to help enforce the policy, which has been in place since 1979. China claims the policy, which applies to those living in urban areas, affects approximately 35.9 percent of the population and has resulted in an estimated 400 million fewer births since first being implemented…”

“Some examples of the more offensive slogans currently in use include:

‘If you don’t receive the tubal ligation surgery by the deadline, your house will be …

Continue reading Shocking slogans from Chinese government to ‘help’ families have just one child »