quick clicks

moms today articles

moms today q&a

message boards

research baby names

prepare a birth plan

content channels

ip channel rss feeds

read birth stories

read parenting stories

recommended books

e-newsletters

safety recalls

ip diaries

ip store

mom of the month

dad of the month

editor's letter

letters to the editor

Bridgett's Diary Entries Diary Navigation: Choose A Diary Entry -------------------- Latest Entry: 7/2/08 -------------------- 10/22/07 7/19/07 4/21/07 3/13/07 2/20/07 1/6/07 10/25/06 9/6/06 8/28/06 7/25/06 7/12/06 6/26/06 6/14/06 6/5/06 -------------------- Bridgett's Introduction

We're back him in NC and a little something to share....

July 25, 2006

Yes, we are finally back home in North Carolina. I don't think I ever really appreciated Jacksonville for some reason until our trip back home to Ohio this time. For some reason this past trip it made me realize just how bad things are back home where I grew up. I guess I should define my meaning of bad for you. In the town I grew up in or the town we were considered to be a resident of ,even though we lived a mile outside the official town limits, things are just rundown and nasty. The town just seems so dirty, for the lack of a better word. It is just almost on eye sore. The neighboring towns are really the same way for the most part. Cambridge, the town we had to go to for almost everything, which is about 10 miles away, has had some new growth with the Super Walmart, that opened up before I moved from up there, and the area around it has grown and new businesses and such have been built, but the main part of the town and the older shopping areas are just rundown and alot of the businesses have closed down and it just looks abandoned almost.

So, even though Jacksonville is a big step down from where we lived in Summerville, SC and Charleston where I worked and the neighboring town of North Charleston, it really is not all that bad. At least Jax is not as bad as the area I came from in OH ,and I now appreciate it much more here.

With that being said ,I am going to end my entry for right now. My Mom came back down  with us and  I do not want to spend much time on the computer. I will be spending time doing things with she and the kids, and therefore more details of our trip back home will be forthcoming in future entires at a later point. It is also very nice to have the convenience of my high-speed internet too, so my entries will be much faster when I get to doing them and I should also have all the editing features too!

Here are a few pictures of the kids at the beach in OH and from our trip to the ocean the other day after we got back.

 I also wanted to share with you this article a Mom in my JaxMommies group shared with us. I thought it was really cute!

Women, Especially Mothers, Should Be Kinder to Each Other

There are three things about which most women are highly sensitive: their
weight, their hair color, and their children. If you want to see smoke come
out of a woman's ears (and I strongly advise against this; these types of
dangerous experiments should only be left to a trained professional - such
as the woman's mother) try telling her something like, "Wow, little Suzie is
just now starting to walk? My Johnny took his first steps when he was eleven
months old." Or, if you really want to be daring, try telling her that you
not only smashed and pureed your child's baby food, you grew the sweet
potatoes, green beans and bananas in your back yard. Then say, "Oh, and your
hair looks orange."

You can tell a woman that her cookies taste like cardboard and her living
room carpet smells like urine, but God forbid you should suggest that she's
put on a few pounds or that her son isn't developing like the rest of his
peers.

For centuries, humanity has believed that politics and religion are taboo
subjects. Apparently no one asked the females of our species. Because if
they had, women would have said that the subjects such as homeschooling and
pregnancy weight are mine fields that can destroy even the best of
friendships.

Judging by the emails I receive and the conversations I overhear at Spouse
Club meetings and so forth, the most likely offenders of these delicate
subjects are (1) other women - mostly, new mothers, (2) family - either the
kind you can't deny because you look just like them, or in-laws, whom you
theoretically can deny but it will make Thanksgivings and Christmases a
living.well, you know, and (3) well-meaning but hormonally flawed husbands.

Heaven help the man who comes home from work and tells his wife,
"So-and-so's wife does an educational craft with her children every
Wednesday. Isn't that neat?" First of all, anyone named "so-and-so" is not
to be trusted. Secondly, a mother can SAY she does an educational craft with
her children every Wednesday, but define "educational. " And last, any
husband who foolishly comes home and says such a thing to his wife deserves
to have his Xbox bound and gagged with construction paper and glue.

I was reminded of this phenomenon recently when I was almost-but for the
hair of my chinny chin chin-dragged into a parenting debate with someone who
is not even a mother yet. (Oops, let's add that one to the list, preferably
up high The number one offender: women who don't have children.) Now, I'm a
reasonably sane person who's somewhat in control of my emotions (Really! I
am! Just ask Dust.no wait, ask my mom..no, better ask Leslie.or..oh well,
just trust me). But when my parenting skills were analyzed by someone who
hasn't lived with a five-year old boy yet, I went ballistic. Then I calmed
down and realized I also had grand ideas before I was a parent. I remember
saying I'd never bribe my children with food or toys. Last week I spent $20
on toy trains to encourage Owen (3) to use the potty. Before I was a parent,
I said I'd never let my children eat junk food. These days it isn't a
stretch for me to assume that ketchup and Pop Tarts are completely
wholesome.

Which reminds me of a great "Everybody Loves Raymond" episode, "The Angry
Family." Ray and Deborah are called in for a parent-teacher conference after
their son writes a story portraying his family as angry. Deborah tells the
teacher, "until you have lived in that house with all of them.day after day,
week after week, year after friggin' year, you are in no position to judge
me!"

And this basically is at the heart of every woman's sensitivities. Until
you've had two pregnancies in two years, don't criticize another mother's
weight. Until you've had a bad dye-job and had to bleach and then dye your
hair again to get it to a "normal" color, don't judge another woman's orange
hair. And until you've lived with a child who throws a temper tantrum just
because his underwear is too lose or his shoes are the wrong feet, don't
judge another mother who's flipping out in the middle of the mall.

If we could all keep our advice and commentary to ourselves, and follow
these simple little rules, the world - or at least its women - would be much
happier. And no one would have to see another mother's head turn around and
shoot smoke out the ears.

*(Sarah Smiley's syndicated column, Shore Duty, appears weekly in newspapers
and magazines across the country. She is the daughter and wife of two Navy
pilots, and has 28 years of experience as a military dependent. Next year,
Penguin/New American Library will release her memoirs. Check Out
www.SarahSmiley. com for more details and updates.)

Thanks for reading!