in the rain Sunday afternoon at Discovery Green, ushering in a deluge. The music stopped and the kids started. They played in the rain with extreme delight, exhibiting a fervor that I suspect is reserved solely for children.
Current Events
September 08, 2009
Spain Colored Orange Rocked
September 01, 2009
Huzzah Huzzah for Hubby Hubby
In support of Freedom to Marry, Ben & Jerry's is changing the name of their ice cream flavor Chubby Hubby to Hubby Hubby for the month of September. The citizens of Grrrlville commend this clever strategy of combining activism and ice cream. Thanks, Ben! Thanks, Jerry!
August 31, 2009
Bedtime Stories
I *heart* rituals, and the bedtime story ritual is one of my favorites. I also like this book; have you read "And Tango Makes Three" yet? It's a true story about the two daddy penguins who had a baby in the Central Park Zoo.
June 28, 2009
Dock Dogs!
Today you can see the Houston finals at Discovery Green.
June 17, 2009
June 10, 2009
Fun Running the 1K for Kids
This year both Pearl and Carrie wanted to run in our neighborhood 1K race. Pearl faced the event with great fear last year, but this year she seemed more at ease.
Carrie was thrilled to get to run this year. She has admired Pearl's ribbon all year long. She wears it like a necklace some days and believes that because of this medal, Pearl is a hero. That's what Carrie wants to be when she grows up, a super hero! So she has had this race on her radar for quite some time.
Carrie felt confident she would win in the 14 and under age bracket. Marcia waited for her at the halfway point turnaround. Carrie was walking by then and cried when she spotted Mama. Marcia asked her, "What's the matter, Carrie?" Carrie shook her head sadly, saying, "My super powers failed me."
Despite this setback, Carrie crossed the finish line in due time, and received a ribbon. It was exactly like Pearl's!
May 10, 2009
May 06, 2009
Question of the Day: Popping the Question
What's up with same-sex marriage? Suddenly all 50 states are rushing to legalize it? Has the great race for equality finally kicked in? I'm rubbing my eyes as I cruise the news. Should I start saving up for the big W? This is not really something that I've been anticipating.Where would I begin? Help!
March 08, 2009
Go Texan for the Rodeo Season
In some places there are seasons like autumn, winter, or spring. In lack of those, Houston has come up with its own. The last three weeks of March mean the blooming of the azaleas and the rodeo. Since it's tricky to dress up as an azalea, pretty much every school in Houston celebrates the rodeo instead.
February 26, 2009
Congrats to All the Winners
Here's a loud shout out to all the winners of the TLL Lezzy Awards for 2009. Hooray, hooray!
Best Lesbian Entertainment/Culture Blog: Dorothy Surrenders
Best Lesbian Humor Blog: Grace the Spot
Best Lesbian Parenting/Wedding Blog: Lesbian Dad
Best Lesbian Feminism/Political Blog: Pam’s House Blend
Best Lesbian Personal Blog: This Girl Called Automatic Win
Best Lesbian 50 and Over Blog: just eat your cupcake
Best Lesbian Gender Bender Blog: Sugarbutch Chronicles
Best Lesbian Sex/Short Story/Erotica Blog: Sugarbutch Chronicles
Lesbian Overall Blog of the Year: Dorothy Surrenders
Congratulation, bloggers! And thanks to our friends at TLL for organizing the awards and bringing the community together around these great blogs!
February 16, 2009
Thanks, Bloggers and Readers
Just wanted to thank everyone for participating in the What About Love blog carnival in celebration of Freedom the Marry Week 2009. It's been great to read the many different responses to the Some/things. My favorite part about the carnival was the sharing of stories. Stories are the fabric of our community, and whether we've actually met in person or not, we unite virtually when we share them, both as writers and as readers.
Over the past week during the carnival I've been traveling and have probably missed some of your posts. Please leave comments where I have omitted your link or need to correct it.
February 12, 2009
What About Love: Some/thing Borrowed
When it comes to outfitting the kids, I love hand-me-downs. I love that they're free and easy, of course. That's a given. But mostly I love them because they're full of stories.
The red shirt that Carrie is wearing in this picture first belonged to her cousin Max. He's 15 now. Red was and still is his favorite color. Then it was his sister Sarah's, then Pearl's, and now it's Carrie's. I look at it and remember my niece and nephew. I remember how they grow up so fast--Max is already 5'10"! Perhaps this is overly sentimental on my part, but I really see the shirt as a connection from one kid to the next. Sibling to cousin to friend, and on down the line.
88888
Note: This post is part of a blog carnival celebrating Freedom to Marry Week 2009. Feel free to write your own post on your blog or facebook page. Then leave the link to your "something new" post, and I will share it with the group. Check out the other posts on this topic:
About.com Lesbian Life by Kathy Belge
Susan Naomi Bernstein on Facebook
The Longest Road - Yet Untraveled
February 11, 2009
What About Love: Some/thing New
We have a new pup named Cody. He was a sweet little Jekyll of a boy until exactly 3 weeks after his arrival. On day 22 he transformed himself into 100% pure Hyde-bound hell-on-paws animal chaos. Grrrlville was pretty chaotic before we adopted this fellow. What were we thinking?
Cody has a lot of Marley in him. He aspires to bipedalism. He loves fun and food, and his definition of both of this items is extremely broad. He's scared of Moriah and water. Pearl and Carrie adore him. When visitors arrive as our door, Carrie warns, in the loudest voice she can muster: HE'S NOT TRAINED. She's right about that.
Cody loves the chill winter days. He runs awkwardly, in an unpredictable lope, gulping down gallons of wind and chasing the brittle leaves. He is my boy.
88888
Note: This post is part of a blog carnival celebrating Freedom to Marry Week 2009. Feel free to write your own post on your blog or facebook page. Then leave the link to your "something new" post, and I will share it with the group. Check out the other posts on this topic:
About.com Lesbian Life by Kathy Belge
Susan Naomi Bernstein on Facebook
The Birmingham-Luther Family Blog
The Longest Road - Yet Untraveled
SoCal Mom by Donna Schwartz Mills
February 10, 2009
What About Love: Some/thing Old
Our cat Moriah is 20 years old. That's 96 for you or me. Or am I presuming too much? Perhaps there are a few cats who read this blog? You never know. My teacher, the poet Adam Zagajewski, knew my cat when she was a newborn kitten. He and Moriah were neighbors. He begged me, Robin, teach this cat to read before it's too late!
I dare say it is now officially too late. At 20 Moriah is not taught; she teaches. And she is one stern taskmaster. Cody the pup is terrified of her. The rest of us play it cool, but we inevitably do exactly what she says.
I never really wanted a cat. As a kid I was frightened of cats myself. But something happens when the cat in question is yours. In other words, one might fear or dislike CATS but still like one cat in particular. Does that make sense?
Moriah was a gift, one given, not one received. My partner wanted a cat for her birthday. Twenty years later the partner is long gone but the cat remains. For whatever reason, I do love her.
Once when Moriah was a kitten I wrote this description of her:
The marks on her face look like a mask. Who is she? Sometimes she leaves for days. Her eyes send out beams of light into the night. She is a hunter. And then she returns to me, small ball at my chest, kneading, needing.
Although it's been many years since Moriah has done any of these things, the magic is still in her. If you know her, you know what I mean.
88888
Note: This post is part of a blog carnival celebrating Freedom to Marry Week 2009. Leave the link to your "something old" post and I will share it with the group. Check out some of the other posts on this topic:
About.com Lesbian Life w/ Kathy Belge
Melissa Beattie-Moss on Facebook
Susan Bernstein on Facebook
The Birmingham-Luther Family Blog
I probably think this blog is about me
Life induces thoughts, mostly random
The Longest Road - Yet Untraveled
SoCal Mom by Donna Schwartz Mills
February 09, 2009
What About Love: The Bloggers
You can join the blog carnival at any time until Feb. 14. This list will be updated throughout the week. To be added, leave a comment with your url. For the blog carnival guidelines, click here.
Melissa Beattie-Moss on Facebook
Susan Naomi Bernstein on Facebook
The Birmiingham-Luther Family Blog
I probably think this blog is about me
Justin's Girl on MySpace
Knot so Different: The Aisle Less Taken
Life induces thoughts, mostly random
The Longest Road - Yet Untraveled
Happy Freedom to Marry Week 2009
It's Freedom to Marry week, and equality is what it's all about. The nonprofit group Freedom to Marry has organized activities throughout the week that encourage dialogue between all people.
“Conversations with the circles of people around us are the prerequisite to winning, the key to helping them push past their discomfort, complacency, or indifference to becoming supportive of our equality.”
--Evan Wolfson, Freedom to Marry Executive Director
In order to facilitate these conversations, Freedom to Marry is sponsoring a number of programs,
including 7 Conversations in 7 Days. If you are a blogger, you can kick off the week by joining the blogswarm. Visit Mombian for more information on that.
As you may know, I am organizing a blog carnival this week, as part of the celebration, and YOU are invited. This afternoon I'll post a list of everyone who is planning to participate, so if you haven't done so already, please let me know. Here's the schedule:
Tuesday, Feb. 10... Something Old
Wednesday, Feb. 11... Something New
Thursday, Feb. 12... Something Borrowed
Friday, Feb. 13... Something Blue
Saturday, Feb. 14... Valentine's Day: Celebrate Love
For more complete guidelines, click here.
February 05, 2009
What About Love: Let's Celebrate
Next week is Freedom to Marry Week. Who wants to celebrate LOVE?
I hope you will join me in this blog carnival, which we began last year. The way it works is simple. Each day next week, post to your blog or facebook page something on these topics, according to the "olde" wedding tradition:
Tuesday, Feb. 10... Something Old
Wednesday, Feb. 11... Something New
Thursday, Feb. 12... Something Borrowed
Friday, Feb. 13... Something Blue
Saturday, Feb. 14... Valentine's Day: Celebrate Love
You can post a photo, a memory, a poem, some music, or a combination. Try to surprise us. And once you're done with your post, if you leave a link in the comment section, everyone will be able to check out what you've done.
Feel free to link to The Other Mother, using the "Something" badge. If you're not a blogger, you can participate by leaving a comment. I will be posting links to all contributions here. Just leave the URL as a comment. You can participate all week or whenever you have the time. I'll start by compiling a list of participants, so let me know if you're "in".
If you want to make your story easy to find, use the keyword something2009 .
January 31, 2009
Charlie Chaplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Pearl
Ever since we noticed that Obama is left-handed, we’ve been thinking about our older daughter Pearl. She came out of the womb favoring her left hand. In her first Montessori class at 6 months old, the instructor noticed that Pearl would start her crawl with her left leg. We were impressed, but we’d already guessed as much. She grabbed the cat’s ears with her left hand, made the sign to breastfeed with her left hand, and waved goodbye to us with her left hand.
Pearl and Carrie's donor is left-handed, so we guess that’s where she got it. Of course, Marcia claims that she had something to do with it because she has always dreamed of being left-handed. She associates left-handedness with creativity and originality. I told Marcia that my brother and sister are left-handed, so maybe I should get the credit.
Regardless of who is responsible, Marcia and I both feel it’s a good thing. After all, Pearl has some great role models: Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Helen Keller, Charlie Chaplin, Jay Leno, Mark Twain, Lewis Carroll, Carol Burnett, Paul Simon, James Baldwin, Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney, Dick Van Dyke, Kurt Cobain, Angelina Jolie, Diego Maradona, Mark Spitz, John McEnroe, and of course, Bart Simpson.
Are YOU left-handed? Any thoughts on left-handedness?
January 09, 2009
Mombian Fans Only
If you're a Mombian fan, you can vote for that very great lesbian mom blog today. They've been nominated Best Large Blog in the Weblog Awards!
January 08, 2009
Top Posts at The Other Mother in 2008
10. She Is - Pearl's Birth Announcement (March 2004) includes a recipe for smothered okra!
9. Birthday Rap - Marcia's Song for Robin's Birthday (September 2008)
8. Question of the Day: Politics and the English Language (October 2008) your thoughts on the BIden/Palin debate
6. Meet the Blogger: Polly Pagenhart of LesbianDad
5. A Costume Question (October 2004)
4. Reader Appreciation Day (April 2008) introducing a meme for bloggers to thank the readers
1. She Was Really Saying Something (Feb. 2008) introducing a meme to celebrate Freedom to Marry week
December 29, 2008
November 04, 2008
October 24, 2008
The L Word Season 5 DVD Giveaway
I am organizing a DVD giveaway for Other Mother readers. At the end of October and the beginning of November, I will be giving away 9 of the Complete Season 5 DVD sets of The L Word. You will have three different opportunities to win. Stay tuned.
October 23, 2008
The Early Voter Catches the....ex-President
This week the polls in Texas are open for early voters, and Marcia
decided to check that all-American item off of her to-do list today. Pearl asked her to wait until after preschool so that she could come along. She said she was interested in the presidential race and wanted to vote too.
One of the polling places is located near the girls' school, so after the 11:30 a.m. pick-up, they went there and got into the rather long line to wait. Just ahead of them was former President and First Lady George and Barbara Bush. Carrie didn't care who was in the line. She found a chair pushed up against the wall and played with her toy dinosaurs for the half hour. But Marcia introduced herself and Pearl. Mr. Bush pointed his cane in Pearl's direction and said, "Hey there, little feller."
As you know, we're not republicans, but still it's kind of exciting to get to meet a former president. This afternoon when I asked Pearl about voting, she said she was pretty disappointed. Why was that? I asked. Well, she said, there were no runners, and we never got to see the race.
October 20, 2008
8 Against 8: Promoting Equality for California
Starting today eight lesbian bloggers are launching 8 Against 8, an eight-day collaborative online fundraising drive to defeat Proposition 8, a ballot initiative that seeks to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in the State of California. The campaign aims to raise both funds and awareness. Visit the 8 bloggers and support Equality California.
The 8 Against 8 campaign donation page is located right here.
October 15, 2008
Blog Action Day 2008: Understanding Poverty
Often my own response to poverty--my response to seeing a person who's homeless or begging or sleeping on cardboard--is to avert my eyes. This reaction is a complex one which involves judgment and respect and fear and shame. Rather than processing what I've witnessed, I often move mentally a.s.a.p. to an new idea. Pretty much any idea will do.
The exhibit currently showing at DiverseWorks in Houston is called Understanding Poverty. With photography by Ben Tecumseh Desoto and text by Ann Walton Sieber, the exhibit provides us a way to examine our reactions to poverty in a safe space so that we do in fact understand better. Understanding poverty will not solve the problem but it's a smart place to start.
What:
Understanding Poverty
Photographs by Ben Tecumseh DeSoto
Words by Ann Walton Sieber
Curated by Clint Willour
Works by Sarah Whatley Ayers & Forrest Prince
Where:
DiverseWorks, Houston, TX
When:
September 19 - November 1, 2008
@@@@@@@@@
Special Request:
If you blogged about poverty for Blog Action Day 2008, would you please leave the link so that we can read your post? Thanks!
October 08, 2008
In the Offing
Coming soon to The Other Mother:
- National Coming Out Day, October 11
- Blog Action Day, October 15
- The L Word Season 5 DVD Giveaway, late October - early November
Details forthcoming!
September 23, 2008
September 11, 2008
Hurricane Watch
I am trying to like IKE, but he doesn't seem very trustworthy, does he?
Houston is all a scurry, with everyone stocking up on everything. It's hard to ignore the feeling of frenzy with the 10 car lines at the gas stations and the folks making mad dashes down the aisles of the groceries.
Today the agenda is preparation. The city will shut down tomorrow--no school, no work, unless you're part of the emergency service world. We have not been asked to evacuate and are planning to stick it out.
Here's the weekend in a nutshell: get ready, get set, wait!
August 25, 2008
Explaining the Political Parties to Preschoolers
I like to use The Lion King as an analogy for anything more complex than Velcro "shoe laces." Think of it this way, I said to Carrie and Pearl: Scar is a Republican, and Mufasa is a Democrat. Enough said?
This Blog Won
For Local BlogConnect with Robin
Search The Other Mother
Pearl is Reading
Carrie's "A" List
Brought to you by
- © by Robin Reagler 2004-2009
How To Find Me
Blog Roll
- Adamant Sun
- Addition Problems
- All about baby
- Backyard Musings
- Bread and Bread
- BrenWorld
- City Mama
- Crunchy Granola
- Daddy, Papa & Me
- Domestic Product
- Don't Lick The Ferrets
- Dyke Evolution
- Elmonts Online
- Enlanada
- enough grows
- Evil Mommy
- Faggots on the Third Floor
- figboiler
- Fly my Pretty
- Frogblog
- Hahn at Home
- Half Changed World
- Hydrangeas are pretty
- I'm a Mommy Too
- It's All About Balance
- Journey of a Co-Mom
- Julia's Dream
- Kids of Queers
- Lesbian Blogger Extraordinaire
- Lesbian Mommy
- Lesbiandad.net
- Lesboprof
- Life at Chez Smiffy
- Life is messy
- Living my life like it's golden
- Liza Was Here
- Lying Alone Thinking
- Mama's so mindful...or tryin' to be!
- Manifest Green
- Maybe Expectant
- Mayhem and Magic
- Mombian
- Mommapalooza
- Mommies in the making
- Mommy on the Floor
- momtourage
- Name That Mama
- Narrating Kayoz
- Nhamo in paradise
- Of Life, Education, E-bay, Travel & Books
- One Million Things To Be Happy About
- oneofhismoms
- Peter's Cross Station
- Plomise
- RaJenCreation
- Raz-ma-taz
- Riding the Gus bus
- Sagittarius Baby
- Shrike and Whozat
- Somewhere over the Rainbow
- SprogBlog
- Stidmama's Space
- Team Serrins/Springfield
- Teetering Between
- Texas 2 Tennessee
- That Lesbian Mom Next Door
- The Adventures af Saia & Chago
- The Lesbian Lifestyle (TLL)
- The Longest Road
- The Mama Too
- The Muriels
- The pieces of my life
- The Recovering Straight Girl
- The Republic of T.
- this girl called automatic win
- Through a Looking Glass
- Together is a Wonderful Place to Be!
- Travels in Booland
- Twins & a Toddler
- Two Girls One Orca One Pukeko
- Two Hot Mamas
- Two Mommies and a Shmoo
- Two Moms - It can be done!
- Two Moms and a Little Bird
- Up Popped A Fox
- wake up naked
- Weese
- whistling leaf blower
- Writing as Jo(e)
This Blog Won
- The Other Mother was been voted the 2009 Parents' Picks Best Blog in Houston. The contest is sponsored by Go CityKids, a Nickelodeon site.
