Read and Think: Mommy Wars

Today's post has nothing to do with my apartment and everything to do with the home I wish to someday create. Have you heard about the "mommy wars"? Everyone from Ann Romney to Time magazine has gotten pulled into the debate one way or the other. Work full-time or stay-at-home? Breast-feed or use formula? If you breast feed, for how long? Do you let your kid cry it out or let them sleep in your bed? To spank or not to spank? To ground or not to ground? So many issues that we can disagree about, and ultimately, it all feels so counter-feminist to me, so unproductive. As a working woman who (currently) plans to continue working for awhile, I wrestle with the very idea of the choices I'll face when I have children. But isn't the very goal of feminism — and of equality — that I get to make that decision? I'm not naive enough to believe that I can be at every carpool, bring every forgotten lunch or tuck them in every night if I work 5 days a week. But maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to work and be the mother I hope to one day be. We'll see.

Back to School Project: Crayonspiration

(Photo by saruhh01)

As a child, I used to obsess over my school supplies. Every time I got a new box of crayons or markers, I would dump them out and put the pieces back in the box—in rainbow order. The pinnacle of achievement was when Crayola started making boxes with 96 crayons. (My brother, for some reason, found it the pinnacle of annoyance to watch me organize.)

A 5th-grade Boy's Valentine

A friend of mine who is a teacher posted this on her facebook page today. Each of her 5th-grade students decorated their own bags to put their Valentines in from classmates. Apparently, this boy has already gotten his heart broken...