My daughter is a cherubic 16-month-old. She is bright, energetic, curious, independent and already knows several words in English and Spanish. Yet I worry that I’m not doing enough to stimulate her intellectual growth. When she was 6 months old, I looked into Gymboree classes. “Doesn’t this music class sound fun?” I asked my husband, […] Continue reading →

Living in California, the huge news today is the rallies, marches, protests and walkouts over immigration reform. Up and down the state, people are skipping work, keeping their kids home from school, marching with thousands and boycotting all purchases to make a statement about the role that immigrants play in keeping our economy humming. My […] Continue reading →

I’m 30 years old. But that’s not old, right?! Yes, I’m a wife, and a mommy, and a homeowner with a 401K. But I’m still sort of with it. I know about Reggaeton, Rihanna, and Rocawear. I even know my way around MySpace, the hugely popular social networking website where just about everybody under 21 […] Continue reading →

Confession time: I love reality shows. Most of the time, I like to consider myself an intellectual, literature lovin’ mama, but sometimes there’s nothing better than tuning in to some mindless TV. I’m not as bad as I used to be: I’m totally over “Survivor” and “American Idol.” My three mainstays are “The Amazing Race,” […] Continue reading →

Even as they became the trendy, cool thing to get, I was never much interested in tattoos. Where I grew up, only gang girls got tattoos, usually in elaborate Old English lettering. Three dots on the wrist, which stands for “Mi Vida Loca,” or a single black teardrop below an eye were not uncommon. So, […] Continue reading →

As a (relatively) new mother, I get catalogs. Lots of catalogs. I’m not even sure how or why it happened, but if there’s a baby-related catalog out there, chances are it’s stuffing my mailbox even as I write this. I rarely succumb to actually buying stuff, but I do love to peruse these periodic publications. […] Continue reading →

During my first days as a mother, the very last thing I thought of was myself. I was focused on my baby: was she wet? Was she sleeping? Was she hungry? Was she cold? I focused on my home: were all her tiny baby clothes in order? Were her bottles washed? Was the living room […] Continue reading →

Today, I decided to take an overdue look at reality. I am 14 months postpartum. And I weigh 159 pounds. That is 12 pounds more than my pre-pregnancy weight of 147. And a full 19 pounds more than my “ideal” weight of 140 pounds. Well fellow MotherTalkers, it’s time to do something about it. My […] Continue reading →

I went back to work full-time when my daughter was just 5 months old. But even during my maternity leave, I was never really alone with her. First, my mom came to help out for a while. Then, my husband took some time off. On his first day back at work, he was unceremoniously laid […] Continue reading →

Well, I guess it was just a matter of time. The National Center for Men today filed a lawsuit in Michigan on behalf of 25-year-old computer programmer Matt Dubay. It seems Matt has been ordered to pay child support for a daughter he fathered with his ex-girlfriend, and Matt is crying, “No fair!” A snippet […] Continue reading →