Good Deeds 2012: Week 20 Paid Maternity Leave For All U.S. Women

Good Deed: Signed the change.org petition to encourage Congress to ensure paid maternity leave for all women. 

Most of my friends haven't been able to take a paid maternity leave. I receive six weeks fully paid and then use vacation, sick, and personal time to make up the additional six weeks. Compared to most people, this is generous. (Matt doesn't receive a single day of paid paternity leave, might I add.)

Many people rely on Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to just ensure they can take 12 weeks off and still have a job, but this doesn't guarantee any pay. I used to think that everyone was covered by FMLA, but that's not the case... There are tons of loop holes. Many women face losing their jobs for wanting to take time off after they have their baby.

Compared to just about every other country, the U.S. does not value working families or protect and and/or provide for working mothers. It's true. And it's terrible. Do yourself a favor and read this blog post. It's worth EVERY word. It's well written, personal, packed with information, and totally awesome. Just read it.

Then sign the petition.

What was your good deed this week?

Happy Mother's Day Times... THREE

Today was my fourth Mother's Day and it was gorgeous. We didn't get to do a ton of fun stuff because recovery from my appendectomy has been more difficult lately and I was really sore today. I've probably been pushing myself too much, but it's hard not to when you have two kids and a full-time job.

Anyway... I had a great time with Matt and the boys. And what made today even more amazing... Not only am I a mom of two awesome boys, but come late October I'll be a mom to THREE. Yes, I am 16 weeks pregnant. Things are about to get a lot more crazy around here!

So, while he's still our baby, here's a photo of B looking all sweet for you to gush over...

Good Deeds 2012: Week 19 National Association of Letter Carrier's Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive

 
Good Deed: Donating a grocery bag of non-perishable foods to National Association of Letter Carriers's Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.

Did you hear that Saturday, May 12th will be the nation's largest single-day food drive? And you don't even have to leave your house. This is the 20th year that the National Association of Letter Carriers have held this drive and in 2011 they collected 70.2 million pounds of donated food.

To take part, leave your bag of non-perishable food at your door on Saturday. Your friendly mail person will collect the food and deliver to the local food bank or pantry.

Consider these hunger statistics from Feeding America based on their 2011 Annual Report:

• 1 in 6 Americans are facing hunger.
• 1 in 8 Americans are currently serviced by Feeding America.
• 1 in 6 Americans live at or below the poverty line.
• Nearly 49 million Americans, including more than 16 million children, are facing hunger.
• 5.7 million Americans are served by the Feeding America network everyday.

I can't imagine having to worry about feeding my children. It's something I can't even comprehend and breaks my heart. Can you? Make a difference and leave some cans out on Saturday.

Note: I am in no way affiliated with Feeding America, nor was I compensated for this post.

Produce Delivery Overwhelmed Me This Week, So I Meal Planned

Remember this year started with some serious meal planning determination? Yeah, me too... And then I got tired and busy and lost my enthusiasm. But, last week I decided to place an order with Artizone and use a Ripe Organics deal that I purchased a while back to give me a reason to plan and cook again.

Silly me, I scheduled an Artizone order, which also included a small box of organic produce from The Green Grocer (which was delivered on Monday):

Fennel, rhubarb, asparagus, apples, strawberries, portabella mushrooms and red leaf lettuce

And I redeemed my purchase of a small box of organic produce from Ripe Organics (which was delivered on Tuesday):

Cauliflower, bananas, apples, broccoli, potatoes, oranges, romaine lettuce, and green onions

We also went to Whole Foods on Sunday. So, basically, we're overwhelmed by produce - fresh, organic, cannot-be-wasted produce. Here is how I'm getting through it:

Monday: Chefdruck's Simple Roast Beef with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli
Tuesday: Shrimp cocktail and a red lettuce and fennel salad
Wednesday: Vegetable fajitas (portabella mushrooms, asparagus, green onion, red and green peppers) and vanilla ice cream with strawberry-rhubarb mint compote for dessert
Thursday: Baked chicken breast cutlets with roasted cauliflower and salad
Friday: Lentil soup

And, for the record, mixed boxes of organic produce is totally the way to go! It's surprisingly inexpensive and I'm very happy with the quality of what we received! We're looking for a CSA for the summer, but I would recommend either The Green Grocer or Ripe Organics, neither compensated me in any way.

We're Not Religious, But We're Faithful

For From Left to Write Book Club we read I Am Forbidden by Anouk Markovits, an amazing book that introduced me to the world of the Hasidic faith and made me consider my own. This post is inspired by the book.

I'm not really the religious type. My parents attempted to raise me Catholic, but everything in my being always seem to revolt against it. We weren't an especially religious family and rarely actually attended church when it wasn't a holiday or due to a streak of guilt. Matt was baptized Catholic, but that was the extent of his involvement with a church. We're both what I've heard called "recovering Catholics."

We didn't get married in a church. We hired an officiant, who was an Unitarian minister, and included very little mention of God in our ceremony. W was not baptized. At the age of three he has yet to even enter a church. I don't question these decisions. But, when B was born, I started to question my beliefs... Is this it? We live, we create people we love dearly, and then we die? Is that what I really believe? Because, maaaaan, that is super depressing, right?

I was dealing with my own mortality, yes. (It's not lost on me that I had a son named Beckett and then suddenly seemed to have my own "Waiting for Godot" experience...) It's not faith that I'm looking for, because we're faithful people. We believe in doing good. We believe in being truthful. We believe in treating others well. We live with a strong moral compass and are raising our children to do the same. We don't cheat, we don't lie, we don't steal, or do any of the other things that most religions command you not to do. But, are we religious? No. Do we have a general sense of faith that I can't describe? Yes.

So, I asked myself some questions that I haven't before:

Are we looking for a church? Not right now.

Might we in the future? Possibly.

Do I feel like my childhood religion experience added anything to my life? Not really.

Do I feel like my children could gain something from being involved in a religion? Possibly.

I'm not opposed to religion, but as a friend so eloquently said to me recently: "Churches have very little to do with faith or religion these days." And he's right. If we choose a religion, it has to be a place that would feel like home, that would include teachings I would be pleased to share with my children, that was built on core beliefs that I share. We don't need a church or religion to raise good people, but it might be nice to meet people who share our views. I see the opportunity that churches give to volunteer, participate in family activities, and meet like-minded people, but I also see plenty of not-very-good people hiding behind church and religion. So, for now, we'll continue to raise good people who may not step into a church for a few more years. And I'm ok with that.

This post is inspired by I AM FORBIDDEN by Anouk Markovits. Though not sisters by blood but through their Hasidic faith, Mila and Atara views the rules and structure of their culture differently. Mila seeks comfort in the Torah while Atara searches for answers in secular literature she is forbidden to read. Ultimately each must make an irrevocable decision that will change their lives forever. Join From Left to Write on May 8 as we discuss I AM FORBIDDEN. As a member, I received a copy of the book for review purposes.

Good Deeds 2012: Week 18 OneSight

Good Deed: Donating an old pair of eye glasses to OneSight.

I buy new glasses about once every ten years. That time came a couple of years ago when I developed an ulcer on my cornea from over-wearing old contacts. I was grounded and had to spend two months in glasses. It was my prompt to get new specs and in that time I learned that my eyes are much more comfortable after a day in glasses and I have embraced my specs like I never imagined possible. I've even overcome astigmatism in each of my eyes (no joke!).

Anyway, so I tend to keep my old glasses as back up just in case the current pair goes down or something like that... But, seriously, my old glasses are so bad, I will never, ever wear them again. So, tomorrow I'm going to take them to LensCrafters and donate them to OneSight, a family of vision care programs dedicated to restoring and preserving clear vision to those in need through outreach, research and education, in order to hand-deliver the gift of sight to those in need worldwide.

I have very nice glasses with scratch-free, transition lenses (someone will appreciate that, right?), and are just begging to help someone regain their vision just sitting in a drawer.  It's time for them to go.

According to OneSight, 284 million children and adults suffer from poor vision because they lack access to proper eye care and eyewear. More than 2 million pairs of glasses are needed each year to support the amount of people in their Global Clinics, which give free eyewear, eye exams and the ability to live a fuller life. Makes that back-up pair of glasses in your drawer sound a little unnecessary, huh?

What was your good deed this week?

Note: I am in no way affiliated with OneSight, nor was I compensated for this post. All information was found on their website.

Do You Need An Appendix? This Week I Learned NOPE!

Things have been painfully quiet on the blog, which means the opposite in life usually... And this past week brought us the proof we needed that you do not in fact need an appendix. I know this because I no longer have mine.

I can get into the story later, but for now I want to take a moment to let you know that having an appendix removed and two children under the age of three doesn't work so well.

Here's why:
1. You're not supposed to lift anything more than 10 pounds for six weeks post-surgery. 
2. You are really tired during recovery and need some quiet.
3. It's hard to make kids understand why you can't lift them, put them to bed, or why they can't dive bomb you.
4. Showing your wounds to a 3 year-old kind of freaks him out... Even when you think he'll think it's cool.
5. If you have one centrally-located television and don't like to watch inappropriate shows in front of your kids, it's hard to just veg out and watch bad reality tv. 

But, there is one thing I can tell you... If you are lucky enough to have an awesome husband and great family, you will not lift a finger. I have not had to cook, clean, do laundry, perform bedtime or bathing rituals, load/unload the dishwasher, wake up early, or do just about anything. It's been kind of nice (if not making me totally stir crazy) and it's been much needed to recover.

And, apparently, lifting a finger even includes writing a more in-depth post about my appendectomy, which I'll get into later. For now, I need to go rest up and see if there are some Real Housewives on.