Reese Witherspoon Goes Brunette
Posted: April 3, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »One of the most recognizable blondes in Hollywood has gone brunette. Mom-of-three Reese Witherspoon traded her luscious platinum locks for chocolate toned tresses according to People magazine, which has the first photo of the Oscar winner’s new ‘do.
The weekly reports that the star dyed her hair for an upcoming role in a film, The Good Lie. Meanwhile, this new hairstyle is a good look. Witherspoon, who recently turned 37, seems to be able to pull off the dark style despite the fact that she looks amazing as a blonde.
Perhaps the star has learned a few makeup tricks during her time in Hollywood. The first photo of Witherspoon sporting her hazelnut hue reveals that she wears almost no makeup, a natural look that works well with her newly darkened tresses.
Instead, the Water for Elephants actress rocked only the tan she must have worked on during a birthday trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico with her husband Jim Toth.
It must be said that Reese Witherspoon also toted an accessory that would complement any hair color. The star’s son, Tennessee, incidentally sports mom’s naturally light locks and is in one word … adorable.
This is not the first time Witherspoon has darkened her hair for a movie role. To portray June Carter Cash in the film that won her an Academy Award, the talented actress rocked brown hair. Clearly no matter what hue her hair is, this is one Hollywood star who knows how to make it work.
Tell us: Do you like Witherspoon’s hair better blonde or brunette?
Mom Gives Birth on Motorbike
Posted: April 3, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »Here’s a story any mom who has ever given birth will find hard to believe. A woman in Jakarta reportedly delivered a baby while riding on a motorbike in the middle of the city. Oh, and she didn’t even notice.
According to The Jakarta Post the mom labored and ran, er rode, allowing her new baby to bounce on down the road. Luckily a passenger on a nearby bus saw the incident and rescued the baby, taking him or her to a hospital for care. Authorities were then called to find the mom who gives a new definition to the term joyride.
This woman also makes the stars of the reality show “I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant” look like lightweights. Perhaps the motorbike mama would be open to starring in a new series called “I Didn’t Notice I Delivered a Baby.”
As a mom-of-
two who is about to deliver a third baby, I cannot possibly fathom failing to notice that I’d given birth. Delivering a baby is the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced. It is also the most joyful. Sadly this irresponsible mom missed that part of her delivery too.
Incidentally, this has to be the oddest delivery story I have ever heard. It even beats out the tale of mom who had to push out her breech baby on the side of a highway. Yikes!
Meanwhile, I also feel horribly for the baby born this week in Jakarta. What an awful way to enter the world. Hopefully the little one will find a loving home, preferably one that is not on wheels.
Speaking of wheels, might I offer a piece of advice to my fellow pregnant moms? Refrain from riding on motorbikes when you are nearing your due date.
Can you imagine delivering a baby and failing to notice?
Photo credit: Flickr
Best Buy: Original Champion of Work From Home Policy Says No More
Posted: March 7, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »
Best Buy is the second large American company to end its work from home option for employees in just a week. Following Yahoo!‘s decision to enforce face time in the office, the electronics superstore has put an end to the once championed policy of being a Results Only Work Environment.“In the context of a business transformation, it makes sense to consider not just what the results are but how the work gets done. It’s ‘all hands on deck’…and that means having employees in the office as much as possible to collaborate and connect on ways to improve our business,” said Matt Furman on behalf of the company, according to CNN Money.
Back in 2005, the flexibility offered by Best Buy was a huge story. In fact, many companies modeled their own flexible work programs after it. Oh how the tides have turned!
So does this mean more Fortune 500 companies will follow suit and put an end to their work from home programs? My guess is yes. It seems that in today’s tough economic environment, it is all about the business and not the happiness of its employees. Of course a business has to succeed to keep its doors open, but putting less faith in the employees lowers morale, which is a recipe for disaster in my view.
As a working mom-of-two (with a third on the way), I am disheartened to see this new trend. Less flexible working conditions mean less moms can contribute to the work force. Those who stay in the work force are faced with tougher choices about balancing career and family.
It seems moms have it tough enough already; we almost always feel guilty no matter how much time we spend at home with our kids. Indeed, I’m worried about the future of flexible working opportunities for moms like myself.
How many employees are left with the tough decision of whether to continue working for these companies based on this new policy? I know if I were told I could no longer work from home, I’d look for a new job.
What is your take on the possibility of the end of flexible work opportunities?
Photo credit: Flickr
Mango and Me Jog
Posted: February 23, 2013 Filed under: Poppyseed and Me 1 Comment »
After about a month’s hiatus, I have finally taken my baby bump out for a run. The cold here in New Jersey is of the bone-chilling variety. And I’ve only recently shaken my morning sickness at about 20 weeks.
Today was interesting. I’ve gone from running 8 miles to huffing and puffing through 2. I guess growing a human being inside your body will do that.
I walked the hills. I took it slow. Boring. But at least I got out there.
Not running has been killing me. I miss it so much. Running is the thing that keeps me sane ordinarily and having to put my passion on a back burner while I nurture a baby is truly the biggest challenge of pregnancy thus far.
As far as my actual pavement pounding session today, my latest problem is that the baby is bumping up against my bladder with each stride I take.
Any suggestions running mamas?
Photo credit: Flickr
FDA Warns Against Using Codeine in Kids Following Tonsil Surgery
Posted: February 21, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »
On Wednesday the Food and Drug Administration warned that doctors and parents should not use codeine in kids following tonsil or adenoid surgery. This new warning comes as a result of the deaths of three children who were given the drug after undergoing these operations.“Health care professionals should prescribe an alternate analgesic for post-operative pain control in children who are undergoing tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy. Codeine should not be used for pain in children following these procedures,” the FDA said in a statement according to NBC News.
Sadly, this warning comes too late for the kids who passed away last year. It is suspected that their bodies metabolized codeine into morphine at an unusually high rate, which suppressed their breathing. Since it is impossible to know if a child is a so-called “ultra-rapid metabolizer,” the FDA’s reaction is to warn against using codeine in kids at all.
NBC News reports that between one and seven percent of people have this type of bad reaction to codeine.
Parents should know that kids who process codeine in a dangerous way typically have underlying breathing problems. Incidentally, this is often a reason to have the tonsils and/or adenoids removed.
It’s important to recognize the warning signs in your child if he is having a bad reaction to codeine. The FDA advises parents to call 911 immediately if a little one is oddly drowsy, is hard to wake from slumber, exhibits labored breathing and/or has blue lips.
Of course it is extremely scary to imagine anything happening to your precious child. Just reading about the loss of life that had to take place for the FDA to investigate the use of codeine is heartbreaking. My heart goes out to the parents of those poor little ones, but it is comforting to know measures have been put in place to prevent similar tragedies from ever happening again.
What is your reaction to the FDA’s new warning?
Photo credit: Flickr
Requiring Sonograms Before Abortions: Mandatory or Mean?
Posted: January 24, 2013 Filed under: Pregnancy and Parenting 2 Comments »A Texas law requires women to have sonograms before abortions. That’s right; if a woman plans to abort her pregnancy, she must watch her baby on an ultrasound monitor and hear his heartbeat prior to ending his life.
NPR reports on this controversial law, which was passed in February of 2012. The law states that the doctor who is to perform the abortion must conduct a sonogram 24 hours prior to the procedure and that the woman must hear a description of the baby. She also must hear his heart beating.
While this may seem like a reasonable practice – after all, shouldn’t a mom get one last chance to truly decide if an abortion is the right choice for her and her baby? – things get tricky when one considers birth defects. A mom in the National Public Radio story shares that she decided to end her second pregnancy after finding out that her baby had severe problems that would mean he could never have a normal life.
Still, Carolyn Jones was subjected to the law that requires sonograms before abortions, even though her OBGYN had already conducted two other ultrasounds that day. This Texas mom went ahead with having an abortion, but it is easy to imagine the additional pain the ultrasound caused her. In fact, Jones wrote about her experience for a Texas newspaper.
Four days after her awful experience, the Texas law was modified to make an exception for similar cases. Now, if a fetus has an irreversible medical condition, the woman does not have to be subjected to the sonogram and the description of the baby.
Since the issue of abortion is so personal and divisive, readers are likely to have strong opinions on this law, some adamantly in favor of it and some ardently opposed. What is your take on this law?
Timeout Abuse: One Discipline Happy Mama Inspires Me to Be More Tolerant
Posted: January 17, 2013 Filed under: Pregnancy and Parenting 3 Comments »
TImeouts. They are a rather effective parenting tool when your tot is acting naughty. But today I witnessed a woman abusing the power of timeouts. In fact, she so over-aggressively doled out the time outs that I’m pretty sure her kids were thinking what I was thinking: “How meaningless.”
During the course of a 45 minute munchkin music class, this timeout happy mama sent her two children, ages 6 and 3, to at least 3 or 4 timeouts each. It seemed her kiddos couldn’t do anything right. Yes, I was reading their minds.
The class was all about singing and moving your body. At first, kids were encouraged to sit on mats on the floor, but it was a small group and when my 2-year-old got so excited at one point that she ran around a bit, I was okay with that. But, when this other mom’s daughter jumped around a bit and got a little crazy, she was told to hit the timeout chair.
Moments after she returned, she committed some other seemingly minor indiscretion involving the silk scarves and once again, she was relegated to timeout. Soon it was her little brother’s turn. I’m not even sure what he did to deserve the dreaded chair.
What I do know is that this insane overuse of timeouts and apparently very short fused mom was extremely distracting to the fun of the class. She loudly disciplined her poor kids constantly (when they weren’t in timeout that is). “Sit still!” Or, “Quiet. I’m warning you.”
Gee, what fun! Why bother signing your kid up for a class if you plan to punish them the entire time? From my point of view, these tykes were just acting like kids. There was no hitting, yelling or fighting going on.
Now, I’m not one to harshly judge other moms because I’ve certainly had my days when my kids are on my last nerve. But this was excessive.
Still, perhaps I should give this frazzled mommy the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she is not ordinarily like that. Maybe her kiddos had been naughty at home and this 45 minutes was simply the icing on the haggard cake.
But even if that is the case, watching this woman parent just made me more aware of how being a mom takes tolerance. Sometimes it takes more patience than you think you can manage. In fact, most days you are pushed past what you think you can handle as a human being! Still, kids are kids and they aren’t perfect.
This experience inspired me not to jump on my two kids for every little thing they do. You have to pick your battles. If you pick them all, you are like the mom who called wolf. Why would my little ones pay me any mind if I’m constantly correcting their every move? My advice to other moms would be to be selective about timeouts (and criticism) or else it ceases to have any effect on your kids and can even harm them.
Photo credit: Flickr
