Mothers Over 40 Archives - Page 25 of 30

Interview with Josie Iselin, Author of Heart Stones and Sea Glass Hearts

by Cyma Shapiro

Dear Reader: Heart Stones is my most favorite Valentine’s Day book, ever. I own and have given several of Josie’s books for presents. MitM is honored to feature her, for Valentine’s Day.

Q: Josie, your first book is called Loving Blind/Seeing Red: A Mother’s Decade. It features a series of images with connecting anecdotes about life with small kids which was inspired by your earliest path through motherhood. As the mother of three children, now ranging in age from 15 to 20, they appear to be your driving force, motivation and inspiration. Please tell me more about your journey with them and how it has contributed to your finding your life’s work.

I had my first baby (20 years ago nearly today in fact!) at midwinter break in the second of three years of an MFA program and when done, I thought I would be teaching pretty consistently. But teaching in the arts is initially a transient thing…The reality was that the best economic model for our family was for me to be home with the kids…and it was a gift to us as a family and to me as an artist. My studio is just downstairs (through the backyard) from the kitchen and my work and life are intertwined, physically as well as psychically. My kids and my husband always inspire me to do better work. […]

Infertile. Me? No way, I’m Latina!

Liz Raptis Picco

I’m soon to be 60, raising teenage brothers who my husband and I adopted from Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua almost fifteen years ago. Being a Latina and native speaker definitely helped when we approached an orphanage in northern Mexico. Being a Latina also made it difficult for me to talk about it openly among my family.

I’ve noticed the same reluctance in Latinas to discuss infertility and IVF, as well as adoption. I follow many wonderful blogs where important issues concerning Latinas are showcased, but I have not yet found one that discusses infertility.

Why? […]

Geriatric Or Just Wise?

by Ellie Stoneley

Mother, Me & Hope

“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter” – Mark Twain

I’ve been asked so many times what it feels like to be an ‘older Mother.’ It always strikes me as a silly question, really, it’s not as if I knew what it was like to be a younger mother. I am what I am, we are where we are and I am 48 1/2 with a 12 month old daughter… I am happy, blissfully happy, if a little tired most of the time. […]

Energy Boosters for the New Year

by Jenilyn Gilbert

Are you feeling exhausted, grumpy or spacey lately? Do you lack energy? As midlife mothers and mothers to be, our energy levels can sometimes be compromised. As our hormones shift so does our energy. Some of us need to slow down and others need to speed things up. Perhaps you need more hours of sleep, or you may find yourself feeling tired around 3 or 4 PM (in the afternoon) or maybe you don’t have the same overall zest you used to have. […]

Teaching Children to Meditate

by Karen Maezen Millier

To begin, understand this: you are never going to teach your child a life skill that you don’t already have.
But I know. You’re not here for yourself. You’re here because you’re worried about your child.

How do you teach children to meditate?
I’m asked about this all the time. Please know that I speak only from my own perspective as a mother and a practitioner. Everyone has his or her own view. Here is mine. […]

Christmas Tree Lights

by Valerie Gillies

I am very opinionated about Christmas tree lights. Flashing is not permitted in our house. Period. I wish I could also stop the flashing going on with the kids I work with at this time of year. Parties, treats, memories, disrupted schedules, past trauma, all combine to make the human equivalents of having left a bucket of kerosene soaked rags in the basement. One little spark and—boom! It’s a tangled mess of emotion, exhausted parents, and zipped up kids. […]

Tips to Stay the Course (for 2013)

by Aleta St. James

Almost everyone starts off the first few weeks of a new year with great intentions and excitement, and then slowly but surely, the enthusiasm starts to wane. Sounds familiar, right?

You don’t have to have that happen this year. […]

A Sens-ational Holiday List

by Jane Samuel

Okay parents, I know you want to make your kids happy for the Holidays. After parenting three children, one of which has sensory processing disorder, I have amassed a list of our favorite toys and activities. I can attest that not only will the following items bring laughter and joy to your house this season; they will work your children’s brains and bodies developing their cognitive, physical and emotional skills. Happy Holiday shopping; potential websites for ordering items are listed as well. […]

Lessons and Carols

by Peg O'Neill, M.D.

Thanksgiving
For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food,

For love and friends,

For everything thy goodness sends.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882)

Leave it to a seemingly-clueless sixth-grade boy, who still needs to be reminded of some of the basic principles of functioning in life, such as the importance of brushing one’s teeth before leaving the house in the morning, or using something other than one’s shirt to wipe one’s mouth, to come home enthusiastically sharing the wisdom of his newly-discovered gift of an old poem, which pretty much sums up what is truly important, a flurry of words so crystal clear in simplicity and truth, reminding us of what really matters. […]

Fertility Diet Trumps Statistics

by Cindy Bailey

I recently attended a seminar at a wonderful local fertility clinic on the topic of PGD and PGS in IVF. It was fascinating, especially to see how far such testing has come in recent years, and it was very well-presented. However, I found myself getting increasingly uncomfortable with all the charts and tables that showed the age-related, over-the-cliff drop-off of successful pregnancies in women in their late 30’s, early 40’s and mid-40’s. (They don’t even bother with late 40’s.) […]