On Saturday, May 12, I graduated Summa Cum Laude from Loyola University Chicago with a BA in Management and a Certificate in Organizational Leadership. I am the first person on either side of my family to earn a college degree. Neither one of my parents graduated high school, and neither did I. But I finally got my GED when I was 24 and started the ball rolling. At 26 I began community college full-time. At 27 I got pregnant and had to quit school to...
The Best Part of Going Away is Coming Back Home
This week my family hopped up to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin for a few days of family bonding. I’ve been desperately wanting to have a little time away from our busy lives to just have fun with my kids and HH. Things have been too hectic around the house lately: he’s been working seven days a week and my final semester...
Dear Providers: If Women Don’t Want Your Services, Don’t Blame Your Competition
We’ve seen it time and time again: If a woman refuses the sexual advances of a man, he insists she’s either a “bitch” or a “lesbian.” Of course! That must be it! If a woman doesn’t want you near her vagina, there must something wrong with her. Or maybe she just realized you were a misogynist douchecanoe and had the...
If Breastfeeding Were Simply a Lifestyle Choice, Anyone Could Choose It
*DISCLAIMER: This is not a post about mothers who use formula. This is not a post about mothers who choose not to breastfeed, or who cannot breastfeed for medical reasons. If you fed your baby formula and you are prepared to get defensive over what I’m about to convey, please stop and read this sentence. THIS IS NOT ABOUT MOMS...
Baby’s First Stitches: A Rite of Passage for Every Parent & Child
*Trigger Warning* – I’m posting some mildly graphic photos of stitching below. Please don’t scroll down if you don’t want to see them. On Sunday I had just come from getting my hair cut when I got a call from my dad. He had the boys overnight like he often does, but he wasn’t planning on dropping them off for...
V is For Vasectomy…
We’ve been planning for HH to have a vasectomy for years. We knew as soon as we were done having babies that would be the birth control method we’d utilize. I will not consider an IUD because I have scars inside my uterus, and the idea of having a foreign object near them totally freaks me out. Hormonal birth control...
My Short-Lived and Disappointing Experience with the Illinois WIC Program
Disclaimer: I know that the WIC system helps a lot of women and children who would be otherwise unable to eat. I know that I am privileged to have the education and resources to critically analyze this program. I also know that I am privileged to have the means to reject this program without me or my baby starving to...
Occupy Wall Street Organizer Gives Birth in an NYC Taxi Cab – And You Could Too!
Earlier this week, Beka Economopoulos, an organizer with the Occupy Wall Street movement, got a big surprise when her planned hospital birth became an unplanned taxi cab birth in a matter of minutes. According to the couple’s statements in the video, shot by her videographer husband and fellow Occupy Organizer Jason Jones, Beka began having contractions only 35 minutes before...
