Silicon Valley Moms Blog

The Stimulus Package, Celeb Weight Gain and "Mom Jeans"

No, this is not a random word association game. It's my blog title. It is also a weird linkage that happened in my tired Mom brain somewhere between the serious news of the day and the other news of the day. Here's how it happened. 

I flipped on CNN the other night to try to get some insight into why the $800 billion stimulus package is getting ripped so hard by Republicans. Didn't we all agree we need a big stimulus to jump-start the economy? The Economist said so. And what happened to that warm fuzzy feeling we all had on Inauguration Day? Or did Congressional Republicans miss that special day? Were they hiding in some Dick Cheney-esque concrete bunker plotting to thwart President Obama's first big presidential act?  Did House Democrats really go on a pork-fueled spending spree and try to get ridiculous-sounding items in the stimulus bill like more volcano monitoring and a mob museum? 

I Just Can't Stop Smiling Today

I timed it just right today. My usually draggy, grumpy morning self was nowhere to be found. My feet hit the floor, my children woke up on time, my husband had already made the coffee. And the school lunches got packed just like that. And then we were off – to start the first day of our new president's term in office.

Could you feel it? I could just breathe the symbolism in the air on the short drive to my three kids’ elementary school. I am usually not this giddy or even this political. In fact, President-Elect Obama’s campaign was the first  political event I’d ever attended, or contributed to. Years as a journalist had made me both apolitical and, though I voted before, rather apathetic. Well, no more. Never again.

Michelle Obama, More Than Just a Pretty Face

I just finished watching today’s historic inauguration.  It was inspiring, hopeful and just plain cool. I am excited at the prospect of the Obama family living in the White House. I love that the Obamas have young children and an apparently open and supportive marriage.  I relate to them as a family, which makes President Obama more real to me. And I admire his wife, Michelle, who will make a great First Lady.

Michelle Obama is intelligent, accomplished, charismatic. She is not afraid to speak her mind.  Her list of educational and occupational accomplishments is long and she has done great things according to “worldly” standards.   She has also done great things for her family.  She has supported her husband through a challenging, two-year presidential campaign with grace and composure. She is a devoted mother willing to do whatever her family needs her to do.  And, as Brian Williams just pointed out, she dresses well.  Okay, yeah, I’ll give her that, too.  However, do I really care about her fashion sense?  Not really, no.  So why has so much airtime today been devoted to predictions about what impact our new First Lady will have on the fashion world?

Who By Fire: SV Moms Group next Book Club Day is scheduled for Monday, January 26th

Mark your calendars for Monday, January 26th as the writers of Silicon Valley Moms Group discuss the book, Who By Fire, authored by Diana Spechler. New York City Moms Blog, where Diana currently lives, will be hosting. Given what is going on is Israel right now, this is an especially timely read.

About Who By Fire: Bits and Ash were children when the kidnapping of their younger sister Alena, an incident for which Ash blames himself, caused an irreparable family rift. Thirteen years later, Ash is living as an Orthodox Jew in Israel, cutting himself off from his mother, Ellie, and his wild child sister, Bits. But soon he may have to face them again: Alena’s remains have finally been uncovered. Now Bits is traveling across the world in a bold and desperate attempt to bring her brother home and salvage what’s left of their family. Told from the alternating points of view of the three family members, Who By Fire is a searing commentary on guilt, grief, and the inescapable bonds of family from a fresh and extremely talented new voice in American fiction.

Read along with us: Visit Amazon or Target (Who By Fire has been selected as a Target Breakout Book) to buy the book today and get ready to discuss with us on Monday, January 26th. See you at book club!

Past Silicon Valley Moms Group Book Clubs have included:

• The White Trash Moms Handbook by Michelle Lamar
• Writing Motherhood by Lisa Garrigues
• The Vaccine Book by Dr. Robert W. Sears
• The Other Mother by Gwendolen Gross

Families at the No on 8 Rally

I wasn't sure how I was going to convince my family to come to the No on 8 rally in San Jose today.  My husband couldn't see the point.  "I know it sucks, honey, but it passed.  No point in rallying about it now...".  The kids were no better.  Saturday morning cartoons or a rally?  Stay in pajamas and play with Playmobil toys, or stand around and wave signs?  Hmmmm....

In the end, it was The Pea who did it.  I told her I wanted to go because I wanted to show my support for equal marriage rights, because I thought two women or two men should be able to marry.  She thought about her good friend H, and her friend's two daddies, and what a great family they are, and decided to come along.  In a rare display of sibling affection, her brothers said they didn't want to spend the morning without her.  My husband said I might lose the kids in the crowd, so he'd better go as well.  So off we went.

Palo Alto Prop 8 Vigil

This evening, my children and close friends returned to the Palo Alto corner of El Camino Real and Embarcadero.  Directly across the street from the entrance to Stanford University and Palo Alto High School, we joined hundreds of friends, old and new (along with the Raging Grannies), to hold a peaceful vigil about passing of Proposition 8.  The moods were somber.  The tears shed on many of the peaceful protesters. The hope that someday, all of our citizens will be treated equal was the common denominator.  But the one message we heard over and over again tonight was that it is time for our Supreme Court to do the right thing and overturn Prop 8.

Grant Park 2008: I was there!

Chicago Moms Blog contributor, Alma, was at Chicago's Grant Park on Tuesday evening, listening to President Elect, Barack Obama give his acceptance speech.  Here is her passionate post about this once in a life time experience on such a memorable night.   CLICK HERE to view Grant Park 2008, I was THERE!

Relief and Hope - With A Twinge of Sadness

As many of my friends know, I don't consider myself a political activist in any sense of the word. I do vote in every election I can but I'm just not one to spout my political leanings, hoping to convince anyone and everyone that my opinion is the right one. It's simply not me. I've always believed, "to each, his own." But as I sit here today, I relish the news that Barack Obama and his running mate, Joe Biden have won. Yes, we were one of the millions of households that kept the TV on with the election returns running practically all night long - much to the dismay of "L" and "K" who, in fine 4-year-old fashion, turned their attentions to creating endless drawings to while away the minutes until bedtime. Simultaneously, I kept Twitter up on my PC to catch reactions from my fellow tweeters...and in case something happened that hadn't hit CNN just yet.

We munched on "election night" treats from Icing on the Cake (pumpkin ribbon cake, YUMMY!) as we watched the concession and acceptance speeches early in the evening. Both were riveting. We were relieved to listen to John McCain's conciliatory tone, eloquence and sincerity as he acknowledged his loss and promised to support the new president in the best way possible. And we were gratified to listen to Barack Obama's acceptance speech of inclusion of all Americans, his respect for McCain and his accomplishments, the challenges we face as a country and the sacrifices all of us Americans will need to make to get our country back on track. Obama's pride and hope for the U.S. was made clear - "...a new dawn of American leadership is at hand..." - in a statement that will certainly remain in our minds for a long time to come.

Prop 8 - a very sad morning.....

We woke up this morning full of hope. Obama's victory is the start of a new direction for our country. We want to celebrate. Yet, on a more sobering note, Prop 8 passed. We are saddened, shocked and dismayed that such a hateful measure could pass in our state. We wanted to believe that equality for all would trump homophobia and hate. We were wrong and can not understand the fear that our fellow Californians have about marriages. There clearly is more work to be done to assure equal rights for all in this state.

We try to teach our kids about equal rights, and acceptance. We like to think that if we had been alive during the civil rights movement, we would have been marching, kids by our side. Yesterday, we joined Stanford students, Paly students, friends (old and new) and their children to protest Prop 8 in Palo Alto, on the corner of El Camino Real and Embarcadero. We all want to make this world a better place for ALL our children. Here is some video from our afternoon on the corner. If you are curious, Prius owners were the most supportive!

Jill Asher and Pamela Hornik, Co-Founders of Silicon Valley Moms Blog.

We tried... we really TRIED.....Other No On 8 Posts from SV Moms include:

• Aren't You Glad Your Not Gay?
• Relief and Hope- With A Twinge Of Sadness
• A Special Sunday Wedding for "the girls across the street"
• What Are The Political Lawn Sign's In YOUR Neighborhood?
• Are My Sons Gay?  I hope not
• In Which The Political Becomes Deeply Personal
• How the California Supreme Court made an honest woman out of me, same-sex marriage, and teh Prop 8 campaign
• A Christian against Prop 8

My 6 Year Old Said: I Want The Guy With The Dark Skin To Win

I am sitting with my three boys and husband explaining why this moment, that Barack Obama is now President Elect, is historic (the first time a white-majority country has ever elected a nonwhite head of state). We talked about the process throughout the election to my kids. My 9 year old and most of his friends all supported Barack Obama. Only one of my son's friends supported John McCain, because he said "John McCain will raise taxes on toys" (part of the mis-information campaign).

When I had conversations with my sons, it was mostly about the issues that each candidate stood for. But I was proud today when I asked my 6 year old which candidate he wanted to win, and he said "The guy with the dark skin" in the same way he would have described someone else as "the kid with the red hair."I am not only proud that my children have diversity around them in their school, but that skin color is just another attribute to them.  That many of the kids in my son's fourth grade class were supporting the "candidate" Obama because of the issues he stood for. That for them, race is not an issue.