Kelly Clarkson Will Elope Instead of Letting a Big Wedding Drive Her Crazy

vrijdag 23 augustus 2013

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
by Maressa Brown 4 hours ago

Kelly Clarkson laid rumors to rest that she's pregnant and having a shotgun wedding, but she confirmed that she is, in fact, eloping! Taking to Twitter late yesterday, she wrote, "FYI ....Brandon & I are getting married & no I am not pregnant. We are eloping for one reason only. We both want an intimate ceremony." Good for them!

Still, people were bound to let their imaginations run wild about why she'd nix the elaborate affair, if only because it's kinda hard to understand why a celeb who can get a killer venue, big lush flowers, Grammy Award winners for entertainment, etc., would throw the towel in on the whole she-bang. But I totally get it.

Considering how Kelly said only earlier this week to Ryan Seacrest that she was "so over ... the wedding" and that she "just got so overwhelmed by ... the decisions," it sounds like scaling things down and eloping was a brilliant way to go.

For many brides, there can come a time when you feel like the planning is just all getting away from you, and it's become way bigger and more out of control and stressful than it needs to be. Above all that, it can feel as if it's become about everything except getting married.

More from The Stir: Kelly Clarkson's Wedding Breakdown Was Inevitable

In my case, we have the kinds of families who would have been totally crushed if they hadn't been a part of it all, people who couldn't travel, and all different personalities with varied priorities and preferences, which contributed to a lot of the stress. I'm actually not sure if eloping could have worked for us, though it sure is amusing to entertain the thought!

At the very least, I'm convinced more brides should consider making like Kelly, putting their foot down, and opting to go the more intimate route if it's at all possible ... Especially if going the other way is driving them completely insane!

What do you think about Kelly Clarkson's decision to elope? Do you wish you had?

Image via Instagram

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Maressa Brown

has enjoyed reporting and writing for a variety of entertainment and women's magazines and websites. More often than not, you'll find her blogging, hitting the gym, reading, researching something on her iPhone, laughing, chatting at an above-"normal" volume, or getting her caffeine fix.

More
?

reacties | | Read More...

Mom Sues Employer for Not Letting Her Take a 'Breastfeeding Break'

dinsdag 20 augustus 2013

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
by Nicole Fabian-Weber 2 hours ago

A new mom was fired from her job after she refused to return to work after maternity leave when she was told she was not able to tack an extra 15 minutes onto her break in order to breastfeed her baby. Kate Abra Frederick worked as a child support officer with the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, and normally, she was allowed a 15-minute break. But being that her son refused to take a bottle, Kate wanted a little more time so she could run over to a daycare that was two minutes from her job. Her employer said no, and now Kate has filed suit with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

I don't think that moms deserve special treatment or extra rights just because they have kids. But I do think that, while we're constantly being bombarded with messages of how "breast is best", the United States sure doesn't make it easy for nursing moms. Especially nursing moms who have jobs.

The pressure of returning to work after you have a baby is enormous. It's a low-grade anxiety that constantly sits in the back of your mind during your maternity leave. And I can't imagine how a mother whose baby refuses a bottle would feel. The stress is unimaginable. Some women are blessed with employers who are understanding and helpful to breastfeeding mothers, but many aren't. And in the case of Kate Abra Fredrick, she basically was forced to choose between her job and her child. And when faced with those two options, the decision is easy. But it had to have been infuriating. 

If Kate's employer had granted her the extra 15 minutes and she began taking advantage of it, that wouldn't have been right. I assume her intent in asking was to help make her return -- for both herself and her baby -- easier. When her son eventually learned to eat from a bottle, I'm guessing she would have just given him pumped breast milk. Offering no leeway on something like this is just ridiculous and gave her no other choice but to quit. She was asking for 15 minutes, not an hour.

Breast may be best, but it sure isn't easiest. Wow.

Do you think Kate should have been granted the extra 15 minutes?

Image via nerissa's ring/Flickr

Click the "Like" button below to get Natural Parenting stories on Facebook.
?

reacties | | Read More...

Mom Confession: I'm Letting My Daughter Have a Sleepover With a Boy

maandag 29 juli 2013

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

There's a photo on my fridge from my daughter's first ever sleepover that always cracks me up. In it, she and a little boy are making funny faces at the camera. Did you catch the fact that I said little boy? We have rocked the co-ed sleepover in our house.

Movies. Popcorn. Ice cream sundaes. You name it, it's come out.

I guess this is where I should 'fess up to the fact that her very first sleepover friend was (is?!) her cousin. He's just shy of a year older, and they have a lot of fun together.

Still, he's a boy. She's a girl.

I never thought twice about letting him sleep over, even letting them sleep in the same bed.

Bad mom? To hear some of the mothers 'round the web talk (type?), yes. Admitting you've thrown a co-ed sleepover is just this side of saying you've dosed the kids' bottles with antifreeze (now, I have NOT done that) in some circles.

I don't get it. At least not when it comes to young kids (teens are a whole different story).

They're little kids! Little kids barely notice gender. And the risk of any hanky panky is 0. They are KIDS.

Little. Kids.

I'm not an ostrich with my head in the sand here. I know there are some kids who act inappropriately very early.

Those are the scary facts that keep moms up at night. But what allows me to actually fall asleep is reminding myself that those kids are few and far between. Most little kids are pretty, shall we say normal?

At 8, my daughter is pretty normal as are her boy friends, boys who frequently come over for playdates. As I type this, I can hear peals of laughter from my front yard where she and her friend, M., are digging for earthworms in dirt they've soaked with the hose.

The other day she asked for another co-ed sleepover with one of them. Some moms -- the moms I mentioned above -- would say "no" immediately.

I didn't. I said I'd talk to her father and to the little boy's mom -- the same answer I give when she asks to have a little girl sleep over.

At 8, I'm perfectly fine with her having a boy friend sleep at our house should the other adults say it's OK. The rules won't be much different from having a girl (although the girls often change clothes in the same room ... that will be different). They'll probably have pizza and sundaes, they'll play in the backyard until it starts to get dark, they'll be allowed to watch a movie before bed, and then they'll have to go to sleep.

They'll do kid stuff because they are still kids.

Do you let your kids have co-ed sleepovers? When will you stop?

Image via gabriel amadeus/Flickr

reacties | | Read More...

Letting Your Baby Sleep in a Car Seat Is More Dangerous Than You Think

dinsdag 16 juli 2013

AppId is over the quota
por Mary Fischer hace 59 minutos

Un estudio realizado por investigadores de la Universidad de Auckland ha determinado los padres no deberían dejar su dormir de los bebés en asientos.

Después de examinar los patrones de respiración de 78 niños mientras dormían, se encontró que los bebés que tenían un inserto de espuma que se coloca en el asiento de coche para mantener la cabeza erguida habían reducido significativamente los problemas respiratorios que los bebés que no usó el inserto y simplemente fueron sujetados en los asientos normalmente.

Los resultados del estudio fueron publicados en la revista Pediatrics. El informe insta a los padres que sólo deja a su bebé en el asiento de coche para el tiempo que se tarda en llegar del punto al punto B y no dejarlos dormir allí.

¿EH. Esto definitivamente es algo que todos los padres deben prestar atención a y tomarse a pecho--porque prácticamente cada uno de nosotros es culpable de dejar a nuestros bebés a dormir en sus asientos en lugar de despertar cuando llevamos en nuestros vehículos.

Oh ven, sabes que lo haces demasiado. El asiento es tan rematadamente conveniente puesto que encaje justo fuera de la base y usted puede llevarlo con usted en cualquier lugar. Cuando mi hijo era un bebé, tenía dormido en el coche nueve veces de cada diez no importa de donde nos dirigimos. Yo simplemente agarrar el asiento del coche, colóquela encima de la cesta de compras o llevar en un brazo mientras mandados e ir sobre mi negocio como de costumbre.

¿Para decirlo lisa y llanamente, la idea de despertar mi bebé parecía casi inconcebible, porque un bebé para dormir es el objetivo número uno de casi todos los padres, derecho?

¿Pero yo conocía que potencialmente podía dificultar su respiración por dejarlo dormir en allí? Hmm. Estoy seguro que hubiera pensado dos veces antes de cuánto dejó sus siestas continuar cuando el coche detenido.

Por lo menos las madres que tienen bebés hoy pueden beneficiarse de esta información y tomar estas advertencias al corazón y tal vez considerar la planificación de viajes en coche alrededor de la hora de la siesta del bebé o at menos limitar cuánto dejan sus pequeños a dormir en sus asientos deben ellos adormilarnos en el camino. Las medidas que podemos tomar para proteger a nuestros bebés es definitivamente vale la pena.

¿Dejas que tu bebé dormir en la silla durante largos períodos de tiempo?

Imagen via Deborah Austin/Flickr

Sobre el autorMary Fischer

es el escritor detrás de la Mommyologist y la madre de un futuro comediante famoso. Sus amores actuales son cosmopolitas, reality TV y los zapatos que no pellizcar sus pies.

Más
?

reacties | | Read More...