I'm a mother, mental illness fighter, HypnoBirthing instructor, wife, dog owner, aunt, English PhD school dropout and, of course, writer (in no particular order). I write about everything, here, no matter how scary, stigmatized or painful, from my anxiety disorders (plural) to life on public assistance. Join me as I share my journey through motherhood, mental health treatment, and The Sytem.

Why Lullabies Calm Babies and Parents

While we were moving and closer to his first birthday, Walt had a really hard time getting to sleep, and I found myself singing a lot. I also found that I had no idea how much time had gone by, when I came out of that dark bedroom. It took me a little while to figure out why this feeling was really familiar, but I figured it out while finishing my HypnoBirthing paperwork--it's a lot like self hypnosis....more

The Proud Welfare Mom: The Basics

I've realized a few things about a series of posts I call the Proud Welfare Mom posts: one, I have had a blind spot that needs to be addressed, now that I can see what's back there, and two, I need to articulate what these posts are supposed to be for. ...more

But I AM a Mother

My family is waiting for our baby in the limbo known as Trying To Conceive. But I am a mother, already. I always knew that I would make a good mother, eventually. In the last ten days, however, I have discovered that “eventually” is now--pregnant or not pregnant, I am a mother....more
@standshadows I'm glad you like it. It's my entry for the BlogHer Ricki Lake contest. I hope ...more