From the Hearts of Black Moms: A Conversation on Race Featured in Atlanta Parent

https://www.atlantaparent.com/julyissue

"The choice isn’t between protest and politics. We have to do both." - Barack Obama

I’m the proud mother of two remarkable Black children. My oldest son, Roland turned 13 in June. My youngest son, Joshua is 10, and both boys are friendly, kindhearted, athletic, and smart.

For as long as I can remember, I have been an advocate for social justice. As a young adult in Boulder, Colorado, I advocated to dismantle a nearby nuclear facility, marched in the 2017 Women’s March, and most recently joined thousands of supporters for “Black Lives Matter” both here in Atlanta.

As a community, we all have a responsibility to build a strong and accepting society in which no child has to grid himself or herself  against prejudice, hatred, and mistreatment. The nation is crying for change and I continuously reflect on how to become more of an agent of healing as we prepare for the days ahead.

Steps to continue growing:

• Engage in conversations around race.
• Support local and online Black businesses.
• Learn about other cultures and work towards being advocates and allies for historically minoritized groups.

I think the best thing we can do for each other and ourselves, is to come together as a community. Listening with open hearts and minds and being willing to engage in self-reflective work - even when it's difficult or uncomfortable.

I stay prayerful for my sons and other Black boys and men. We are seeking justice, safety, and peace.

Read Atlanta Parent's July 2020 issue here: https://www.atlantaparent.com/julyissue.

Real Life Mommy Confessions happen with Mommy Uncensored, Mothers Day on ASPiRE TV! #MommyUncensored

Get ready for the hilariously funny award-winning comedy web series on motherhood, Mommy Uncensored. Watch Mommy Uncensored on Mother's Day only on ASPiRE TV at 8PM! Follow #MommyMoments and include you own @TVAspire!

Visit the Georgia Aquarium over Spring Break! @GeorgiaAquarium

Are you staying in Atlanta during Spring Break? If so, take your family to the Georgia Aquarium! We went to the Aquarium today and brought three of our cousins (who happen to be triplets) along for the adventure! 

Conveniently located in downtown Atlanta, the Georgia Aquarium is the perfect starting point for a day filled with family fun. There are 6 hotels, 5 (soon to be7!) attractions and 17 restaurants all within a 12-minute walk from the front door of Georgia Aquarium.

We were especially excited because we had the opportunity to have a behind-the-scenes tour of the world's largest aquarium. We learned about what it takes to keep the aquarium running. 

Highlights from the tour: 

• We went to the top of the live coral reef exhibit located above Tropical Diver.
• Observed where the Aquarium team cares for the animals and prepares their food at the  Commissary and Veterinary Clinic.                                                        
• Enjoyed the view at the top of the largest ocean exhibit in North America (Ocean Voyager, built by The Home Depot), and observed the world’s largest fish, the whale shark, as it swam below us!

Viewed the African penguins in the Correll Center Animal Care Suite.

We planned our visit around free activities offered throughout the day. After the guided behind-the-scences tour we went to see AT&T Dolphin Tales.

• AT&T Dolphin Tales: Choose your seats no later than 20 minutes before the show!
• Interactive Dive Shows: Tropical Diver and Ocean Voyager galleries have divers.
• Animal Feedings: Check the computer screens outside each gallery with daily feeding times for marquee animals.

Georgia Aquarium provides a beautiful backdrop for photos:

• “The Perfect Silhouette”: It is no surprise Ocean Voyager provides an artistic backdrop for a photo; many movies have chosen this gallery to feature in their films.
• “Just Another Fish in the Sea”: Many of the exhibits feature windows where children can get up close and almost look as if they are inside with some of their favorite animals. Try making a scary face inside our Piranha exhibit in River Scout!

Fun Fact: Even though whale sharks are the world's largest fish (they breathe using their gills), they can only eat krill.
The whale sharks throat is only the size of a quarter.

The Veterinary Services and Conservation Medicine Department provides veterinary medical treatment at Georgia Aquarium.

Using two fingers to gently touch starfish!

Checking out the whale sharks below!

The Georgia Aquarium is open 365 days a year. Check out the Georgia Aquarium's Kids Corner for a variety of fun Atlanta kids activities that you can do before, during and after your trip to the Aquarium.

It's Spring Break! Plan your trip to visit the world's largest aquarium: http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/plan-your-visit/

The City of Atlanta Department of Parks and Recreation presents the TOT Olympics [Photos]

http://sojournermarablegrimmett.blogspot.com/

The City of Atlanta Department of Parks and Recreation presents the TOT Olympics for 3 and 4 year olds. Our little Tot had a blast today participating in the TOT Olympics. The event was well planned and all had a great time. We're looking forward to next year's event!

Two Thumbs Up for the 2013 Ford Escape! #GoFurtherATL

I'm still 'over the moon' excited that I had the opportunity to partner with Ford to test drive the new 2013 Ford Escape! This SUV is not only fantastic, but features really awesome technology that made me feel safe traveling around the city with our two boys, Roland and Joshua. 

As a busy mom on the go, having a spacious and safe car is a true dream! When searching for a new car, safety should always be the top priority. 

Last month, was Driver Distraction Month which is driving while engaged in other activities such as, using a cell phone, texting, eating, or reading. Thousands of people die each year because people continue to use their cell phones while driving. The technology in the Ford helps you keep your hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. Although, I didn't have a chance to pick you up for a ride in the 2013 Ford Escape, I wanted to share these great safety features:

• Do Not Disturb feature: When hooked up to SYNC, this new feature blocks incoming phone calls or text messages from a Bluetooth®-paired mobile phone, diverting calls into voicemail and saving text messages on the device for viewing later. But unlike turning the phone off, drivers can still make voice-activated outgoing phone calls and the SYNC 911 Assist™ feature can make a call in case of emergency.

• SYNC with MyFord Touch offers multiple ways for customers to manager and control information through voice commands, menus accessed through controls on the steering wheel and touch screens. Upgraded system includes new look, making phone, navigation, entertainment and climate controls even easier to use 
  

Seeing the 2013 Ford Escape for the first time!

Ford Do Not Disturb on MyKey

• With Active Park Assist, parallel parking is virtually stress-free and hands free 

• BLIS (Blind Spot information System) with Cross Traffic Alert – displays an alert in the side mirror when a vehicle is detected entering a blind spot. Cross-traffic alert warns if traffic is detected approaching from the sides, such as when Escape is leaving a parking space in reverse

• Curve Control – the first Ford SUV to automatically slow the vehicle when it is cornering too fast.

Doesn't that sound awesome to you? Plus the Escape has the hands free liftgate which makes transporting sporting gear and packages a breeze for moms-on-the-go. Our oldest son saw the trunk pop open on it's own and screamed, "magic."

Test drive a 2013 Ford Escape! There are several great dealerships in the area! 

Malcolm Cunningham

5675 Peachtree Industrial Blvd  Atlanta, GA 30341

(770) 455-7673

Wade Ford

3860 South Cobb Dr SE  Smyrna, GA 30080

(888) 341-1477

Allan Vigil Ford

6790 Mt Zion Blvd  Morrow, Georgia 30260

(877) 752-9953

Come back and share your experiences! For additional information, please visit: http://www.ford.com/suvs/escape/?hptid=fv-suv-rtn-sch-escape-img

Me & "Blueberry"

Whitney Houston and Bobbi Kristina Brown (Photo)

Photo: Whitney Houston and her daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown.

My heart goes out to Bobbi Kristina during this very difficult time.

I pray she has strength and close family and friends around her.

xoxo,
Sojourner

Talking about the Birds and the Bees

 

When do you talk about the Birds and the Bees with your kids?  Our oldest son is almost 4 years old and is very aware that girls and boys have different body parts. Yesterday, while brushing his teeth with Daddy in the bathroom he asked, "Daddy, where do you come from?"  I paused from fixing the corner of the bed sheets and looked toward the bathroom door, my ears were burning from trying to hear the response.  Daddy responded, "from Grammy."  

Our oldest son, remembers when his younger brother was in "Mommy's belly."  I'm sure he also has flashbacks of the waiting room at Emory University Hospital, when I was pacing up and down the hallway, holding my back, and rocking back and forth from contractions.  There’s also a chance that he doesn’t remember. 

I recall talking to my mom briefly about sex.  I was too embarrassed and politely brushed her off when she tried to engage me in the "Sex Talk."  My mom pulled out the great colorful children's book, written by Peter Mayle, Where Do I Come From?  We even had the "African American edition."  The pudgy couple looked like "Meet the Browns."  The cartoon images of a man and woman were nicely illustrated on the various semi-glossy pages.  As children, we thought we were looking at a scandalous X-rated magazine, though it did do a good job describing what "goes down" when couples “get together." 

A recent survey by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS), found that 93% of adults support sex education in high school and 84% support it in junior high school.  Come to think of it, I vaguely remember my twin and I taking a sex ed class, either in junior high or high school.  Sex education in schools is a hot topic that has Congress up in arms.  Personally, I'd prefer my sons learn about sex education at home and in school.  This would have a double impact on them.

In these times, you have to direct the conversation past the Birds and the Bees with children.  STDs and HIV/AIDS should be addressed at some point.  Surprisingly, you don't hear too much about those topics in the mainstream media anymore.  The signs about the startling statistics of African Americans and AIDS around West End are gone or peeling away.  It's like the four-letter word has been forgotten.  A study by the CDC found that Blacks/African Americans accounted for the majority of the estimated number of AIDS diagnoses made during 2007, followed by Whites and Hispanic/Latinos.  The South has the highest percentage of new HIV rates in the country.

If parents talk more openly about STDs and HIV/AIDS with their children, then they would further abstain from unprotected sex.  Granted, our boys are young, but I can imagine showing children images of what my mom called in her childhood, "VD."  That would definitely keep their britches on tight.

I don't know a good age to talk to kids about sex.  When do you bring it up?  Do you wait for them?  We know the consequences if you wait too late?  Try the show on MTV, "Teen Mom."  I'm going to do my best to have an open dialogue about sex education with our kids.  It may be uncomfortable for both parties, but risk factors and safer sex behaviors should be openly discussed.

CDC. HIV/AIDS Surveillance Supplemental Report: Cases of HIV Infection and AIDS in the United States and Dependant Areas, by Race/Ethnicity, 2003—2007. Volume 14, Number 2.

Published on MyAtlantaMoms.com. 

Lactation Rooms in the Workplace

I interviewed 17 working moms in higher education to examine if they are able to achieve a balance between their professional objectives and family life. Several questions were asked including establishing lactation rooms in the workplace. 

(Q) Does your institution have policies that assist working mothers with taking time off or provide on-site nurseries, lactation rooms, etc.?

(A) Three mothers praised their institutions for having lactation rooms on campus. One mother replied: “There is only one designated lactation room (that I know of) on campus.  It’s in our new law building.  I was lucky to have supervisors who supported my pumping milk, which I did successfully with my two children, from when I returned to work at 3 to12 months with each child.“
 
(A) Another mother stated: “I was lucky to have my own office and understanding co-workers so that I could "pump", but there is absolutely nothing helpful on campus for others who don't have a private office. A colleague down the hall had to sit in a locked storage closet on boxes. Even my own office is open to a busy hallway, so people would knock on the door even with curtains drawn, recycling staff would unlock the door and find me attached to a pump when I was pumping before a late meeting. Just not a good scene for lactation!”
 
(F) The 1992 Family Medical and Medical Leave Act allows mothers with newborns to take 12 weeks of paid leave. Some employers also will allow mothers to have flexible work schedules. Finding ways to accommodate mothers (i.e., lactation rooms) permits them not to feel so alienated in the workplace. ‘Nora,’ an associate director at a Northeastern university told me, “I was able to work part-time from home during my last month of maternity leave.  When I came back to work full-time, I was able to telecommute two days a week.  I’m transitioning to telecommuting one day a week now.  Being able to telecommute is wonderful, because I’m still nursing and it gives me a chance to pump and nurse while I’m at home, so that I can maintain my milk supply.”

My colleague and I returned from maternity leave about the same time, and I was finding it difficult to pump in the ladies’ room.  In an effort to make it easier for other new moms, we approached the vice president of our institution and requested the establishment of a lactation room. The university responded positively by creating a comfortable private room. A working mother’s support group was also started on campus—a coalition of expectant, new and seasoned moms that promotes the balancing of professional careers and raising happy, healthy children. Each month moms are invited to join a brown-bag lunch, and are encouraged to talk about challenges of work and motherhood. This outlet has been extremely beneficial for all moms who have participated.
 

Excerpt from "Working Moms: Finding a Balance Between Work and Motherhood."  SACRAO Journal, volume 23, pp. 5-10.

Sock Monster.

I do believe the Sock Monster is eating my kid’s socks. I can't find a matching pair to save my life!

I ignore patterns and just go with colors. Santa sock will go with solid red sock. Army pattern sock will match solid green sock.

They need to put magnets inside of socks so they stay together in the washing machine.

Although that may not be good for the dryer.