The Boy on The D Train
Today I took the kids out to breakfast. When we were on our way home from getting muffins, Samara and Ari ran off and started climbing the steps of every brownstone on our block. Finally, I'd had enough so I used my scary stern voice and told them to come hold my hand "right now" or they weren't going to watch Despicable Me two. Ari obeyed, ran up to me and grabbed my hand. Samara, however, continued to run amuck laughing. I knew I had to do something or we weren't getting home anytime soon, so I grabbed her hand and tried to walk down the street with her. She started wailing "I don't wanna hold your hand! No no no!" But I ignored the tantrum and kept a firm grip on her tiny but stubborn hand. She continued to scream and then proceeded to sit down in the middle of the sidewalk. So I repeatedly sat up up straight and took her hand as she continued to scream and kept on walking with gritted teeth. I could feel my body tighten up internally as this was happening. My my jaw was clenched in frustration. After what seemed like eternity, [...]
“Who the Fuck Cares?” Apparently, I Do!
Today, someone hurt my feelings. It wasn't a super close friend, just someone I know. I called a friend of mine to vent. Her advice was this "Sarah, who the fuck cares?" And she meant this with love. She went on to say "It doesn't matter what this person thinks of you. If I had one piece of advice for you it would be this: stop caring what other people think about you." You know what, she is absolutely right. I realized that this is something that I struggle with. It's a common pattern that I see with myself. Someone's behavior towards me hurts my feelings, makes me angry or offends me in way shape or form so I internalize that feeling. I blame myself. I must have done something to piss them off. Then I rack my brain for what it could be. What did I do to upset this person that they would turn around and hurt me? My mind continues to obsess and analyze all the possible ways I could have offended this person. In reality, this is a total and utter waste of time that I could be using to do something productive like write a [...]
Fighting Against The Stigma of Mental Illness
I have panic disorder. I manage chronic anxiety every single day. I had my first panic attack when I was fifteen years-old and (at the time) I had no idea what was going on. I thought I might be having a heart attack. It seemed like a physical problem at first. I had an uncontrollable racing heart followed by sweating and shaking. But then I quickly realized that nervous thoughts were accompanying my physical symptoms.Thankfully, I wasn't alone. Anxiety and depression run in my family, and my mother knew exactly what was going on and how to help me. I started seeing a therapist and learned coping techniques to deal with anxiety. However, the techniques I learned were not enough. From ages 15 to 18 I still suffered from severe panic attacks that made it incredibly difficult for me to function.For the most part, I suffered in silence. The only people who knew about my struggle with panic were my parents, my brother and my best friend, who didn't attend my high school. I attended a performing arts high school where I studied theater. I was an excellent actress, but not in the way one might think. I was well [...]
Happy Birthday Samara! You Are Three!
Happy third birthday to my adventurous, fearless, outspoken, dynamic wonderful girl.You are three!I love you!
Venus Teaches Me to Love My Curves
When I was a child, I was skinny. I was nine-years-old and I remember my aunt Mary Jo telling me:"You eat like a bird!" It's just the way I was. I drank more than I ate. I never thought much about it. I did, however, observe my mom on many diets. She struggled with her weight and I watched this as I grew up. In my mind, I was determined to be the opposite of my mother. I didn't want to care about weight. I ate and drank what I wanted and I purposely tried not to acknowledge what my body looked like. I didn't love my body, I literally just ignored it. Probably because I knew if I acknowledged it in any way, I might find flaws.Of course, when I went through puberty, I learned to critique different parts of my body. My nose was too big and I wished I didn't have freckles. But everything from the neck down I intentionally ignored. I didn't want to analyze and find imperfection with my body.When I turned 11 I started to grow breasts. Before my chest developed, I used to sleep on my stomach. When I started growing a chest, [...]
America Doesn’t Want People to Have Babies
When I got pregnant with my son in 2008, I was terrified. I wasn't scared to become a mother, but rather I was fearful because I was only going to get three months off from work to "bond" with my baby. I tried to rationalize the time frame. This is standard procedure, I thought, many mothers in the United States do this and then find childcare for their babies when they return to work. Three months passed rather quickly, and I attempted to return to work. Only, it felt wrong. I was still breastfeeding my baby. I had to go into the bathroom to pump breast milk. When I asked my office manager if there was a refrigerator where I could store my breast milk, she looked at me like I had three heads. Every day I would come to work and all I could do was think about the fact that I wasn't with my baby. I came home and I could swear that he looked different from one day to the next. This just didn't feel right to me. The other major issue was that my three month old baby was not sleeping much so neither was I. I was [...]
I’m On The Huffington Post!
I've dreamt about this day for a long time. I've thought about the right article to submit. Finally, the day has come. I made it. I am on The Huffington Post.The Huffington Post! Click here to read My Son is a Brony on The Huffington Post Blog
Catch Ari on WTVY News 4!
Sean Sporman, producer at WTVY News 4 in Alabama reached out to me and asked to share Ari's story with their viewers. I asked Ari if he wanted to talk about ponies on TV and he said yes! For a link to the full story click here. Here's the clip below! Thank you so much to the Brony community for all your support. Special thanks to Sethisto and Equestria Daily for helping to share Ari's story!
Ari’s Favorite My Little Pony- A Video Interview
Some of you have written me asking who Ari's favorite My Little Pony is. Ari wanted to share with you all who his favorite pony is and why in the video below!Without further ado, Ari reveals his favorite pony! So do you agree? Who is your favorite pony?
Hasbro Sends Ari Some My Little Pony Love
The other day, I wrote a post about my son Ari's love for My Little Pony. Before I knew it, the post had gone viral! I wrote to Hasbro and sent them the post. Kristin from the P.R. department was gracious enough to send Ari over some awesome My Little Pony toys. Ari is holding the Applejack Equestria girl and his favorite pony of all time, Rainbow Dash. Thank you so much to the wonderful people at Hasbro for making my son's day. He is so excited to play with his new My Little Pony toys.
The Bronies Come Out in Support of Ari
When I posted My Son is a Brony, I never imagined the impact it would have. I was merely expressing my son's love for My Little Pony. Shortly after I posted the article, it was picked up by one of the biggest Brony websites, Equestria Daily, which has a readership of over 800,000 My Little Pony enthusiasts, both Bronies and Pegasisters. My post went viral! It had over 10,000 views!Suddenly I had the support of an strong community of folks who frankly were just plain awesome. In fact, one website called the Brony Syndicate created Ari and I as ponies! Another Brony website called EverFree News welcomed Ari to the herd.I want to thank you guys in the Brony community for being so welcoming to Ari and his love for My Little Pony and, in particular, Rainbow Dash. Our cat, Carly, likes her too. Our other cat Egreck loves all the ponies: And let's not forget Samara and her loyalty to Twilight Sparkle! One more favor to ask guys. Please take a moment to visit the BuzzFeed article and comment there. It's been a pleasure taking over the internet with you!
My Son is a Brony
My son Ari is five years old and he loves the show My Little Pony. For months, I’ve been purchasing the My Little Pony figurines for my daughter, Samara, who is two years old. One day Ari wanted to watch a show on Netflix and he spotted the My Little Pony Friendship is Magic picture featuring six colorful ponies with enormous anime character eyes. I figured I’d give the show a try, not knowing if it would hold his attention. As it turned out, after the first episode he was hooked. “Mommy, can I hold the ponies while I watch it?” He asked. “Sure.” I said with a shrug. “I want that one.” He said pointing to Rainbow Dash. He asked to watch episode after episode of My Little Pony all the while holding the tiny pony figurines in his lap. When I had Ari, I imagined we’d share similar hobbies. I taught him to play chess and twenty questions, but our mutual love for My Little Pony was a surprise. You see, when I was a child, I was obsessed with My Little Pony. I would become infuriated when my brother would steal my precious My Little Pony figures holding them just out of my reach. I remember one [...]
Win Baby Magic No-Rinse Wash
My kids have perpetually dirty faces. Every time I turn around, one of them is covered in something. So when Kristi (who represents Baby Magic) asked if I'd like to review their No-Rinse wash, I was psyched. The No-Rinse Wash is great for when your kids are dirty from the playground or have just eaten pizza, are covered in tomato sauce and you forgot to bring baby wipes with you. Maybe you stopped buying baby wipes because your children are out of diapers. In that case, the No-Rinse wash is an awesome item to keep in your bag. Baby Magic has been in business since the 1950's. Their products are cruelty free, paraben free, made in the USA and hypoallergenic. In order to test out the No-Rinse Wash, I started with a dirty face, which wasn't hard to come by in my house. Then I squirted some No-Rinse wash out. Let me pause here to tell you about the scent. The No-Rinse wash has a subtle fresh scent. It's not overpowering, but rather it smells faintly like baby powder. After applying the wash, this happened: Naturally, when Samara saw what was going on, she wanted to try the No-Rinse Wash. [...]
Win Tree Hut Shea Body Butter and Shea Sugar Body Scrub and Smell Amazing!
The smell of shea butter is one of my favorite smells of all time. So when Kristi reached out to me on behalf of Tree Hut and asked if I'd like to review and giveaway their Shea Body Butter and Shea Sugar Scrub, I wanted to jump through the computer and hug her.When I received the body products, I was more excited than usual to take a shower. Kristi told me that the Shea Sugar Body Scrub was great for exfoliating and awesome to shave your legs with. So with that information in my mind, I hopped into the shower. Kristi was right. The Shea Sugar Body Scrub rocks! My legs feel amazing! It definitely is an exfoliant, but it's a gentle one. For me that's important since I have sensitive skin. Shaving cream, I think we need to break up. I have a new shower boyfriend. The Shea Sugar Body Scrub in the Almond & Honey flavor has a wonderfully fresh smell. When I smelled it I actually felt a little more awake. Take that coffee! It's made with organic shea butter and essential oils including evening primrose oil. Love it!Then I moved on to the Shea Body Butter. When [...]