This week has been a rough one. Ya know the kind. A kid wakes up sick and crying, sheets and jammies are changed, just in time to be changed again. Fun stuff. And then parents (in this case mostly Mark, he knew I had to finish school), because they spend time taking care of their precious little one, catch it too. And it’s just a domino effect. Boom, boom, boom. Everyone’s down for the count.

The stomach bug.

Especially when 13 (now 14) weeks pregnant, and you can’t keep hydrated and contractions start. Not fun. We’re all okay now (heard baby’s strong heartbeat again yesterday!), but man, I hate this stuff. Thank you GOD that it’s over.

But all this to say, I’m glad we have a little book called “The Moose with Loose Poops” because I think it helped all of us understand what’s going on in our bodies, even us 20 some year old parents. Of course, I didn’t think to pull out the parent’s guide when we were all sick, but we survived. I won the whole Dr. Hippo book series from Design {for} Baby in a giveaway several months ago and Savannah loves them even when not sick. They talk about common illnesses like cold’s, earaches, sore throats, stomach bugs, fever, in a story that helps them understand what is happening and why. We love them and their worth checking out (they are on Amazon) if you’re looking for some new kids books. It’s educational, but fun too.

On a happier note: in exactly a week I will be a graduate! Right now I will sporting a graduation cap and gown, a belly bump, and surrounded by family. So exciting to finally reach this huge milestone and goal in life :-) Just 3 exams and a portfolio standing in my way…

And an even happier note: with graduation comes a new direction.  What will I do after I graduate? Stay tuned to find out my new goal! Ya know, besides growing a healthy baby and being a great mom and wife. A goal for me.

The O Momma Recommends series is based on products that I find helpful in daily life, that I’ve discovered my self, and have not been paid or supplied the products to review.

Remember last year before one of our summer road trips I was desperately looking for kids music that didn’t hurt my ears? I discovered Laurie Berkner, Sesame Street Songs, and Lisa Loeb.  Good stuff.  Now we’ve added some Choo Choo Soul to our collection and even some classical music because Savannah loves to dance to it (she is loving dance class, by the way!).

But, the focus of today is this little gem of a CD: Music with Mommie.  I was given this CD last year and I seriously think it’s one of my top favorite kids music ever (it may be tied for first with Laurie Berkner of course…).  The CD is based off one of those classes you can take with your child to encourage interaction between mommies and babies, learn about music, and just to have fun.  This group in particular is based out of Tennessee and their voices are beautiful, with a little Tennessee twang and country style music twist to these popular songs (but not overly twangy, that would annoy me).  It’s very easy listening if you have to listen to it over and over like Savannah requests. And plus? Since it’s songs that encourage interaction, it adds a little entertainment with the hand motions that are easy to guess what they are (like I’m a Little Tea Pot, Shoe a Little Horse, etc).  And for sleepy time during car rides? Savannah loves the ABC and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star songs. Her top favorite song is Six Little Ducks though :-) What kid doesn’t like quacking like a duck?

Even when we aren’t on a car ride, we play this CD some times just to dance around and play. I doubt many people have heard of this CD because, ya know, they aren’t on Noggin, you probably can’t fine this CD in a local store, or even iTunes. In fact, I wouldn’t have heard of them unless some one given it to me (not for a review, just because they thought Savannah would like). So, I wanted to spread the word in hopes of supporting an awesome growing company.

Savannah is obsessed with Disney princesses, pretty much like every other little girl in America that I know.  And on the surface, it seems like a good thing.  Ya know, all happy and beautiful and girls getting what they really want, like true love (after the Prince saves her, of course).  I can’t lie, I used to watch the movies and dress up in the same Princess clothes that Savannah does now.  But as I’ve been taking many, many woman’s studies classes that touch on issues and the messages we send young girls and grew up with ourselves, yes, it does worry me. Am I worrying for nothing? Maybe. Did I turn out alright? Yes, but don’t we want better for our children?

Think about it. Pretty much every woman I know has body issues.  Now you and I compare our selves to magazine covers and TV ads constantly, probably not even realizing it. We’re forced against an unattainable standard of beauty daily, constantly through the day, and it’s proven statistically that it brings us down about how we feel about ourselves just with a few flips of a page.  Because there are not “real” women in most of the media, not one (perhaps minus the Dove Campaigns) that doesn’t turn to plastic surgery, personal trainers, professional make up artist, air brushing, etc. We can’t keep up with them with our child bearing hips, crows feet wrinkles, and belly flab.   Sadly though, we start the comparison at a very young age. In fact, Disney shows us images of women not liking their looks. Ever seen Peter Pan?  In the beginning Tinker Bell is admiring her reflection when she looks down and is shocked by the size of her bottom and hips. Ever noticed that all the princesses bodies look the same, just different hair or skin color?  They all look like Barbies, with super skinny waists and big boobs, even though they are supposedly around the age of 16 (I know the Little Mermaid is 16), totally unrealistic and, again, unattainable for most people (and not to mention an unattainable life style as well). Why is there not more a variety? And why does the men always save the woman?  Why can’t the woman ever save herself?

And what about other messages?  Like Beauty and the Beast, do you realize that is an abusive relationship right there? Bell is taken captive by the Beast, she is locked up (isolated from her father, typical sign), she has to deal with several bouts of his anger and rage, but then it gets happy because he suddenly changes to a Prince because of “love.”  And we let our children watch this movie thinking it’s a happy princess ending and thus saying that abuse is ok?  I watched a documentary about the Disney movies, and no lie, there were kids who picked up what was going on and said things like, “I love Beauty and the Beast! I just feel bad for Bell because she has to live with the Beast when he gets really angry.”  How is that a love story? How is that a good message, when it’s saying “Stick with the man you love even if he’s a beast because eventually he’ll turn around!” Wrong. In real life, he won’t turn around, it will only get worse. (Note: If you are my family or friend, please do not buy Savannah this DVD for her birthday or Christmas ;-) Thanks!). Our girls deserve a better example of true love than that.

Now please, please don’t get me wrong. I grew up with Disney and have the same fond childhood love as you all do. I loved going to Disney World, and probably will take Savannah there one day because it’s a great and magical experience. My problem is that girls get sucked into this world and watch these movies over and over, they dress up like them and want to be like them, and they internalize just as we have the messages about relationships and body.  No, Disney is not all bad.  I just wish they would think more clearly about the total package they are sending to girls and I think us as parents need to careful watch what we put on the TV to filter the messages and images, even if it means giving up a DVD like Peter Pan or Beauty and the Beast.

Anyways, what inspired this post were these images by Dina Goldstein. She does something really neat with these Princesses, she brings them to modern day life and what they may be like if they had realistic endings.  These are two of my favorites (if you know the stories they speak for themselves), more can be found here.