Free Republic

Vicky* remembers the moment she first held her adopted baby in her arms. "He was destined for us. There was never a doubt in my mind that he wasn't mine," says Vicky, who, along with her partner, Beth*, is raising a 6-year-old boy they adopted from Guatemala. Parenthood didn't come easily for the couple. They struggled with infertility problems and then took a tremendous risk by adopting internationally, which is illegal for an openly gay couple. But once the tumultuous adoption process was finalized, this non-traditional family continued living a very ordinary, suburban life. "It's just like any other family...

To my Conservative Friends: When my beautiful wife (I upgraded) and I got married 16 years ago, we talked a lot about our future children. We decided to raise them in a loving, catholic, conservative household. We would teach them values, manners and respect. Today they are 11 and 7 and I could not be more proud and blessed to have two such beautiful children inside and out. As everyone, we have made mistakes in our lives, but the best decision we ever made was deciding to have my wife stay at home to have the primary role of raising...

Can blue collar workers like ‘Joe the Plumber’ and the busy soccer moms swing the election away from the current Obama leaning trend? The answer is an unequivocal and resounding yes; but why should they. Let’s see. With Barack Obama still holding the edge in most polls is the conservative ship in danger of sinking? Some say no. They say that it is now up to the average American citizen to look away from everyday cares and take a gander at the rhetoric and the facts about election 2008. What are the facts?

Can Obama Win Back Wal-Mart Moms?Tuesday, Sep. 09, 2008 By KAREN TUMULTY / WASHINGTON **SNIP** The women that pollsters are watching most closely this year are different in some ways from their "soccer mom" and "security mom" sisters of those earlier election cycles. For one thing, they are slightly older than soccer moms (in their 40s and 50s) and are juggling another set of problems — how to pay for college for their kids, and how to take care of their elderly parents. They are also less upscale. Lacking college degrees, they are more likely to be feeling the brunt...

Queen Victoria was undoubtedly one great World leader. She had NINE children. She had a very ill son, Leopold. Leopold was a hemophiliac and was always at risk for bleeding to death. He did as a young adult. Her son, Bertie, Prince of Wales was a wild man. He had the habit of sleeping with married women from his teens on. In times when sleeping with a married woman could get you killed. Victoria was always saving him from messes. Her husband died when her youngest was only 4 and several children were under 13. She raised them just fine....

Fashion Time: How do the fashion needs of housewives differ from other women? Sarah-Jean: Well housewives and SAHM’s (stay at home moms) can’t be running around doing errands in Jimmy Choos and a strapless cocktail dress. It’s impractical and most certainly foolish. The life of a housewife is so much different than women in NYC with full time jobs. We can’t take a cab to keep our new shoes looking fabulous or keep from getting blisters in them. We’re usually chasing toddlers around from dawn until dusk for heaven’s sakes! Housewives need a completely different set of fashion rules and...

A shocking 34 percent of mothers reported having had an extramarital affair after the birth of their children, according to a study released yesterday. More than half, 53 percent, of women polled in the "Sex and the American Mom" survey also said they had entertained the idea of straying on their spouses. "That's a far cry from just fantasizing about it, which I think is an important distinction," said Pilar Guzman, editor-in-chief of Cookie magazine, which conducted the survey in conjunction with the "AOL Body" Web site. "They're thinking 'when and how can I do this?' " Celebrities whom moms...

05/06/2008 DON JACOBS: Memories of Mom and peach tree switches By: Don Jacobs , The Enterprise Sunday will be Mothers Day, so it's not too early to begin thinking of appreciative ways to express love toward those who live and fond remembrances for the ones no longer with us There are as many ways to commemorate the special occasion as there are mothers, and while all moms are unique, they generally share certain qualities. Perhaps readers will picture their own as I recall mine. Strict? She invented the word, or at least I thought so at 9. I would do...

WASHINGTON, April 11, 2008 – Servicemembers’ friends and families living in west-central California have a shoulder to lean on if they should need it. Members of Delta Blue Star Moms prepare care packages to send to deployed troops. The group, an official chapter of Blue Star Mothers of America, is based in Knightsen, Calif. Photo courtesy of Delta Blue Star Moms  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “Our group offers a supportive environment for family members, primarily moms, of service personnel,” said Tammy Callahan, president of the Delta Blue Star Moms, based in Knightsen, Calif. “It is most difficult...

WASHINGTON, March 25, 2008 – In 1967, Robert Hutchinson was a young soldier serving in the jungles of Vietnam. He was concerned that the men in his unit weren’t getting enough mail from home. Members of 4th Platoon, Company A, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, pose for a photo while serving in Vietnam. They were part of the unit adopted by San Mateo, Calif., in 1968. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Sgt. Joe Artavia’s letter home to his sister, Linda Patterson, asking her to find a city to adopt his unit made a...

WASHINGTON, March 16, 2008 – A new award administered by troop support groups and sponsored by a major corporation aims to recognize the sacrifices made by military moms. The Operation Homefront Military Motherhood Award will provide the winner with $5,000 and a free trip to the awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. The award pays tribute to mothers of servimembers, military wives with dependent children and women serving in the military who have children. It is sponsored by Lockheed Martin with support from the Military Times Media Group, and it is administered in conjunction with CinCHhouse.com. “We're looking for inspirational...

Why motherhood is the greatest job of all22:13pm 29th February 2008 Motherhood is denigrated as never before. Yet here, in a tribute to Mums everywhere, the Mail's Allison Pearson says it's still the most joyous (and important) job in the world. Situation vacant: challenging managerial position in busy small organisation. Would suit flexible, energetic female who doesn't need any sleep. Shifts last 24 hours a day. Boss comes on holiday with you. You will be expected to be a teacher, a cook, a nurse, a chauffeur, a health and safety adviser, a cleaner, a management consultant and an agony aunt. Must...

10/30/2007 - SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) -- What began as a novel idea to give a handful of infantry soldiers in the Sinai a chance to say "hi" to family and friends back home during the holidays, has been transformed into a program that has thousands of servicemembers from around the globe appearing on TVs in virtually every state and territory in America. The holiday greetings program, videotaped and produced by the Army and Air Force Hometown News Service, is in its 24th year, providing servicemembers serving overseas during the holidays a chance to send short "hi mom" greetings back home....

(IsraelNN.com) In spite of the lack of shielding from Kassam rockets, Prime Minster Ehud Olmert has asked Sderot parents to send their children to school at the beginning of the new school year next week. The Sderot Parents Association has threatened to keep their children home until proper protection is in place. Speaking at the “Education City” convention in Holon on Monday Olmert said “Don’t deprive your children of this experience, with all the dangers you face.” In spite of government promises, the majority of Sderot schools still lack protection from Kassam rockets fired from Gaza. Just last week a...

Mom's pride 25 years after his bleak beginning, adopted crack baby earns law degree Parents' love proves ultimate cure Dennis McCarthy, Columnist LA Daily News The kid came into this world with two strikes against him. Then he hit a home run. Ila Pawley became his mom. "I got lucky. So lucky," D.D. Pawley said Friday as he slipped on his cap and gown. "If it wasn't for her love and all the sacrifices she made for me, I wouldn't be standing here today." A young man with a bright future, getting his law degree from the Sandra Day O'Connor...

LA HABRA, Calif. — An Orange County man cut off his mother's head with a circular saw and then died after trying to decapitate himself, authorities said. Police answered a 911 report of a family dispute at a Pinehurst Avenue home just after 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, entered a locked bedroom and found the body of 60-year-old Guadalupe Ruiz on a bed, police spokeswoman Cindy Knapp said. Arthur Ruiz Jr., 32, was on another bed with the saw nearby. He had died of neck injuries, police said. It was unclear why Ruiz attacked his mother, police said. A child and three...

“We’ve never had a mother who ever ran or was elected president…” That was Hillary Clinton speaking earlier this week, when she appeared on the television show The View. Don’t think for a minute that she was just making an interesting historical observation. No, Hillary doesn’t work that way. She never says or does anything that hasn’t been perfectly scripted and endlessly polled beforehand. She had a message, a new strategy to try out. So look for the new “Mom Strategy” to be the anchor of her presidential run. Forget Soccer Moms and Security Moms; now it’s going to be...

'Tis the season to share, and one local group that gives year-around, really goes all out this time of year. It calls itself TAMMS, Tucson Area Marine Moms. Cathy, who, like the other moms, prefers to use just her first name, picks up items off of a table. She explains, "I am packing up boxes to send out to the troops," to Tucson Marines deployed in Iraq. Cathy says, "Basically, I just go down the line and throw a little of this, a little of that. I've got to get some soap in there and some shampoo. I put some...

WHEN Laura Hunter welcomes up to half a dozen fellow mothers to her suburban New Jersey home for an afternoon children’s play hour, she follows a strict routine. The children are ushered into the playroom or garden and given cups filled with apple or orange juice. Then Hunter gets out her real glasses and pours margaritas for the mums.They have become known as the Mommies Who Drink, after the title of a new book by Brett Paesel, a California writer who urges mothers not to sacrifice their lives to child-rearing. Their cocktail of choice is the “momtini” — a potent...

Army Spc. Claudia Carreon has a 2-year-old daughter, but cannot remember being pregnant or giving birth. She has two brothers and two sisters, but doesn't know who they are without nametags. She sometimes can't recall what she ate for breakfast, or where she put things when she cleaned up. "My mother found the toaster in the refrigerator," said Carreon, 32, an Iraq War veteran left with a brain injury that wiped her memory clean. The Tucson woman now lives in a discombobulated world, where conversations often don't make sense, hallucinations come without warning and relationships must be reconstructed daily from...