Lawyer Mama

Another Sneak Peak up on the Photography Blog

This time it's a maternity session for an absolutely gorgeous family.  And, conveniently, they live on the beach!

See more of my lifestyle portrait work at LightHearted Photography.

Make A Wish

I have a new post up on Dabbles, with the story behind the photo above. And, of course, more photos.

Three for the Price of One

New post up on Lawyer Mama Dabbles. It's all about where I live, in case Jenny wants to stalk me.

New post up on DC Metro Moms. The sexist commercials just finally went too far!

New post up on MOMocrats. Want to read about the Evolution of a MOMocrat?

Missing Her

I have a post about my grandmother with some very personal photos up on Lawyer Mama Dabbles. No, it's not that kind of "personal." Get your mind out of the gutter. (I'm talking to you, Jenny!) I don't post porn on the internet. (Although I bet my ad revenue would dramatically increase if I did. Hmmm....)

Missing Her

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Also, the D.C. Metro Moms are discussing education today, all day. I have a rant about public schools that should be up as the introductory post by Wednesday morning. Go check it out!

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Joanne, aka Pundit Mom, will be on Blog Talk Radio for Kristin's Motherhood Uncensored podcast to talk about how moms are getting involved in the elections. A few other MOMocrats may be calling in too and I know you won't want to miss it. (I may even call in myself. Ahem.)

Iraq: Five Years Later

I'm over at MOMocrats today spouting off about the Iraq war today. Actually, all of the MOMocrats are. Check it out.

I was also spouting off about Mommy guilt yesterday at D.C. Metro Moms Blog. Something I know nothing about. {/sarcasm} Actually, all of the D.C. Metro Moms were. Check it out.

I'm also spouting off at Lawyer Mama Dabbles about my discovery and love of color and such. Check it out. I like that photo essay so much, I may post it over here.

And you thought I'd just been slacking lately!

Yes, my readers, comments, and Technorati rating are starting to approach zero, but that's just because I don't have time to comment on all of your lovely blogs. I've been doing the "drive by" a lot lately and I apologize. I'm not doing a very good job of holding up my end of the conversation. But I'm trying.

Most Interesting....

My most interesting photos on Flickr. As determined by Flickr's mysterious calculations.



I have new California photos up on Lawyer Mama Dabbles.

Check over at MOMocrats for the latest on the election.

I swear I'll be back with an actual, real post tomorrow!

Early Childhood Education From A Military Perspective

A lovely piece ran in our local Virginian Pilot today about early childhood education. It was written by a retired Vice Admiral and applied his own brand of "military logic" to the arguments against state funding of early childhood education. It was so refreshing, I had to share it:

A Military Perspective On Preschool

As a retired military officer, I am concerned with the debate about whether to fund the proposed expansion of the Virginia Preschool Initiative. I am concerned because opponents are often vigorous, employing one of two tactics, neither of which seems defensible.

One of these tactics is political - the attempt to stir partisan opposition to the proposal solely because it is championed by a governor from the opposing party. This tactic, of course, is contrary to a military way of doing business, where decisions are based on reason and empirical evidence rather than political motives.

The second tactic is the "yes, but" approach, as in "we think expansion of preschool is a good idea, but it's too costly," or "but there are too many practical barriers to overcome," or similar yes-but evasions.

To a former officer, "yes, but" has the ring of excuse-making or lack of commitment to the objective, both of which must be overcome to stay on course.

So why should you care what a retired sailor like me thinks about preschool?

You should care, because the military cares, and deeply, about this topic. So deeply, in fact, that starting nearly two decades ago, the Department of Defense launched a services-wide initiative to increase the availability of high-quality early education programs for its youngest dependents.

The military took up this mission to ensure that children of military parents would start kindergarten ready to succeed. Military leaders championed the cause, funds were allocated, programs were made available so all parents could afford high-quality programs.

The effort proved so successful that government and private-sector policy experts began lauding the military's initiative as a model that should be emulated in the civilian sector.

Why such a strong commitment by the military to quality early education and school readiness? Quite simply, the decision was prompted by the following circumstances:
* A large number of military spouses working outside the home
* Half of today's service members have one or more children under age 5; this amounts to nearly 500,000 across all the branches

But there was another commitment, a common-sense one: to do the right thing for children and their parents in uniform.

So, from the perspective of an observer who has seen how this can succeed, I must now ask why some Virginia decision makers seem so reluctant to follow the lead of their military counterparts.

To borrow a naval phrase, we need all hands on deck. Vote to use the lessons learned in the military as a shining example. Access to high-quality, affordable child care for all should be expanded in our state so that all our children have a fighting chance to succeed.

Jim Metzger
Vice Admiral, USN (ret.)
Suffolk

Amen.

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There was a political rally for Obama in Virginia Beach here this evening. Unfortunately, what with the kiddos and all, I didn't think it was a good idea to attend. (It's T's Navy Reserve weekend, so I'm on my own with the kiddos.) I hear it was a good time with lots of noise and lots of people. I have to admit it's kind of nice to hear Virginia's primary described as "pivotal" even if it is the local paper doing it. I'll just try to forget that we were all but ignored before the Wednesday after Super Tuesday and enjoy it while it lasts. I know all the politicians will evaporate from the Commonwealth after Tuesday's election.

Speaking of politics, the D.C. Metro Moms (and all of their sister sites) are writing about politics and voting today. Head on over and check it out. I'm sure there will be some entertaining and controversial pieces going up throughout the day.

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I have some pictures from the zoo up on Lawyer Mama Dabbles. You can see what a hellion my Holden is when allowed to roam free from the confines of his stroller....

Spanish Town

I have about 5000 pictures from Mardi Gras parades. And, of course, I want to share all of them! I'll try to restrain myself, but you'll just have to bear with me for the next few days, um, or weeks.

I'll put some up on Lawyer Mama Dabbles every day too.

These are from the Spanish Town parade in Baton Rouge that The Queen was in. She's a member of the Krewe of Pink Ladies. How cool is that? They have jackets and everything. Spanish Town is one looooong parade. It was great and much more family friendly than the parades in New Orleans.


Float with the capitol building in the background. The Spanish Town "mascot" is the flamingo. There was a lot of pink.



The Queen on her float. See what I mean about the jackets?



Hollis in front of the Pink Ladies float. The theme was "Purple is the new Pink" in honor of LSU's national championship. Geaux Tigers! (Please forgive me, Sebastian. It's just a fling.)
Notice that Hollis is all decked out with beads and a flamingo lollipop? This was looooong before the parade started. I just took him up and down the road to look at all the floats getting ready and the boy cleaned up!



My self portrait before the parade. I wore my pink boa just for the occasion. The Queen supplied the beads.



The Queen's gorgeous daughter and honorary Pink Lady. I tried to bring her home with me. Seriously. LOVED her.



Waiting for the parade.



More waiting. See? She's gorgeous. And she and Hollis got along swimmingly.




Everyone who's seen these photos swears these two must be siblings. Nope. There was no fighting at all, just playing. The Princess just entertained Hollis for two hours. Seriously. I'm going to go back and steal her.

I have to say that attending a Mardi Gras parade with two cute kids is far different from attending one as a hot, childless woman. (I'm just assuming the hot part. I never said I wasn't egotistical.) I didn't even have one request to ... um ... lift my shirt and I have never seen so many stuffed animals rain down around me.

I will have more photos up soon....

Absolutely Nothing To See Here

But you can go over to Lawyer Mama Dabbles and see my latest pictures!

While I'm In New Orleans....

Try to forget that I'm having fun in New Orleans. Go over and laugh at my obsessive competitiveness. Leave it to me to combine two neuroses.