My name is Melissa, but I’m better known as mommy or mamamamamama around here. I live in Sanford, NC, about an hour from the Triangle area. The proud mother to 2 little boys, born in 2002 and 2006, both of whom are clearly the smartest and most adorable kids ever. We are currently expecting baby #3, with an estimated arrival date of January, 2009. Though I identify myself as an attachment parent, I recognize that AP is not for every parent and child and try to respect all non-abusive parenting choices. Green living is important to me, but laziness tends to get in the way of my efforts.

I am the worst housewife on the planet. I frequently daydream about going back to work but the lack of available jobs in this rural area and my fears of not being able to find (and afford) an excellent day care situation hold me back. And then there’s the mommy guilt…as much as I know that many women are excellent mothers AND have a great career, I just don’t think I can be one of them. I’ve never been good at balancing my work and home life.

Right now, my biggest (non parenting!) challenge is helping my husband get his new website and business launched. By virtue of the fact that I’m the only person involved who has a marketing degree, I have had the title of Director of Marketing bestowed upon me. This means my main duty is to develop the website and get the word out. Since all of my website building knowledge is self-taught you can imagine that it’s been frustrating, but also a great learning experience. There’s also the added complication that I don’t really understand the business. It’s very technical and my non-technical brain has a hard time comprehending it. For now it is an unpaid position, with some interesting perks like sleeping with the boss. Hopefully that will change soon…the unpaid part, not the sleeping with the boss part!

My kids are very healthy, but we have had some minor things we’ve dealt with in both of them. My oldest has Sensory Integration Dysfunction, mostly limited to hearing and taste. We currently see an occupational therapist once a week to help him learn to deal with that. My youngest was born a couple of weeks early and though not premature in the technical sense, he did have a rough start. When he was around 2 months old, I noticed his head was misshapen. He had plagiocephaly, most likely caused by mild torticollis and womb position. After several months of physical and play therapy, along with a DOCBand he managed to get caught up with normal kids his age and his head is now shaped normally. I am thankful that we caught it when we did and that I had people encourage me to insist on treatment. I’m grateful that we’ve not experienced anything more serious when it comes to their health and well-being.

I hope you enjoy reading the blog. If so inclined, drop a donation in the box at the right. Everything I receive will go to paying for ad-free hosting. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, send them to themama at iamthemama dot com!