At Mumablue we stand for the family: that’s why we want to join LGBT Pride Day by advocating for family diversity. We are always committed to values such as respect, inclusion, and tolerance, values that are very present in our books in many different contexts, values that we believe are the basis of responsible and healthy education.
The other day I saw a documentary from the 60s when people really started “going on holiday” in the summer. They weren’t afraid of packing with children then! The whole family could fit into a Chevy. And when I say the whole family I mean the father, the mother, the four kids, grandma, and grandpa… And even a canary cage! Really? In the roof rack, two small suitcases. REALLY?
Traveling with children dramatically changes the idea of what travel means. I have friends who are “backpacking” mothers. Or so they say… although I don’t really believe it. Or maybe they have the wrong concept of what a backpacker is… The first principle of every backpacker is freedom, uncertainty, the ability to improvise… concepts that clash head-on with the condition of being parents and, therefore, with the fact of traveling with children.
The other day I was thinking about how to tackle environmental education with my children and how parents should address issues such as responsible consumption, environmental sustainability, ecological footprint, or the importance of recycling. To do this, I went back to the time when I started recycling… What a memory! How beautiful it was. And how important we felt sorting waste. Once, I even cleaned my waste before taking it to the dumpster!
Experts say kids should eat vegetables. And kids say experts should eat them! Meanwhile, here we are, mothers, caught in the middle of that crossfire, pulling out crazy tricks for children to eat vegetables. I’ve tried everything, even marketing tactics: I once dressed up as a VIP! (Very Important Pea). You may think it’s crazy… and it is… but, let’s see, I said to myself: a mascot always works. Well, it’s clear that, in this case, it didn’t: while Marie and Emma looked at me with a mocking look, David broke down in tears, heartbroken. I suppose he thought that the giant pea had eaten his mother.
Being a mom is never easy, but being a mom during confinement is a different story. Today I’d like to discuss the subject of homework assignments. Come on! The very first day they sent things to print. Who the hell has a printer at home anymore! Documents are printed at work, that is a fact! Just because I’m working from home doesn’t mean I have a printer AT home. Alright? On the second day, they sent out an educational website. Very nice, if it wasn’t for the fact that it required Flash Player! Are you kidding me? Since when you don’t renew content, since Y2K? Craft activities have reached a whole new level. Was it just me, or did they send you all the activities to do with toilet paper towels? In the middle of the toilet paper crisis! Now that I think about it, maybe the school crafts were the reason for the shortage.
Looking for a fun and original gift for Dad? For this Father’s Day 2020 give him a storybook! We know that dad loves handmade gifts, drawings, pasta crafts, and even colorful ties… but, what if this year we get him an unforgettable gift? “Together” is a Mumablue book that allows you to personalize dad and child and offers a unique family reading experience.
Being a mom during confinement means to multiply yourself at least three times. Remember when we thought confinement was going to end by Easter? Look, a chance to get the work-life balance! That is what most mums thought … What fools we were! What a childish innocence! … More than a month later, locked up at home with three children, with homework, working from home and the news, I realize how fine the line is between conciliation and being a geek. To be a mother in quarantine.
When you become a mother, you’re given superpowers. For example, you can now taste food at magma temperature without getting burned, you’re able to develop cheetah reflexes, and you’re surprisingly able to smash any kind of insect, no matter how big and hairy it is. But life isn’t all that rosy! With the first child, many fears of motherhood (a.k.a maternal neurosis) appear. You know, that thing that makes us suddenly crazy if we lose sight of our kid even though it’s only for a thousandth of a second.
Hi, I’m Olivia. And that’s it. I’m a real mom and I write a blog for real-life moms. I say this because, lately, there seems to be a lot of robot mothers. You may know them as “supermoms,” and they’re experts in their trade. Especially on social media. There aren’t many of them, but they are well organized and know how to hit the button that makes a mortal mother, like me, sometimes feel that she is not doing things as well as they could be. Does this happen to you too?