52 Questions

Not long ago it hit me that I was spending a great deal writing about things that I didn't want to write about. While I love the great variety of crafty mom blogs out there and follow quite a few of them, I did not set out to write a tutorial blog. Instead, I started this blog as a way to reflect on my journey as a mother, a wife, a woman, a crafter and connect with others who also find themselves wearing many, many hats. It was out of this realization, that my 52 questions were born.

I asked my readers, friends, and family to help me come up with 52 questions, one for each week in 2011, about the joys and struggles of being a modern mom. I'm not quite there yet, so I'd love your help in coming up with questions. Below you'll find the list so far. As I start to post my responses, I'll link back to the questions below so that by this point next year you should see 52 links, 52 attempts to answer the questions below.

1. Why 52 Questions?
2. Spoiler Alert: How do you handle gift overload during the holidays?
3. I'm Not Superwoman: Why birth without drugs?
4. Cry It Out or Cuddle? Does sleep training work?
5. Share! How Come I'm Always Yelling This Word?
6. The Question of Religion: What happens if you were raised a religion but haven't attended in years - should you return to services simply because you've had children?
7. Making the Parts Whole: How do we integrate our various selves? How do I resolve my mom self, my professional self, my sexual self, my creative self and all those selves out there running in cooperation. Can we be several selves at the same time? Take the best part of each self and use it to enhance the others -- and feel safe doing so in front of family, friends and colleagues?
8. Why Breastfeeding: Besides cost effectiveness and health benefits, why did I choose to breastfeed?
9. Boobies: How do you handle breastfeeding your infant with an older sibling around?
10. Mother Knows Best? When should you question the advice you get from your child's doctor?
11. Food for Thought: How is it that my toddler knows a vegetable from a mile away and avoids it, no matter what its shape, size, or color? How did a "foodie" like me end up with picky eating toddlers?
12. Toilet Tactics: Is it really advisable to offer an external reward for a normal bodily function (ie, potty training rewards)?
13. Where's the Line? Where and when should the working mom draw the line when it comes to having a successful career?
14. Ubiquitous Mommy Guilt: Many mommy bloggers and writers express their feelings of "mommy guilt". What is "mommy guilt" really?
15. Mediating Media: How does a parent protect their child from images of violence, sex, and drugs when they are everywhere? There must be a balance between the MTV and media free home.
16. Parenting Others? Do you step in to "parent" other children in public when their own parents are not in sight?
17. Behaving Badly: What do you do when you and your partner don't agree on how to best address your child's bad behavior?
18. What Time Is It? How do you carve out personal time as a stay-at-home mom?
19. Gender Wars? We are born a sex, but are we born a gender?
20. How Much Is Too Much? When it comes to pop culture icons and their marketing to children, how much is too much? Or another way to ask this - do I really need to buy another Thomas the Train pajama set for my kid?

Help me build this list. Type your question suggestions into the box below.


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