Yes on Measure OO

Yes, the City of Oakland is in a financial crisis. Yes, Oakland elected officials have mismanaged the city and the budget. Yes, the City is in the hole about... hmmm... $42.8 MILLION DOLLARS!!

But I am still voting YES ON MEASURE OO. In the most simplest sense, Measure OO would increase the amount of money going into the Oakland Fund for Children and Youth that funds a diverse range of youth programs in the city.

Let me tell you why...

1. CITIZENS SHOULD BE HEARD IN CITY BUDGET MAKING!! There is very little opportunity for citizens to give meaningful input during the budget process or in any city matters. A certain gadfly goes on and on during public comment about the city not properly following the Sunshine Ordinace and Brown Act making City Council and city staff roll their eyes. But there is some truth to his rants. The city's boards and commissions, the vehicles of public input, are poorly organized and have little impact on city matters. So years and years have gone by where we have had to trust the leadership of the City Council and Mayor. (Many years where I feel the City Council has not managed funds well.) The City's Measure process is the only mechanism for voters to tell the city what the priorities should be! AND, youth should definitely be a priority.

2. IT'S COMING FROM THE PEOPLE/ORGANIZATIONS I TRUST!! This initiative is being backed by people that have been doing meaningful work with youth in this town and are seeing results! ...To name a few: AYPAL, Kids First!, Youth Together, Oakland Leaf.. As someone who spent the last three years running a youth program in the Town, I know that these are the folks who are getting things done. So, why not trust the experts and listen to their suggestions on how to be proactive about the problems we face in the city??

3. YOUTH IN OAKLAND NEED THIS! Why not give youth more opportunities to do something positive before they have a chance to do something negative?

This is my choice as a mama in Oakland. Vote YES ON MEASURE OO and let City Council know that they have to make youth a priority AND find a way to make this work fiscally.

oaktown mama: berkeley high school pool tot swim classes

You know you're from Oakland if you jump on all the cool resources Berkeley has for their residents. (F'real. I remember about 1/4 of the Oakland youth in my program were trying to transfer to Berkeley High School.)

On Friday, when I was supposed to be getting some work done, I planned for Benji and Soluna to attend the Parent and Tot Classes at the Berkeley High School pool. I ended up sticking around, watching and wishing I had brought my bathing suit. But, I bet we'll be back to the pool pretty soon.


More info can be found by clicking here.

oaktown mama: baby friendly in our hood

Since my little '96 Honda Civic has been sick for the past few weeks, I've been (for the second time since Soluna was born) totally bound by public transportation and how far my feet can take me carrying Soluna in her Ergo. In my little neighborhood, that has no name but is right where West Oakland meets North Oakland and Emeryville, I have been out to restaurants and, let me tell ya, this is a baby-friendly hood (well, at least some restaurants.) Families, move on in! I don't think being baby-friendly is just about having changing tables and play spaces. There are some folks that naturally welcome babies and others that completely avoid eye contact. Soluna would probably choose a friendly waiter over an available high-chair any day. Here are the top places in my area:

Bakesale Betty: (5098 Telegraph Ave, Oakland) Enjoy the yummy chicken sandwiches, ginger snap cookies and strawberry shortcake on the ironing board tables outside with your little one. Staff is always smiley, offering free cookies and talking to Soluna. The owner has a litle one that's a little older than Soluna so they are use to having little ones around.

Tumble and Tea: (4120 Telegraph Ave, Oakland) Obviously a good choice for babies as mentioned in a previous post. I wouldn't say their staff is friendly to Soluna or other babies for that matter, but it's a great place to eat and chill out while your baby socializes and is excited to see little ones her size. Wireless internet and changing tables available!

Cafe Dejena: (3939 MLK, Oakland) Free wireless internet, pretty good food and very baby-friendly staff. I like their spaghetti, although they warn you that it takes them about 30 minutes to cook. No changing table though.

Manzanita Restaurant: (4001 Linden Ave., Oakland) Macrobiotic vegan food as I mentioned in a previous post. It tastes yummy and is good for a breastfeeding mama. And I don't have to think twice about offering the food on my plate to Soluna. Baby-friendly staff.

Miyozen: (1147 40th Street, Oakland) Can't beat Miyozen. They have a kids play area, pretty good sushi and a staff that seems to be use to having babies around. One employee likes to show me pictures of his little girl who is a few months younger than Soluna. No changing table, but I used the futon in the play area. The waiters also know to place the hot stuff away from Soluna's interested hands.

Lolas say the darndest things!

Alright two posts in a row with my mom in it! I can't help it. The other day I was sitting with my Mom while breastfeeding Soluna. I mentioned how Soluna actually bit me for the first time (yes, she has 5 teeth now!). She kinda dozed off while breastfeeding and her teeth kinda closed down on my breast. I was quick to get her off and she stayed asleep.

My mom then says, "Just wait, if you breastfeed until she's 2 she's going to bite your nipple off!"

I smiled and laughed. I was like, "Mom! That doesn't happen!"

She didn't smile or even seem the least bit relenting on the fact that she was making this up. So I asked her, "WHO? Whose nipple got bitten off?"

She says, "People! Really! It happens."

So I ask again, "Who? Tell me."

She mumbles something about, "People in the Philippines..." and "... just wait, you'll see. You'll see what happens if you breastfeed for that long."

End conversation.

So tonight we went out to dinner with the whole family and I can't help but mention it. My sister, who is a family practice doctor, laughed hysterically. My mom continues to insist and says something like, "Fine! Breastfeed until she's 5! You'll see! We'll check your nipples then."

Damn. And it's funny, but it's also not so funny. I don't know where she's coming from... why she's discouraging me from breastfeeding. (Which in subtle ways, she's been doing since the first few weeks Soluna was born.) I mean, does she really believe she's looking out for the well-being of my nipples?? According to her some of my aunts and other women in the Philippines breastfed their babies until they were 4 or 5. They seem fine, although I haven't done a nipple inspection...

blessed.

Soluna waited until the day after her baptism to start making bigger moves. I like to think that she had to be blessed before feeling ready to move onto the next major world-altering stage. Who could blame her? She's been getting into everything and after picking her up and seeing a bunch of hair, dust and unidentifiable particles on her butt, I realized I need to be better about keeping our wood floors clean.

I am starting to relax so much more as a mama, but not completely. I talked about how I'm not a germ-a-phobe and now I easing up on my original food plans. I am still not a "whatever goes" kinda person and I do hope Soluna and the whole family eats healthier. But, I am more willing to experiment with food options for her hoping that she gets some more Filipino and Mexican food tastes before she turns one. But still a big "no" to junk food and fried food.

It kind of annoyed me though that while I was holding her, her Abuelo felt the need to quickly shove sweets in her mouth so we had no chance to protest. And, I might not have minded so much, but the grandparents feel like they have to "sneak" things to her like she's being deprived.

My mom is constantly frowning at Soluna as I feed her vegetables and says "eeewww... yucky." And, even though Soluna is usually pretty happy eating avocados, my mom insists that she doesn't like it and that I should mix it with milk AND SUGAR. What the heck? When I didn't want to give her fries, she was like, "THAT'S WHAT YOU ATE AS A KID. McDonads and french fries and sweets."... I WAS A FAT KID WHO TOOK LIKE 11 MINUTES TO RUN THE MILE!!! I hope they weren't feeding me McDonald's before I turned 1... I kinda hope Soluna has a healthier start than I did. Seriously, I had hella cup-o-noodles, fried chicken, fried fish, and chicken nugget happy meals.

We also returned 3 boxes of bottles a few weeks ago. Soluna skipped the bottle stage. She's been drinking water from a cup or glass since she was about 6 months or maybe even before then. After I would drink something she would just make a gesture to have me put the glass to her mouth. We've had some spills, but she's pretty good at it.

So besides crawling, eating and drinking... she is also starting to clap more, use her hands so much better, say "mama", "dada" and "papa,"...

Changes... changes...

100% Pinay - 100% Chicana

I think I'm going to get Soluna a little shirt that says this.

Colorful Families

Being one of the first of my friends and my cousins to have a baby has been such a struggle. I've been searching for community and friends with babies who have like interests and politics to connect to on some new level. The ColorfulMamas, listserv/mama's group, has been great. We finally had a Colorful Families BBQ today.

It was a beautiful day with lots of babies, mamas and partners. It was inspiring to talk to mamas who feel like normal 3 months post-partum (it took me way longer to feel normal), who have jumped back to work and are loving it, who are in school getting their JD and hoping to get pregnant again pretty soon, who have made a conscious choice to stay home and take care of their babe as long as possible, etc. They are teachers, writers, administrators, pediatricians, non-profit professionals, organizers. These are women of color, grounded in community and family with an analysis of race, class, gender, etc., who I have a lot to learn from.

It's also nice that Soluna is around a lot of other hapa kids. Everyone seems to be a mix of ethnicities: Mexican/Vietnamese, Mexican/Puerto Rican/African, Corean/French-Algerian, Chinese/Filipino...

Soluna spent the time hanging with her pre-walking homies, Jair and Chencho. She is also very interested in dirt. I was impressed by some of the babies eating skills & their mama menus. I'm going to try to feed Soluna some more stuff. I'm looking forward to many more Colorful get-togethers.

We had our picnic at Roberts Park in Oakland. And I am definitely heading back with the family. There is a great kids playground AND pool.

Germs, Germs, Germs

My mama hormones have calmed down a bit (the hormones that put me in ultra-protective mode 24/7). It happened really gradually and I've learned that I am very far from being a germ-a-phobe. Initially, I felt like Benji and I were washing our hands like 20 times a day. Seriously, we both had rough, dry hands for a few weeks. Now, we truly believe in the 5 second rule... or maybe the 10-30 second rule?? And, I let her put a lot of "interesting" things in her mouth...

So anyways, I finally decided to take Soluna to Tumble and Tea. I had heard that T&T makes your babies sick! A mama friend had said her son had gotten a cold every time they went there. So I had avoided the place even though it is walking distance from my home and, since we don't have nice parks in the area, probably the best bet for baby entertainment.

We had a great time. She played with a few babies her age and was inspired by their advanced mobility. Yeah, she put some toys in her mouth that have probably been in other kids mouths, but that's what babies do! Yes, little babies came up to her with drool hanging out of her mouth. The toys were not pristine. Most of them were pretty battered, but I really don't care and, of course, Soluna didn't notice. Some of the older kids were a little rough, but she didn't get hurt and I wasn't worried. She's sturdy!

I figure our bodies were made to fight germs. Germs can actually be good for you and will help build up your immunity. We've been back to Tumble and Tea 3 times and Soluna has not gotten sick. And, even if she was to get sick, she would be fine and a little bit stronger after the cold subsided.

F'real? Shopping cart covers??

Some excerpts of ads selling these kinda things:

This colorful shopping cart cover for babies and toddlers fits most shopping carts and covers the entire seating area (sides, back, handlebars and front) to offer maximum protection against disease-causing bacteria.

Why? Its padded construction protects against icky, sticky germs on shopping carts, while providing a plush place for your little one to sit!

This shopping cart phenomenon and overprotective parenting is deconstructed in a book I read A Nation of Wimps. I don't completely buy everything in that book, but some of it is pretty dead on.

off topic: "You can't eat your dollar!"

I saw this as an e-mail signature from one of the ColorfulMamas:

After the last tree has been cut down,
And the last river is poisoned,
When the last fish has been caught;
Only then will you find that Money cannot be eaten.
-- Cree Indian philosophy

It made me remember my great-grandparents or, at least, a story my mom always tells me about their life as immigrants in the Mission. Money was always tight and my grandma Bridgette was so excited to see big ripe mangoes at a nearby market, but she didn't buy any. She was surprised that they were $1 each. At the time, and even now, it seemed like a lot of money. But my grandpa Ed told her something like... "You can't eat your dollar!"

This is a conversation that my Mom overheard and retells to us. I guess I've never been stingy or cheap with buying good food. I don't spend a lot on clothes, fancy tech stuff or anything else. But food, food is important. And it so absurd to be trading paper for goods. Money is so weird.

I think the philosophy above says even more about money and food.. About the people, maybe even us, depleting resources faster than we can replenish them. Hoping for more and more dollars, without thought. But what will those dollars do when all resources in the world have been spent?

Archived!

As parents, you always gotta save some "interesting" pictures of your kids growing up to be taken out when they bring over their future SigO. This is one of those pictures: