Queenie Backup

Attention Whores Unite

May 29, 2007 by Queen of Spain 9 Comments

Giving up her anti-war protest, Cindy Sheehan is admitting to Mommy Guilt.

“It is so painful to me to know that I bought into this system for so many years, and Casey paid the price for that allegiance. I failed my boy and that hurts the most.”

I like to think of Sheehan as one of the most prominent “naptime activists” of our time. Love her or hate her, she grabbed the anti-war cause by the balls and fought only the way a mother can.

So I ask you- what does it say about our country, the state of our world, that a MOTHER is giving up her fight?

Right or wrong, Sheehan obviously believed in ending the war that claimed her son’s life. Beaten and belittled she has now retreated.

MOTHERS do NOT retreat. MOTHERS fight to the death. Our world is so very fucked up right now, that MOTHERS have had it and are burying their instinct to fade into the shadows. It truly is the end of the world as we know it-our basic, primal instincts can’t take the clusterfuck of this era.
I don’t fault Sheehan for giving up, a person can only take so much heartbreak and pain before becoming numb. I do, however, fault the times we live in-the culture, the ignorance, the ability of our government to ram us up the ass and the ability of our people to bend over and take it. Sheehan said it best, “Casey died for a country which cares more about who will be the next American Idol than how many people will be killed in the next few months while Democrats and Republicans play politics with human lives.”

I’m sure there are those of you who find Sheehan the worst kind of American. While I don’t agree with everything she has done or said, I think she’s the BEST kind of American. She took her pain and fought for what she thought was right. Remember my fellow sheep, you can actually DO that in this country. You can also disagree with her and find her tactics and speech disgusting. Amazing, isn’t it?
However, there is something terribly wrong when a fellow Mamma Bear, who has lost her cub, is beaten down and beaten back until her instinct to protect is nothing more than a faint dream.

Like Sheehan, I admit to being an attention whore. I’m not ashamed. I’m not apologetic. Unlike Sheehan, I am NOT exhausted. This mother can see where this world is headed, and she’s going to point it out and try her best to make others aware.

MOTHERS are giving up, that’s where we are at. Take note, take action, and take care.

Filed Under: Feeling YaYa, Holding Court, Queenie Backup

As if I don’t have ENOUGH trouble keeping her from being a lush, with no top on…

April 23, 2007 by Queen of Spain 21 Comments

…so I was walking through Mervyn’s (yes, large department store chain…I’m NAMING you…come and get me you bastards) with my family this weekend when I saw a Junior’s PJ display.

Just to review, juniors are, generally, NONadults. This would mean they certainly can not vote, or drink, or do many things for themselves that do not require their parent’s permission.

Being the lounge-wear fashionista that I am (that’s my new way of saying ‘sweat-pant mom’ like it?) I had to see what the kids were wearing in the PJ department.

Here’s where things got fuzzy for me, because I ended up in a blind rage tantrum, making the rest of the shopping experience kind of hazy. I know I yelled more than once “ARE THEY KIDDING?” and I also demanded the Kaiser take out his cell phone to take a picture, to which he replied “but I have no camera phone…” despite my continued insistence he TAKE a picture NOW.

Anyway, what could have possibly set me off in such a tizzy in a public place such as…let me say it AGAIN…MERVYN’S????
Captain Morgan’s rum and Jack Daniel’s whiskey PJ sets, marketed to junior GIRLS.

At Mervyn’s. That’s right, I’ll say it again…liquor pajama pants and t-shirts for junior girls. Because nothing says “I’m Daddy’s sweet and innocent little girl” like “Gotta a little Captain IN YA??”

Cough. Ahem…

I realize I have a martini in front of my children. I realize their Dad BBQ’s with a beer in his hand. BUT FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY DON’T MARKET YOUR BOOZE TO MY DAUGHTER UNTIL SHE’S AT LEAST OLD ENOUGH TO FUCKING BUY IT.

Cough. Ahem.

I’m so tired of this. I’m so tired of finding out some asshat company thinks it’s ok to sell my 5-year old a padded bra to boost that cleavage. I’m so tired of seeing those whore-bag Bratz dolls with their blue eyeshadow and thigh highs. I’m so tired of booze companies trying to sell pictures of their bottles on pj pants to my preteen, like its all in good fun.

If anyone is going to teach my daughter to be a cocktail swilling hussy, it’s ME-not you idiots. So lay off. Geez, that is sooooooo the mother’s job, not yours.
I think I shall go write nasty letters to Mervyn’s and Captain Morgan and Jack Daniels now. You know, because I need to yell at someone.

Fuckers.

(and YES, I DO kiss my mother and my children with this mouth—pppppppffffffffft)

Filed Under: Holding Court, Princess Peanut, Queenie Backup, Royal Family Outing, Royal Rant, Royally Inebriated

HAHAHA

April 7, 2007 by Queen of Spain 5 Comments

Come on over to the Huffington Post today and point and laugh with me.

Filed Under: Queenie Backup, Royal Hooters, Royal Rant, Royal Sexlife

Because we must

March 12, 2007 by Queen of Spain 19 Comments

Not one of us is a stable mother. Wife. Friend.

Not one.

There are days I want to run away. There are days I don’t want leave home.

There are days I want to chuck my Paxil in the pool and just see what will come.

The weight gain can’t be worth it.

There are also days, like today, when I find myself blogging at 430am. I just finished a very long night with a friend who, like me, is not a stable wife or mother.

We are NOT our mothers, yet we are not perfect. We are NOT crazy, yet we are certainly not sane.

We are also NOT alone.

I have found myself detached lately. From friends, family, my husband, my children, my life. Nothing severe…but enough to make me take notice. I will not continue life this way. I will not fear owning up to my problems. Owning up to my crazy gene. Fine. Its there. It can make me powerful and it can make me weak. It can make me successful and it has nearly destroyed everything.
Some of us are kidding ourselves. Some of us are medicating ourselves. Some of us are self treating and some of us are destroying our lives.

In support of those mothers around us who need to ask for help…talk to your friends today. Talk to you sisters. Talk to you aunts. Talk to your daughters. Be woman and help a woman today. Encourage her to seek help. Send her your support to NOT BE AFRAID.

I’m going to call today. Encourage the women you love to do the same. They need you.

Filed Under: Queenie Backup, Stepford Crazies

Hello Illinois. How are you today?

December 30, 2006 by Queen of Spain 26 Comments

I can’t believe the STRONG reactions I’m getting to the letter I wrote to Michelle Obama.

Maybe it’s because everyone is on vacation. Maybe it’s because you all have a mother. Maybe it’s because we all want the chance to change the world. I don’t know.

Mullato.org is protesting me (although, Dude…not even ONE email yet, nice protest Sparky) and I’m even being accused of being (gasp) a REPUBLICAN trying to discourage Senator Obama from running. Those of you who actually know me just spit your drink on your keyboard.

After all of this craziness, I’ve only come to one conclusion: Motherhood is hard fucking work.

You can’t even write about some of the decisions a mother makes without stirring up a shitstorm. Smack my ass and call me Caitlin Flanagan, because now people are debating “changing the world or protecting the family.”

Nice.

But that really is what all of this is about. It’s about being a mother. Do you go with showing your children just how big of an impact you can make on the world? Do you take the safer route? It’s about choices. And the millions of choices that go with motherhood. Breast or bottle. Work or home. Cloth or disposable? It. Never. Ends.

My letter to Michelle Obama was nothing more than my sympathy and empathy for having to make yet another motherhood decision. And as we all know, what is best for one family is not, necessarily best for the next.

I still breastfeed my 21-month old. That is a choice that I get shit for. But it works for my family. Sure, it’s not an oval office issue or anything, but it’s an issue none the less. And it seems we women get shit for any decision we make on any motherhood issue.

As a mother, and a mother with a rather LOUD speaking platform, I will happily get the back of ANY MOM for their decisions. It’s time for the world to SHUT THE FUCK UP and remember it’s the mothers who sacrifice, suffer, and agonize over those decisions.

I just spent 10 minutes wondering if I should let my son have another juice box. 10 freaking minutes. And that was over a juice box. And don’t even get me started on the runny nose he currently has and which, if any, medication I will give him for it tonight.

The talking heads and pundits can make fun of me all they want, but how soon they forget photos like this, and this, and this. It’s easy to dismiss a “self-described Mom” when she’s showing support for a fellow mother, but it’s not so easy to dismiss all the mothers, wives, and children I see in those photos.

So mount your protests and do your best spin on my very honest letter. Just keep reading. Because the Mom voice will stay loud, and we’re making the decisions that rock the world-whether you like it or not.

Filed Under: Queenie Backup

Good Morning, Wait-there is an EAST Coast?

December 29, 2006 by Queen of Spain 14 Comments

As my dear friend Kelly put it, “Girl, you are causing quite a stir…” My umbrella is up and ready for the screaming idiots…

Who knew they even had newspapers on that other side of the country?

I kid. I kid. I know that odd state is actually “mid”west. I mean, if you can’t be part of the real west, where I am, you might as well be part of the “mid”west.

I’m actually a little sad. I wanted those nice Chicago Sun-Times people to put my photo next to Robert Novak’s. I had specially trained my photo to stick it’s foot up his photo’s ass. Oh well, next time maybe.

Filed Under: Queenie Backup

Let me clear my throat…

December 23, 2006 by Queen of Spain 18 Comments

Once again I’ve written a piece over at the Huffington Post, and once again many readers are taking it completely the WRONG WAY.

Because I have spent time wondering what Barack Obama’s wife might be thinking, I’m being accused of being “creepy,” a “white bitch,” and my personal favorite “tacky.”

The point of my post was to tell Michelle Obama that whatever their family decides to do, there are many of us out there that will support their decision.

Just to be clear, YES, I want Barack Obama to run for President. Yes, I think the first woman president (Hillary) or African American president or ANY president could be the target of hate groups. YES, I think a black man or woman would be at an even bigger risk. If you think there are not nut jobs in this country, you are living in a fantasy world. And if you think a woman or the first black president wouldn’t be a prime target, you are OUT OF YOUR MIND.

I’m sorry, but how can the Obama (or Clinton) family NOT weigh that as they decide?

YES, I do think it would change the world if Obama ran and won. Simply because he would be a FIRST. Just like Hillary could be a FIRST. That changes my world. That changes HISTORY.

Go ahead and stick your head back in the sand if you think racism and sexism are things of the past. And believe you me, that elephant was not brought in the room by me, it’s been there since the beginning of time. I’m just putting it in the open because ignoring it is retarded.

And for the record, I hope I would be brave enough to change the world if given the opportunity, what I’m saying is I wouldn’t begrudge the Obama family if they decide not too.

Do I think a woman or African American President would die if elected? Dear God, I hope not. I hope we’ve come far enough that it would never happen. But we’re all stupid if we didn’t acknowledge it’s a very real possibility.

Whew. I feel better now. Thanks for hearing me out. I was just losing my mind with some of the comments over there. My letter to Michelle Obama was meant to show her that as a mom, I understand. And that she has my support. Not to be creepy or tacky or evil or overly worried about a family I don’t personally know. I worry about many things. And this is one I just chose to write about because, again, as a mother I can’t imagine what she’s thinking.

It takes special people to change history. I hope they are these people, but it’s a heavy burden. One I’m not sure I could carry. Could you???

Filed Under: Queenie Backup, Royal Rant

Get Our Your Wallet…

December 14, 2006 by Queen of Spain 5 Comments

We criticize, we bitch, and we challenge. We leave comments and type our opinions on everything from gay pastors to breastfeeding mothers. We care enough to stay informed. We care enough to vote. And we certainly care enough to whine about what needs to be done. Bloggers have no shortage of ideas, but not many of us translate our complaints into action. We can write a good game, but can we take it one step further?

Love them or hate them, the ever-blog-present Mom community is kicking ass when it comes to turning posts into power. They’ve got blogging balls, and it’s time the rest of the blogosphere shows some r-e-s-p-e-c-t and supports them this holiday season.

Go ahead and dis their posts on poopy diapers and lazy husbands, but make sure you take out your wallet for their causes. They deserve and demand you attention, because they have harnessed the power of the blogosphere to not just find community and bitch, but to change the world.

What began as a typical Mommy post about family has turned into a full blown auction for Muscular Dystrophy. Her Bad Mother simply talked about her nephew Tanner, who suffers from the disease, and before you could say “Mommyblogger” a fundraiser was coordinated. Ipods, handmade items, jewelry, diaper bags, t-shirts, books, and many other items are up for auction. There is even information on how your child can send Tanner a letter of love and encouragement as he battles.

Over at BlogHer, ad network participants brought up the idea of using their adspace for public service announcements. Emails were sent, calls were made, and now TheFind.com has partnered with BlogHer to donate up to 10-thousand dollars to Doctors Without Borders. It’s easy too, all you have to do is go to TheFind.com and search for something “red.” Every “red” search means $1 for Doctors Without Borders.

It doesn’t stop there, either. Through my own Mommyblog, I’ve gotten to meet some amazing people, working for amazing causes. Seth Mazow and I found each other in the food line at BlogHer’s 2006 conference in San Jose. With a baby on my hip, a discussion about Mommyblogging began and we’ve been exchanging emails ever since.

Seth works for Interplast, the “…first international humanitarian organization to provide free reconstructive surgery in developing countries.” Interplast does what all of us Moms wish we could do across the world, help make life better for kids. They also do something very close to my heart; they help make breastfeeding possible for babies who might otherwise not be able to nurse.

As a blogger, as a Mom, and as a part of this virtual community, I challenge you to not just comment on this post but to open your wallet to these organizations and people. It’s not just that time of year, it’s time to turn all this talk into action.

Your Mom was there to wipe your nose and kiss your tears away. Be there for these Moms today, and make a difference.

Crossposted at the Huffington Post.

Filed Under: BlogHer, BlogHer.org, Feeling YaYa, Queenie Backup