Susan, and her family, are watching these videos and express their thanks to you al.

The amazing Amy Mascott of TeachMama put a third one together for Susan. Thank you Amy!

Music was provided thanks to Marty Long and Bill Leslie.

If you would like to be a part of future video cards of love for Susan, here are details how.

Again, you can also send hard copy cards and expressions of love to their P.O. box here:

Susan and Curt Niebur
11006 Veirs Mill Rd, Ste. L-15 #112
Wheaton, MD 20902

Thank you.

She is all I can think about, making fluffy fun posts suggesting children’s activities almost impossible at the moment. The suggestions I have for you are to

Read Susan’s words

Send her your love

(Send her best friend some love too)

Take your kids to a planetarium or other space/sky-themed field trip in honor of Susan’s life work as a planetary scientist. (That post I am linking to there is woefully old, written in April 2010, but I hope it provides some good links to spark an updated online search.)

Immerse yourself in two of the glorious online communities and websites Susan has founded, Mothers With Cancer and Women in Planetary Science

Pray.

Susan is the praying kind.

UPDATED to add:

If you would like to send a card of love or encouragement to Susan, the family has opened a post office box expressly to receive those kind expressions. That P.O. box is

Susan and Curt Niebur
11006 Veirs Mill Rd, Ste. L-15 #112
Wheaton, MD 20902

Please feel free to share.

And thanks to Janice D’Acy of The Washington Post’s On Parenting blog for her thoughtful post about Susan and the love Susan has received over the Internet.

The Still Point in Takoma Park is My New Favorite Place

At The Still Point I experienced acupuncture, massage, an eco-makeup application and a facial that was equal parts natural and high tech.

I have never felt so awesome after spa or holistic treatments.

And believe you me, I am not the kind of gal who forgets to treat herself. Oh no. This princess believes paying others to perform services on her person is the all-time best way to spend a few hours.

The Still Point is a women-owned small business that serves the greater Washington, DC and Baltimore metro areas with a range of eco-friendly health, beauty and wellness services. [The] expertly trained practitioners give [the] services in beautiful and inviting environments…[The Still Point] maintains an eco-friendly ethos in all aspects of the business, including being 100% wind powered and offering organic facials, paraben-free massage cream and eco-makeup…The Still Point nurtures and inspires wellness – changing people’s lives and building healthy communities.

Owner and founder Tori Paide invited me to The Still Point for a tour and offered services for review so that I could impart to you guys firsthand my experience. The plan was supposed to be a quick, journalistic review of The Still Point’s offerings to A Parent in Silver Spring readers. I would write a standard blog post about the treatments I experienced and give you the 411.

But I have to break my review up into multiple posts because the results attained on my body and soul through acupuncture and massage, and on my skin through the natural facial and microdermabrasion, have been unbelievably dramatic.

Basically, for the first time in a long time (ever??) I feel peaceful.

And my aging, acne-prone face is baby smooth.

I am stunned. I do not believe my inadequate writing will be able to properly convey how dramatic were my results, but I will try.

Acupuncture

I have never had acupuncture before. I thought I was a generally healthy person, no big aches or pains, and so it never occurred to me to try it. Sure, I have high anxiety and take a prescription SSRI to take the edge off. Oh, and I am always anemic unless I imbibe daily iron supplements. And I just had a baby and so am sore from hunching over and nursing. Oh, the nursing is dehydrating me and I am not drinking enough water. I am sleep deprived in a big way and my body is in a postpartum slump. I am still overweight after the pregnancy. Also, I am simply an overtaxed, over-extending mom of three who is constantly seeking peace in her life and coming up short.

OK, maybe I am a prime acupuncture candidate after all.

In fact, everyone is:

The healing art and science of acupuncture is based on an understanding of the body in terms of the movement of energy. In Eastern traditions, this energy, called Qi…is seen as the animating force of life, similar to Einstein’s assertions that all matter is made of energy. Illness on any level, including the level of the body, mind or emotion is understood to be the result of an obstruction or disharmony in the flow of Qi through the meridians. Your acupuncturist will use several tools to regulate and harmonize the flow of Qi. – from The Still Point’s website

Tori — an acupuncturist herself who was so influenced by this healing art that it changed her life and career, inspiring her to found The Still Point — booked me for an Introduction to Acupuncture session with licensed acupuncturist Justine Short, M.Ac.

Intro to Acupuncture:$50/50 minutes
Interested in acupuncture? This session is a great opportunity for you to test out a private acupuncture treatment and judge whether or not acupuncture is right for you. Session includes mini-consultation and needle treatment. If you want to continue with treatment, we’ll take $30 off of the New Client Intake session (does not apply to packages).

My First Acupuncture Session

I met Justine, explained my super-healthy-wait-maybe-not-so-rosy health and then I lay on the table fully-clothed. She asked me some very astute questions and made keen observations about my physical and mental state. The consultation encompassed both my body and soul, if you will. I discussed my pregnancy, birth and postpartum health. We talked about the situational stresses in my life, how they have effected my person and the areas where I could use healing and increased peace. At this point I felt as if I were speaking with a very relatable mental health therapist combined with the kindest of general practitioners giving me a full body check-up.

Then Justine informed me that she was going to insert fine needles in my calves to help my body’s organs, in my ears to assist with balance, on my forehead at my “third eye” and possibly in my hands…but I have to admit I do not recall if there were truly ones in my hands because almost immediately, I was overcome with a feeling of such supreme peace, I don’t know if I have ever felt anything like it. Maybe once after an all-day prayer retreat back in 2002.  I think I have maybe felt something like it once or twice after a really good  two-hour yoga class. Justine left the room for a while and I just lay there in the calm heaven.

During and after my first acupuncture session, my body felt heavy and peaceful and incredibly relaxed. I wanted to burst into tears with relief. Alright, I did burst into tears when Justine returned to the treatment room. I needed that flooding of peace so much. I had no idea how tense I was until that peace was attained.

Over one week later, I still feel peaceful. Justine recommended that when feeling overwhelmed or before sleep at night,I try and recall that peace. And it works. That heavy, unburdened blanket creeps over my body and the tension leaves…in a smaller, less dramatic way than I felt in the treatment room. My husband Chris — a very rational, traditional, decidedly not “new age-y” guy — has remarked repeatedly on how mellow I have been since that single acupuncture session.

I have been called MANY things in my life, but that is WITHOUT A DOUBT the only time anyone in my life has ever referred to me as mellow. Ever.

Here is a photo of me with acupuncturist Justine. In this pic you can literally see tears in my eyes and makeup smudged below them and the happy relief in my face. I am also hugging petite Justine with an overabundance of thanks like a huge dork.

The Still Point provided me with a complimentary Introduction to Acupuncture session, valued at $50, for journalistic review for this website. However, I have left the world of the wannabe journalist behind and am now simply a muddle of grateful mush. I would have happily paid THEM upwards of quadruple that price for this supreme peace. I have since booked a comprehensive Full Body Acupuncture and client intake session for continued treatment.

I recommend The Still Point more emphatically than I have ever recommended anything on A Parent in Silver Spring.

The Still Point offers Weekly Treats – Specials available only to e-mail subscribers! Sign up today.

The Still Point Locations

The Still Point Takoma Park
1 Columbia Ave
Takoma Park, MD 20912
301 920 0801, and you can book appointments online
The original, flagship location in the heart of Takoma Park, MD (15 minutes from downtown DC).
Services
LIKE on The Still Point Takoma Park on Facebook

The Still Point Clarksville (Howard County near the Montgomery Count border)
12451 Clarksville Pike (Route 108)
Clarksville, MD
410.531.3245, and you can book appointments online
The newest and largest location.  Located in the heart of Howard County, half-way between DC and Baltimore,  we are conveniently located off of Route 32 on Clarksville Pike (Route 108).
Services
LIKE The Still Point Clarksville on Facebook for special offers and info!

The Still Point Yoga
13380 Clarksville Pike Highland, MD 20777
in Highland Crossing at route 108 and 216; above Twist and Turn Tavern
301.854.1013
Group Class Schedule
The latest expansion to Highland, MD, just two miles west on Route 108 from our Clarksville Spa location. Two spacious studios gorgeously appointed to elicit calm, focus, and pure positive energy into your practice. There are currently have 24 classes for all levels at convenient times throughout the week and feature hot flow, flow, Hatha, power, prenatal, kids and teen yoga (coming soon), Qigong, and more.
LIKE The Still Point Yoga on Facebook for deals and information

The Still Point Mind + Spirit Center
7009 Caroll Avenue, Lower Level
Takoma Park, MD 20912
301 270 2801, and you can book appointments online
Located in the original location at 7009 Carroll Ave, The Still Point’s Mind + Spirit Center  is a thoughtful mix of services including Psychotherapy, Life Coaching, Hypnotherapy, and Guided Imagery (with new modalities being added all the time).

Before baby Alice arrived, I was able to work part-time writing places other than this blog without hiring outside childcare. I busted out my assignments while the kids were off receiving their education. And then I worked some more after they went to bed.

Somehow I thought that this could continue with a baby. I would just write during naps and at night. Easy peasy. That would allow me about, oh, 20 hours a week for following my ambitions and bringing home some bacon, right?

Um, yeah. Not happening. Funnily enough, during the sleepy newborn “maternity leave” time is when I was able to continue to bust out assignments. But now that Alice is six months old and ready to rock this town, it was truly time to decide whether I hire outside help or dial back the clicking on my keyboard. I wrote about my decision in my last Mom of a Million Mistakes column on Wheaton Patch.

I feel more centered, less harried and happy with this call. I am looking forward to savoring the time with baby, rather than rushing through our interactions so that I can stash her in the crib for a nap and make my deadlines.

Of course, I will continue to write here at A Parent in Silver Spring Monday-Friday about the awesome offerings available for families and update the calendar. After almost four years, I love working on this website more than ever!

And thankfully you guys are very understanding about all the times Alice needs a walk or a Boynton book marathon or to catch Mr. Gabe for a singalong…because now I’m feeling all self-conscious that today’s blog post is all about ME! ME! ME!, so I am feeling the need to post something for YOU:

Mr. Gabe, Children’s Music, in Takoma Park

When:  Every Friday, 10:00 am.

Where:  Roda Movements, 7003 Carroll Avenue, Takoma Park, MD (above Ace Hardware)

Local children’s entertainer Mr. Gabe presents finger rhymes, sing-alongs, and dance music for children, ages 0 to 6.  Tickets are $6 per child in advance.  (No walk-ins, please.)  To purchase, please visit www.mrgabemusic.com.

Alice and I look forward to clapping along with you to Mr. Gabe, as well as around town as we actually get out of the house, off the computer and re-experience all our great area has to offer families.

We’ll keep you posted on our findings and adventures right here on A Parent in Silver Spring.

Thank you so much for reading. Thank you for staying with me as I have struggled with the juggle of family life and blogging, the balance of paid work versus offering a free public service, and the website’s transition from homespun exhibitionist pastime to bona fide professional blog. Thank you for bearing with the screw-ups and typos and narcissism that are evident when a website is a one-woman show. (Unfortunately the ad revenue is not yet high enough for me to afford either a copyeditor or a therapist, but I am working on it.)

I guess this is the time to write something profound, but the baby’s noises from the crib are going to go from gentle coos to NOW MAMA in about 45 seconds. Besides, profundity is not the reason you guys keep coming back to this here URL. And while I may not move you to political action or tears, I do hope I can move you to laugh once in a while. Most importantly, I hope that I help to move you out of your house to an exciting activity to share with your children.

I hope that A Parent in Silver Spring helps you and your kids create memories, learn together and celebrate your family.

Thank you for giving me a sense of online community. Thank you for validating my desire to create something other than PB&J on wheat.  Thank you for all the incredibly kind, encouraging comments and e-mails, as well as the tips, event suggestions and feedback. Thank you for sharing gorgeous photos of your children with faces laughing as they enjoyed an outing you learned about on this site.

Thank you so much for reading. I plan to keep on hitting that “Publish” button, if you will have me.

A real conversation

Friend: You smell good. New perfume?

Me: Sort of. It’s the smelly flowers from the Pat the Bunny book.

Friend: As in ‘Judy smells the pretty flowers….’

Me: ‘…now YOU smell the stinky flowers.’ Exactly. Except it’s Paul who’s the future florist. Or possibly a jeweler since he can’t get enough of Mummy’s ring.

Friend: Wow, Jess. Wow.

Me: Don’t you dare ask me what I do all day or I’ll make you touch my scratchy calves.

Thank you to Yahoo! Mail for sponsoring this post about staying connected. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Today will be a big day for my oldest, seven-year-old Charlie:

He’s getting his very own e-mail address!

We’re setting him up with his own e-mail (that will be HIGHLY regulated by us, as in we will be checking his in-box for him and logging on with him side-by-side) and so he can write to his grandparents and family members.

Will Charlie send emails about his new baby sister? Or (more likely) about the antics of his friends and teammates?

How old was I when I first used e-mail? I was TWENTY years old and the year was 1995. This is how ancient I am:

• When I arrived at college in 1993, I owned a Smith-Carona word processor, not a computer!

• When I first started sending emails in 1995 (usually joke forwards like the Neiman-Marcus cookie recipe and run-downs of the Darwin Awards), I had to visit the college computer lab. This now reminds me of episodes of Little House on the Prairie, when the folks would walk over the general store to mail a letter.

• My first e-mail address was affiliated with my university and had to be surrendered upon graduation. I then used my work email for all personal communications (NOT SMART!) and entertained my office’s system administrator with my boy trouble-filled missives to friends and happy hour notices.

• I didn’t obtain my first web-based email addy which I could take with me no matter where I matriculated or worked or which Internet provider I used until 1998 (what a dummy!).

But although I was always woefully behind the times with email, as someone who adores to write and loves to connect with her family and friends, from the minute I got into this medium of communication, I was hooked.

Nowadays with social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter that allow us to quickly ping our friends and send them shout-outs, a nice, newsy, personal EMAIL letter sent from one person to another is like gold. It’s the online equivalent of a fancy thank you note on engraved stationery. There is nothing more personal and loving and special these days than receiving a real, honest-to-goodness email from a friend or family member in your in-box.

So as Charlie embarks on his new email journey, I’m resolving to send more to my loved ones. I’ll be doing less @-ing  and wallposts, and instead actually typing out the greeting “Dear”.

Crazy, huh?

Here’s a cute video from Yahoo! Mail that Charlie and I enjoyed together…although he did point out that I don’t travel without him very much and have never been to China, so he’s going to be emailing Grandma in California instead!

Do you have a love affair with email too? Share your experiences on Twitter and Facebook using the hashtag #EmailLove. or better yet: send an email to someone you love!

(Sung to the tune of the classic love song favored by cheating bastard male dedication-making listeners of the Delilah radio show, Bryan Adams’ Please Forgive Me)

It sure feels like our millionth night together
Feels like the thousandth kick
You’re getting bigger baby
The size of a New York Knick
You’re still holding on
Wish you would come
Let’s let our eyes meet
‘Stead of pummeling me with your feet
Heartburn’s getting stronger
I can’t hold on much longer

Would you please turn that fire off….

So if you’re feeling cozy, don’t
Just get the eff out of Mom!
I only want to make you go
So if I whine more than I should…

Please induce me, you know not how I do
Please induce me, I can’t stop cursing you
Don’t extend this damn pain I’m going through
Please induce me, I’m at centimeters two!
Please believe me (Oh believe it), every threat I say is true
Please induce me, or on that table I will poo

Like hell this is our best time together
I prefer external touch
My cervix is not a moonbounce baby
And you’ve had enough
You’re still holding on
And I’m freaking done
I can feel the stretch of my skin
The expansion of everything
I can barely move
That includes my bowels too, yeah
These sleepless nights, while you dance the boogaloo…

So if you’re plotting late term, don’t
Time to exit the cabin from the door below!
I only want to make you go
So if I kvetch more than I should…

Please induce me, I’m not going to make it through
Please induce me, I’m hurling threats at you
Don’t worry, I know my dates are true!
Please induce me, her head is poking through
Please induce me (Oh believe it), I’m fired up to sue*
Please induce me, please book L&D room #2

The one thing I’m sure of
Is this baby is cooked, love!
And I’m depending on
Your Pitocin to bring her on!
With every f-bomb I am praying
You know I’m saying…

Please induce me, I’m swollen like a balloon
Please induce me, my boobs are bigger than a baboon’s
“Do no harm” and stop this pain I’m going through
Please induce me, my pelvis is cracked in two
Babe believe it, every word I blog is true
Please induce me, or I’ll resort to Creole voodoo
No, believe it, I will Google “home induce”
Please induce me, I can’t stop cursing you
I can’t stop cursing you

Yes, I know it’s safest for baby to stay in there as long as possible and be born at HER time, not mine. I know I’m beyond blessed that baby has made it full term. This is supposed to be humorous and complaining, not a medical stance. BTW she’s measuring 8-9 pounds, I’m 2 cm dilated, lost the plug, the doc can feel her head, my blood pressure is up, I’m retaining crazy amounts of water, can barely walk, she was a planned baby so I *know* our dates are correct…and yes, I’m being a total complaining bitch. I know, I know. I’m just ready.

* not really, it was just a good ticked-off verb that rhymed

My first post is a humor piece about the random, weird, crazy stuff that happens late in the game to pregnant women…please check it out! I’d love your support as I blog at this new place almost as much as I’d love to go into labor TODAY!

My second piece is a sarcastic satire, How NOT to Make New Mom Friends. I for one need to brush up on my playgroup and moms’ club skills as I enter the land of baby mama playdates again. Armed with these tips, I’m sure to make a bunch of new besties!

this isn't me, but it's a credible body double...credit sportkist on Flickr via a Creative Commons License

I’m baaack on Wheaton Patch today making light of the fact that while I’m gaining weight like a sumo wrestler, and in between my six mini-meals a day, I’m planning an ambitious workout program this summer after baby arrives.

I’ll be on maternity leave, the older two kids will be out of school, so all I’ll have to do is nurse my baby and then work out all the time!  Right? I’ll be ripped and back in my tight white jeans in no time!

(Go ahead and crack yourself up. I”ll wait.)

So if you’d like a dose of super-sized humor and a legit time to compliment me on the increasing size of my booty, please come on over and leave a comment on my latest Mom of a Million Mistakes column,  Weight, Please!

I’ve also listed my all-time favorite mom-friendly workout programs, including exercise classes where you bring your baby and Rachel Posell’s Form & Function Fitness morning bootcamp in Kensington (I used to hit this workout before my husband had left for work and the kids had woken up, and in 4 weeks I was running without stopping for miles, was way stronger, and had lost weight).

Additionally, the first Moms Talk Conversation on Wheaton Patch has launched today, and the Wheaton Moms Council is discussing the Montgomery County Public Schools Language Immersion programs. Do you like the program? Are you hoping to apply for your child? Share your experiences and opinions–we’re longing for your input here!