For San Diego Moms and Moms-To-Be
Amber and Sara are radio hosts on KSON and Sunny 98.1, Jessica is producer for John & Tammy in the Morning on KSON. They're also San Diego moms!
Each week, they meet to vent about what’s been going on in their lives as moms and invite you to vent along with them!
These days, technology makes it possible to track our kids and even see their text messages without them knowing. But, is it right to do that?
By GILLIAN FLACCUS and AMY TAXIN, Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Immigrants who have spent years fighting to change the country’s immigration system are getting newfound support from liberal activists, moms and first-time protesters motivated by a visceral narrative: President Donald Trump’s administration separating children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Groups that pulled off massive women’s marches the past two years and other left-leaning rallies are throwing their weight behind migrant families Saturday. More than 600 marches could draw hundreds of thousands of people nationwide, from immigrant-friendly cities like Los Angeles and New York City to conservative Appalachia and Wyoming.
Though many are seasoned anti-Trump demonstrators, others are new to immigration activism, including parents who say they feel compelled to show up after heart-wrenching accounts of children forcibly taken from their families as they crossed the border illegally. In Portland, Oregon, for example, several stay-at-home moms are organizing their first rally while caring for young kids.
“I’m not a radical, and I’m not an activist,” said Kate Sharaf, a Portland co-organizer. “I just reached a point where I felt I had to do more.”
She and others are undaunted after nearly 600 women wearing white and railing against the now-abandoned separation policy were arrested Thursday in Washington, D.C. With demonstrations emerging nationwide, immigrant advocacy groups say they’re thrilled — and surprised — to see the issue gaining traction among those not tied to immigration.
“Honestly, I am blown away. I have literally never seen Americans show up for immigrants like this,” said Jess Morales Rocketto, political director at the National Domestic Workers Alliance, which represents nannies, housekeepers and caregivers, many of whom are immigrants. “We just kept hearing over and over again, if it was my child, I would want someone to do something.”
Saturday’s rallies are getting funding and support from the American Civil Liberties Union, MoveOn.org, the National Domestic Workers Alliance and The Leadership Conference. But local organizers are shouldering on-the-ground planning, many of them women relying on informal networks established during worldwide women’s marches on Trump’s inauguration and its anniversary.
Tyler Houlton, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, welcomed interest in the immigration system and said only Congress has the power to change the law.
“We appreciate that these individuals have expressed an interest in and concern with the critical issue of securing our nation’s borders and enforcing our immigration laws,” Houlton said. “As we have indicated before, the department is disappointed and frustrated by our nation’s disastrous immigration laws and supports action.”
White House spokesman Hogan Gidley didn’t respond to a request for comment.
In Portland, Sharaf and other mothers are working to organize a march expected to attract 5,000 people — all while they change diapers, nurse babies and prepare snacks. They have marched for women’s rights but have never spearheaded a political rally, which isn’t related to an 11-day vigil at an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Portland that led to arrests this week.
Sharaf and three other women recently fired up their laptops and cellphones at her dining room table — one mother breastfeeding her son as she worked. A toddler wolfed down pasta in a high chair and two 5-year-olds and a 4-year-old careened around the house.
“I’m a mom, and I think everyone I know that I’ve talked to about this issue has had a very visceral reaction,” Sharaf said. “Because as moms, we know how important it is to be with your child and how critical attachment is to a child. It’s just heartbreaking for me to see.”
Sharaf and co-organizer Erin Conroy are coordinating their efforts with immigrant advocacy groups.
“This is not my wheelhouse,” Conroy said. “As far as I’m concerned, this is a national emergency that we all need to be focused on right now.”
That passion is heartening for the broader anti-Trump coalition, which hopes the weekend marches will attract people who have otherwise been on the sidelines, said David S. Meyer, a political science professor at the University of California, Irvine, who has authored books on U.S. political protest.
“There are people who have all kinds of other grievances or gripes with the Trump administration and they’re quite happy to use this one as the most productive and salient for the moment,” he said.
The groups planning the so-called Families Belong Together rallies have carefully framed them as peaceful and family-friendly — another draw for those looking to jump into their first protest, Meyer said.
That’s in contrast to the sit-in in the nation’s capital Thursday, where participants knew they might be arrested.
In El Paso, Texas, immigrant advocacy groups are partnering with religious leaders and women’s march organizers Saturday to try to shut down the bridge connecting El Paso and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
Immigration attorney Linda Rivas said groups have met with U.S. authorities, congressional representatives and other leaders to discuss an escalating immigration crackdown that they say began decades ago. But the family separation policy has been a watershed for attracting a broader spectrum of demonstrators, she said.
“To finally have people on board wanting to take action, marching, taking to the streets, it’s been motivating for us as advocates because we have to keep going,” Rivas said.
In Los Angeles, Angelica Salas said she has been marching to fix the immigration system for nearly two decades. The executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights said she would often tell people about how immigration enforcement was splitting up families and non-immigrants couldn’t believe it.
Now, she said, they do.
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Taxin reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press reporter Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed to this report. Follow Flaccus on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/gflaccus . Follow Taxin on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ataxin
By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, AP Retail Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Toys R Us is closing its last U.S. stores by Friday, the end of a chain known to generations of children and parents for its sprawling stores, brightly colored logo and Geoffrey the giraffe mascot.
But many of the children who happily sang the “I don’t wanna grow up, I’m a Toys R Us kid” jingle grew into busy parents who found shopping online more convenient. The company, which also owned the Babies R Us chain, was hobbled by $5 billion in debt after a leveraged buyout that left it unable to invest and keep up.
As the last of the U.S. stores close, more than 30,000 workers will be looking for work. Toys R Us’ troubles have also shaken some big toy makers like Mattel and Hasbro.
Customers who were still devoted will be looking elsewhere to shop. Retailers like Walmart and Target are expanding their toy aisles to fill the hole, while Party City is opening 50 pop-up toy shops this fall.
Toys R Us filed for Chapter 11 reorganization last fall and pledged to stay open, but had poor sales during the critical holiday season as customers and vendors shied away. In January, it announced plans to close about 180 stores, but then in March it said it would liquidate the rest of the 700-plus stores.
Will the Toys R Us name and mascot disappear forever? An auction for the company’s name, baby shower registry and various trademarks is set for late July. The 16-foot tall statue of Geoffrey the Giraffe that greeted visitors at Toys R Us headquarters in Wayne, New Jersey will be moved to a children’s hospital in the state.
Many long-time employees were hoping to retire at a place they called home.
“I’m never going to have a job like Toys R Us,” said long-time employee Patty Van Fossan, 54, from Boardroom, Ohio, who was among a group of workers at protests in New York, fighting for severance that they believe they are owed. “It was the best job I had. I was surrounded by children.”
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Follow Anne D’Innocenzio: http://twitter.com/ADInnocenzio
Dana is one half of the duo Dana & Jayson in the Morning on ALT 949 in San Diego.
Time for another in the series of 'Why Mommy Drinks'!
Dana has plenty of excuses to hit the bottle during the school year, but when her three daughters are out of school for the summer, things kick into a new gear. Now that she’s the family entertainment director for the next three months, things are heating up in more ways than one. Today, we find out the latest reason Dana is reaching for the bottle…
How long does it take for parents to stress out when Summer break arrives?
Not long.
An new study, sponsored in part by Groupon, finds that it takes less than two weeks – about 13 days – for parents to feel stress taking its toll when Summer vacation season starts.
The poll surveyed about 2,000 parents to arrive at its findings, which include the stat that three out of five parents feel their Summer vacation plans won’t fully live up to the expectations of their children.
One of the major sources of Summer stress comes from what’s referred to as Parental Summer Guilt. It’s what parents feel when their kids spend too much time in the house instead of getting out to experience the day.
Another is expenses. While parents usually voice concern over the cost of family vacations, they mostly don’t hold back on making sure their family has an enjoyable time.
So, what’s a parent to do? The recommendation is that you don’t overthink it and if cost is a concern, look for affordable family activities in your local community.
For more about what the study found and other recommendations on how to enjoy Summer with the kids, take a look at the full article here.
Kaiser Permanente: Health Research