It's official. Thanks to MotherTalker Lisa in Austin, we have a fun and kid-friendly site for our moms caucus.

Rather than meet at the convention center, we will meet at Phil's Ice House for lunch on 5620 Burnet Road. It has a play structure for the kids and some fabulous ice cream next door. Here are the details:

[editor's note, by PoliSigh] Anyone??  promoted by me.


Hi all,

It's that time of year. The Netroots Nation Convention is next month! I hope to see as many of you in Austin as possible.

Hi all,

Just in case you are already making summer plans, I wanted to let you know that MotherTalkers will sponsor professional childcare at the Netroots Nation Convention in Austin this July. Barring any last-minute drop-ins, who would pay a small fee of no more than $50, babysitting will be FREE. Woo-hoo!

Here are the hours covered:

Thursday, July 17 from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. (There is a scheduled party that night!)
Friday, July 18 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, July 19 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday, July 20 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.  

The childcare will be provided by Corporate Kids Events, who cared for my daughter at the BlogHer conference when she was a mere four months of age. They are fabulous!

Hi all,

I am trying to put together a childcare center at the Netroots Nation Convention in Austin, Texas this July. Before I bring in the care providers, I wanted to determine the interest first.

I know this diary seems out of place amid the political discourse. But this essay warmed my heart and I thought I would share it with all of you. I called it a "tribute to mothers" at MotherTalkers, but think there is a universal theme here.

I was moved by an essay in Brain, Child magazine, “Not One of Those Mothers.” Unfortunately, the link is not online, but it was a firsthand account by artist Kate Trump O’Connor on raising a son with Down Syndrome.

Trump O’Connor, who chose not to partake in any genetic prescreening and was blind-sided by her son's diagnosis, aptly described what every mother feels at least on a subconscious level: that only special mothers are chosen by God to mother special children; that surely a selfish, afraid or unenergetic woman would not bear a child with a disability.

Promoted by Rain -- Elisa begins an important conversation...

Hi Street Prophets! This is a long overdue diary as I am a lurker. Also, I have enjoyed "Mrs. Pastor's" comments on my blog, MotherTalkers and thought I would visit her neck of the woods.

Before I launch into my diary, I want to introduce myself. I am a 30-year-old writer and mother to two children, a four-year-old boy and 8-month-old baby. I believe in God, but am a sporadic church goer to Spanish mass. (I am Latina and was raised Catholic.) And while I disagree with the Catholic Church's stance on many issues -- like women's rights and sex -- I do receive comfort when I attend mass, which is the service of my childhood in Miami.