There is excitement in not only the expectation of an unborn child but also in the various stages of growth and development during the pregnancy. Quickening in pregnancy is just one of those moments of excitement.

During the months of a first pregnancy there are many changes going through the mother’s body. Morning sickness is most remembered by the new expectant mother, and the long hours of suffering from morning sickness, if that was indeed part of their experience. The physical changes in the woman’s body are also memorable. Increasing of the breast size, gaining or losing weight, and maybe a swollen ankle or two. But do you remember your first sign of life from your unborn child? Quickening as it is called.

Quickening: A Strange Sensation

Though many years ago since my first of three pregnancies, my first child is almost 32 years of age, the memory of my first experiencing quickening came to mind. Recently, upon researching an article on pregnancy and the mention of quickening I recalled my own experience with the first signs of life from my unborn child: I was folding clothes at my local laundry when I felt slightly strange. It was as if a butterfly was encased in my lower abdomen. I remember feeling a fluttering sensation or what I now know as quickening.

It is interesting to note that I had read up on the stages of pregnancy. I had basic knowledge of being pregnant, the various trimesters, symptoms, signs of labor but I must have missed a section when digesting all the material on pregnancy since what I was experiencing was quite unfamiliar to me. Not having the Internet to research topics back during my pregnancy I turned to a trusted and knowledgeable source, my mother.

Having experienced two pregnancies herself, she would be able to advise me whether or not the fluttering feeling was a normal part of pregnancy or if I should be concerned. Calling mother on the pay phone, at a time before cell phones were invented, from the laundromat, I shared with my mother my recent experience inquiring whether or not this was normal. Her response: “I am glad to know you are feelings signs of life. I was starting to become concerned!”

When to Expect Quickening

So what I was experiencing was part of a normal pregnancy. Quickening is the first signs of life for the mother of her newborn child, signs of movement within her womb. The movement is the infant stretching newly formed limbs and can be noticeably more active after the mother has eaten certain foods. Experiences of fetal growth can be different for each expectant mother. Some woman feel quickening earlier than other woman. The normal range of time for the first signs of life, or quickening, is as early as 13 weeks or as late as 25 weeks during a pregnancy. If you have concerns regarding the development of your unborn child do not hesitate to contact your physician.

Unfortunately, when my daughters became pregnant they didn’t “bother” me with their concerns of quickening but reached out to chat boards and organizations specializing in the developmental stages of  pregnancy on Internet searches. So I never knew when they first experienced the feeling of quickening or first signs of life during their pregnancy. Yet it is comforting to know the knowledge is readily being shared so all women, whether pregnant for the first time or fifth can reach out and find this information and be comfortable with experiencing their babies first signs of life or quickening.

For more information on quickening in pregnancy visit American Pregnancy.org.

Women tend to minimize their accomplishments. They may speak of being a good mother or wife but what about their individual accomplishments. Whether it is having a talent writing, singing, or just being a good friend we as women need to acknowledge our accomplishments and grow strength from them.

Me Under a Giant Mushroom

Recently I found a spiral lined notebook from my senior year of high school. Inside contained a letters to my best friend. I had left behind my friends in New Jersey after moving to Missouri where my father was assigned and this notebook not only included the letters but also poetry, class work from my Chemistry and Home Economics classes, lyrics for Gil Scott-Heron songs “Home is Where the Hatred Is” and “Pieces of a Man”, and interestingly enough my wedding guest list which was added four years later.

Reliving My Life

Browsing through my creative works and doodles I felt envious of the young woman writing 30 some years ago. Care free, romantic, optimistic are the words to describe the writings from the past. She knew nothing of the domestic violence that awaited her by date rapes or from the man she would marry. Pregnancies complicated by the stress of living in a brutal household resulting in premature labor pains and the emergency ceasing of the birth of a child hadn’t entered her mind back then. There were no thoughts of where the next meal would come from or the next violent attack on her person. She had no idea she would lie to protect her children, herself and totally disown the person she aspired to be, knew she could be, so she could just be.

And as I continue to read the creative works of my younger years I enjoyed the young woman’s innocence. But there was strength in her writings that revealed themselves as years passed. The young woman survived the brutalities of life and became strong and wise. She endured to raise three beautiful and intelligent children despite the conflict in the household. Divorce, doubt, trust, love, and remarriage became experiences to learn from. Never allowing the negativity that surrounded her to completely stifle her drive, she became a business woman, a person of position, a writer. She wasn’t aware then how her voice would resonate around the world in the future and touch other women going through the same struggles.

The Blessing

Finding the spiral lined notebook from my senior year of high school is a blessing in disguise for me. Reading over the letters and poetry reflecting on how I excelled in school helps me to remember how I was and what I can achieve. There are so many accomplishments I have silenced in self depreciation. So many honors I wouldn’t acknowledge for fear they may be violently be beat out of me. But living in fear is not really surviving, it is hiding. Hiding from what one can be or what one can accomplish. I no longer will live in fear, I will no longer hide. As the young woman filled with optimism, being carefree allowing words to flow freely, and holding on to romance, no flaunting romance, I now have a renewed desire to achieve, strengthen and support not only myself but others too. And I write this in hopes that it guides you to allow yourself to recognize your accomplishments, your strengths, and to once again be carefree.

What are some treatments for varicose veins and how can one make the appearance of varicose veins less unsightly?

I would like to blame varicose veins on my aging, but alas, I noticed my first varicose vein in college when I was weight training for the women volleyball team. While using weight training equipment to strengthen my legs I felt a sharp pain, which I ignored. Some days later the area behind my right knee was tender. Upon examination I found there in the crock of the back of my right knee was a big ugly blue gnarly vein. And that is how I discovered varicose veins.

Now that I am older I unfortunately have more varicose veins in the area of the same right knee enhancing my skin with lumps and bumps and a very ugly blue discoloration. Not being the vain type, I at first chose to ignore them. That is until my daughter thought the lumps and bumps were mosquito bites and I had to explain to her they were not mosquito bites but varicose veins. “Ewww!” was the response from my daughter. “Live long enough and you will have them too.” was my retort. Okay not very mature but the statement was true none the less.

What are Varicose Veins?

Varicose veins differ than spider veins, the thin web-like red or blue veins that also like to decorate legs. With varicose veins one notices the veins are painful, swollen, twisted. This is caused by blood being collected in the veins abnormally and pooling instead of flowing through the vein. This pooling of stagnant blood results in swelling and unsightly varicose veins.

Why do varicose veins occur?

Women are affected by varicose veins more than men. Pregnancy is a great contributor to varicose veins but defective congenital valves are also the cause of some varicose veins. It appears women who stand for long periods of time or carry pressure in the belly area, which can occur from pregnancy or carrying an infant on one’s hip for several months, years, can overtime develop varicose veins. As I personally am all too aware of, varicose veins can worsen as we age.

Treatment for Varicose Veins

Treatment for varicose veins usually start off conservative with your physician recommending self-care. In other words: Taking the time to take care of yourself! That is right take a moment to get off of your feet!

Be conscious of the amount of time you spend standing if you have varicose veins. In other words allow someone else to do the dishes now and again. When sitting or sleeping elevate your legs, and do look into investing in a good pair of support hose.

Support hose aren’t as ugly as you remember them when our grandparents wore them. Websites such as Foot Smart .com offer hose and knee highs to help ease the pain caused from varicose veins that look and feel good as well. Wearing support knee highs has helped the pain and swelling in my legs from varicose veins immensely.

But what if you tried the conservative treatments for varicose veins and you are still being bothered by the pain? Speak with your physician about nonsurgical or surgical varicose veins treatments to help ease the pain from varicose veins.

How can you tell if you need more in-depth treatment for varicose veins. The following are some of the symptoms to gauge if your varicose veins are uncommon and need specialized treatment:

• Sores or skin ulcers appearing on the affected leg due to poor circulation of blood flowing through varicose veins.
• Heavy, tired legs accompanied with bouts of pain.
• Numerous varicose veins disfiguring the legs making them truly unsightly.

Treatments for varicose veins can range from stripping the vein surgically to non-surgical procedures using laser treatments or radio frequency. Only your physician can determine which is the right treatment for you so make an appointment to discuss your condition of varicose veins and treatment to ease the pain of varicose veins.

You may be pleasantly surprised to find taking the time to take care of yourself is the most effective treatment for varicose veins.

Grandchildren are very precious. It is a well known fact that they are to be spoiled and sent back home for their parents to deal with the repercussions of the grandparents indulging the little darlings.

Children grow up so fast. Those same little people who are crawling around your floor banging pots and pans will soon have a home with their own little ones making the same amount of noise.  When my daughters ask why did I allow or buy an item they weren’t allowed to have when they were growing up I just smile and reply “Not my child!” I receive great satisfaction and yes, almost a sense of delight, from the reaction the response generates from them.

Now before you think I am an irresponsible grandmother, that is not the case. I am aware of how grandparents can influence their grandchildren. I also take the time to listen to my grandchildren and have wrote how important this is in my poem The Needs of a Child. My oldest daughter was surprised to learn I have taken my granddaughter to “grownup” restaurants and explained how to order from a menu and the importance of treating everyone, especially customer service persons, with respect and patience. My grandson and I discuss his imaginative thoughts, his concerns, and what is the right thing to do under various circumstances. I hate to say it in this fashion but back in “the day” children where taught these things as a norm and were expected to treat not only grown ups but everyone with respect, kindness, and patience no matter how hard it may have been in certain situations.

Influences in the Past

Today we have modern conveniences that allow us more freedom than years gone by. Back when grandmothers baked from scratch and it took longer to prepare and cook a meal I find it is interesting how they still had time to teach and reprove their grandchildren. Grandparents back then also knew their actions could have a positive influence in their grandchildren’s lives. How so? For one, it was important to make sure the children had standards. Even the poorest of households taught their children standards and principles to live by. Working hard, being honest, and showing respect were the lessons regularly dispensed and while these values are priceless they cost nothing to teach. Families during those times where larger back then also so the grandparents were spending time with more than one or two grandchildren. Yet they lovingly did so to help parents lay a good foundation for their child’s future with life lessons told in the form of humorous stories while serving homemade cookies with cold milk, planting seed for the garden, or fishing on a creek bank. The result was compassionate, kind, law abiding citizens in most cases, all because grandparents took the time to talk and listen to their grandchildren providing the needed support the parents needed.

So what is the problem today? I believe many parents and grandparents alike are distracted with work, entertainment,and persuing their own self-centered goals. With the growth of technological and medical advances society has seen the decline and even absence of familial interaction causing children to learn from other children or worse yet, the images and actions portrayed on videos, video games, the internet and mass media. Unfortunately the severe cases of lack of parental attention has resulted in violent flash mobs of adolescence, children hating parents to the point of plotting and going through with their murderous acts, and an increase in juvenile crime that was rarely heard of, much less reported on with regularity when I was growing up or even when I was raising my own three children.

Which brings me back to the point of my being an irresponsible grandmother. Yes, I love spoiling my grandchildren and frustrating their parents. And I don’t believe that makes me irresponsible as a grandparent.  I still understand and do feel the need to play a bigger more important part in helping to influence my grandchildren. Teaching children spiritual and moral values are part of parenting and grand-parenting that I take very seriously. It takes time and effort and can be accomplished while still spoiling my grandchildren. By parents and grandparents who in years passed did not take the time to do so, society has now witnessed  an increase in socially unacceptable behavior displayed by young people that affects all walks of life and has become pandemic even among the very young. Sadly this is the result of so few parents and grandparents not taking the time to appreciate they can have a very important influence in a child’s life just by taking the time to do so.

Click here to read The Needs of a Child.

This past weekend I spent some time with my father. The visit helped me to re-appreciate family.

It is important to reconnect with family. Lives are always so busy now a days that one has to make time to visit with the people that mean so much to them. So I decided to visit my father this weekend. Not just I but also my daughter and granddaughter spent the night with my husband, son-in-law, sister and nephews visiting the next day.

My father is a very active 70 year old. He has a full time job and does yard work on the weekends. When others look at him they think he is younger than his 70 years, when I look at him I think of how he has aged. No longer can he get up as fast as he use to and his hair is whiter than I remember. He doesn’t complain about aches or pains but I am aware he is taking five or six pills everyday not including vitamins to keep him going. He walks his two dogs twice a day, separately to give each their own special time with him. And though he enjoys our visits when we come around he is even happier to see us leave so he can return to his routine and solitude, just him and his dogs.

Visiting my father brings memories back to my daughter’s mind. My daughter tells her daughter stories of years gone by when her grandfather, my father would take her along with her sister, brother, and three cousins fishing. She speaks of times when all of us, my deceased mother included, would travel to the local amusement park and a drive through the jungle safari. My granddaughter is attentive to every detail of the stories and shudders as her mother speaks of the giraffe’s long black tongue smearing saliva on her grandfather’s car window. My father just chuckles at the memory he had long forgotten. So many years have gone by.

Rain falls from the sky softly at first than quickly turns to torrents. This is no day to barbecue but my oldest daughter was insistent. Being her grandfather’s “golden child” he opens a golf umbrella to shelter her as she tends to the food in the falling rain. He still remembers the day she was born, the first of six grandchildren. Standing in the rain sheltering her with an umbrella. as she turns the meat on the grill, is more of a pleasure for him and her a like. I watch their faces from the dryness of the family room couch, the two sharing a laugh, making more memories for my daughter to talk about in later years.

When all is quiet later in the night Dad takes time to share his thoughts with me. He speaks of his only great granddaughter and how she reminds him of my daughter at the age of seven. Talking incessantly, incorporating questions with thoughts. He laughs at the thought of my little girls when they were at my granddaughter’s age and how much he enjoyed them: His little princesses.

Visiting with my father is important for not only him or for me, but also the generations we have produced. It is important children know where they come from and who their people are, were. The memories told as stories solidify families from one generation to the next. As years pass it is important to revisit those times. Lessons can be learned, laughter can be shared, bonds can be strengthened and love as a family will continue on.

Today’s economy rarely allows a day spa visit included in the household budget. There is a way to enjoy the services of a fancy day spa at a budget price. Interested in learning how? Read on.

My sister has been enjoying the luxurious services offered at day spas for years while not spending large amounts of money. She schedules a reservation for full body massage, facial, manicure with hot wax treatment, and pedicure for much less than the cost of a similar day spa experience. How does she do it? My sister regularly uses the services of a day spa school!

Day Spa Schools

If you investigate you will find there are schools who teach the services enjoyed at day spas offering their services to the public on selected hours or days. The schools normally provide the services to the local public for a fraction of the costs so the students can receive practical hands on experience. Some schools go as far as to provide a true day spa experience with private massage rooms lit with aromatic candles and soothing music at a fraction of the price  one would pay at a top of the line day spay.

A full body massage in my town can run as high as $90.00. It is safe to say I haven’t had a full body massage in over a year. My household budget won’t allow me to partake of this enjoyable service because of the high cost. Since my sister is close to a day spa school she partakes of their services at least once a month and twice a month if she feels her job has stressed her out. This is how she survives life as a woman.

Having tired of listening to her brag about her budget priced day spa experiences I decided to join her one day. The school is located discreetly in a two story building over an actual day spa. Climbing the stairs located outside the building to the second floor leads to the entrance of the “school.” It is hard to believe the patrons downstairs are paying twice as much for the same services offered by the students on the second level but that is exactly what the menu service board is confirming.

Listed on the service menu board is a variety of pampering services offered and provided by the seniors who are close to graduating from the school. The school strives to provide the same serene atmosphere offered to the clients in the day spa on the lower level.

Loving to be pampered, only because it happens so rarely, I can’t decide what services to enjoy first. I listen to my sister who suggests the Swedish full body massage coupled with the facial followed by a mani/pedi including hot paraffin wax dip and finally finish with eyebrow waxing. Yes, this is definitely going to be a full day experience I will remember.

You Can Too!

You may be wondering: Why am I sharing this experience? The reason is this: Yes, we can all agree money is tight but if we plan ahead by researching day spa schools in our area at least once a month we can enjoy a little pampering for a fraction of the price. It will be something you can look forward to helping you also survive life as a woman.

Take the time to investigate the day spa services offered at a school near you and share your experiences on this website on the reader’s share page. There is no reason why luxury spa services can’t be enjoyed while paying budget prices.

Who hasn’t gone on vacation and not gained weight. Sure vacations are for having a good time and getting rest but is there a way to avoid gaining weight while on vacation. In the article Avoid Weight Gain While Vacationing there are suggestions to help with not gaining weight while enjoying your vacation.

For those of us who are full figured you will enjoy reading suggestions for swimwear in the article Swimsuits for Full Figured Women: Looking Good this Summer.

And if you are looking for summer reading checkout the E-books available on our home page. Talk with you later and enjoy your summer vacation and have fun.

With the hotter weather comes concerns about hair care and aging skin. June’s articles provides information to help you deal with both.

This June has started out as a challenge for me. I started a part-time job in a new field which requires learning detailed information. I am also taking public transportation to and from downtown to get to work. I love the 20 minute ride, avoiding traffic congestion coupled with stifling heat and humidity, on the local rail car I catch near my residence. I find myself chuckling as the regional rail passes drivers lined up on the major highways cars bumper to bumper trying to get to work in the downtown area.

Riding the local rail car allows me time to read or get my thoughts together. Sometimes those thought drift towards different subjects to discuss in articles on this website. Observing the young women walking on the city sidewalks in their four inch stiletto heels started me to reminisce of when I was younger in a time when stacked heels where in style. Now my foot cringes at the thought of my placing a shoe with, what I call extreme, high heels on my feet. I thought the topic of wearing four inch heels after 50 was an interesting topic to discuss but decided against writing on the subject since I would have to include all the injuries one could experience from heels of such height.

Skincare for Aging Skin is one of the articles featured this month in Surviving Life as a Woman. With the sun staying out longer and the UV rays causing harm sharing a few suggestions on the items that work for me might also be helpful to my readers.

After writing the article on hair loss I decided to write a follow up piece regarding my hair regrowth progress. African American Hair Care: Proven Hair Growth Products provides information of the hair growth products I have used that is successfully regrowing my hair. Thinning hair and balding scalps plague all women of a certain age, but I can only speak with confidence of the hair care products I have used to remedy my hair care concerns.

As the warmer weather progresses I hope to write about seasonal fairs, concerts, and most of all, a beach! Stay tuned for more articles and thank you for visiting and please take time to leave a comment.

Frenchie Davis, a contender on “The Voice” has the type of voice that needs to be showcased. Isn’t it time for her to shine?

Frenchie Davis arrived on the musical reality show scene in 2003 competing for the coveted “American Idol” title. Unfortunately, Frenchie Davis never made it to the finals due to photos taken in her youth. An experience if she could erase from history she probably would. Infamous pictures cost her the opportunity to showcase her voice to millions.

Frenchie Davis

And what a voice it is! Magnificent in tone and range, powerful while being truly heart wrenching. This melodious voice did not go unnoticed with her brief time with American Idol. Instead of hiding her talent due to her dismissal she took the opportunity to showcase her voice on Broadway. Millions were not privileged to enjoy her talents but at least some had the pleasure of hearing Frenchie sing. Now with a Grammy nomination on her belt, French is now striving to showcase her wondrous voice to millions via the competition called “The Voice.”

Frenchie not only has talent but determination not to allow her dream to die. She has natural talent which is pleasant to the hearer. Why hasn’t she been signed to a contract? This question must be on the minds of everyone who has heard her sing. Let’s hope showcasing her ability on “The Voice” will make those in the power to aid her with success are paying attention and will take the necessary actions whether she wins the competition or not.

Voting has begun for the first elimination rounds and will run until Monday June 13, 2011. Will Frenchie Davis make the first cut? Only the viewers and the singer’s coaches will determine who will move forward. For close to a decade Frenchie Davis has been attempting to win the hearts of America and the world, to showcase her very talented voice. Will this competition allow her the opportunity to do so? Only time and support will tell. I know she has my vote.