Hot off the presses....

Here it is, drum roll please...the 2008 Annual Report, MAU's first ever! MAU celebrates mother leadership -- MAUs share their stories of action and visions for the world.

Inauguration Day!

My husband and I witnessed history being made standing shoulder to shoulder with millions of others. The hours passed quickly as we left the house in the dark to make a 5:30am train to Washington, DC. We arrived full of excitement as the sun shined brightly on a cold January morning in our nation's capital. Tens of thousands waited at the security gates while we showed our tickets and entered single file. We made our way to our area and began the countdown -- literally, there was a man from St. Louis counting down to the swearing-in.

We made friends, chatted, laughed, discussed facebook updates, and knew that the eyes of the world were upon us as the excitement in the air grew by the minute. Unfortunately, we weren't able to see much given that the huge jumbotron had a big tree right in front of it, but none the less, we weren't any less excited.

And then, it all began....dignitaries were announced and made their way to their appointed seats. The crowd shouted for former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. For a society that values being loud, the power of silence was striking -- not a peep was uttered when George Herbert Walker Bush entered. Some boos, but again, mostly silence for Vice President Cheney. And then Bush entered, silence gave way to boos which gave way to the song -- Na-na, na-na-na-na, hey, hey, hey good-bye. These words filled the air from behind us, to the left of us and in front of us. And then the chanting started -- O-ba-ma, O-ba-ma. It was incredible, our voices -- young and old, from all over the country and the world, women and men -- joining in unison, sounding like one -- powerful!

President Obama began his speech as the crowd chanted. As he spoke of extending a hand in friendship to those whose fists were clenched, of helping poor nations to "nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds" and reaffirming our nation's spirit, the crowd roared their support. The sense of renewed hope, purpose and responsibility -- to ourselves, to our nation and to the world -- was palpable.

The next thing we knew, we were starting our journey home to tell our daughters all about it! (Our older daughter (7 years old) really wanted to be there and had actually suggested that I take her and that daddy could stay at home with her younger sister!)

The impact of the speech didn't really hit until we got home. It was a somber speech that reflected the seriousness of our time, yet was full of hope and inspiration based on the strength of us as a people.

There seems to be life again in the White House -- from Malia and Sasha, to watching the way President Obama and Michelle danced while watching the parade go by. Who knew that the leader of the free world could seem so down to earth? At the end of the day though, it is important to remember that while government is here to work for us and as President Obama will lead us, we all must be part of the change that this country needs.

And, as the 44th President of the United States said, now the work begins!

Nashville MAU's Mother's Day events in Nashville Parent.

More than merely Mother's Day

Mothers Acting Up hosts its annual downtown parade Sunday

By Jennifer Bronson, Camera Staff Writer
Saturday, May 10, 2008

Photo by Cliff Grassmick

Erika Shafroth, left, and Joellen Raderstorf, share a laughwhile on stilts before the Mothers Acting Up parade. The Fifth Annual Mother's Acting Up Parade was held Sunday (Mother's Day) in downtown Boulder. The parade was held to "mobilize the gigantic strength of mothers on behalf of the world's children."

Some mothers in Boulder want Mother's Day to be more than an excuse for flowers and breakfast in bed.

The members of Mothers Acting Up say they are "re-claiming" Mother's Day, taking it back to its historic roots as a day of female activism.

Instead of celebrating the day with a leisurely brunch, the organization's members hope that mothers in Boulder will come together at the seventh annual Reclaim Mother's Day parade to demonstrate the strength mothers have when united for a cause.

The parade will begin at the Boulder Public Library at 1 p.m. Sunday and end at the Pearl Street Mall. The annual Mother's Day events organized by Mothers Acting Up were inspired by a declaration made by Julia Ward Howe after the Civil War, when she called for a day when mothers would unite across boundaries to protect their global family.

In her Mother's Day proclamation, Howe said: "Arise, arise, all women who have hearts!"(...more)

Mobilizing Mamas Project in Top 100 for Case Foundation Grant!

Thrillingly, my project proposal to the Case Foundation's Make It Your Own Awards for Mothers Acting Up made it to the TOP 100 out of nearly five thousand applications! This is hugely exciting for MAU, and for me. See the kind of amazing company I'm keeping in this list, and click on my project Mobilizing Mamas to see what it's all about! You can see the widget over at Ms. Booty Homemaker Explains It All To You. More on that soonest!!