Mary's Musings - Mary's Blog - Raising Bakersfield

Bambini Carini is closing!

Downtown Bakersfield is losing a designer baby & kids store!

Bambini Carini is closing. They were profiled in early May in The Bakersfield Californian as a locally owned store feeling the economy's pinch.

They are offering 50-70% Off Cribs, furniture, bedding, lighting, rugs, art, clothing, diaper bags, gifts, etc.

Find Bambini Carini at 1608 19th Street (Right near the Spotlight Theater) or call them at 323-5793

Mother's Day

It's said that you can't really appreciate or understand your parents until you are a parent yourself. I've been thinking about this a lot lately with all of my work on Raising Bakersfield and Mother's Day this weekend. I am not a parent yet, so I wonder what kind of new perspective I will have on my childhood and my parents when I do become one.

I had a wonderful childhood and was rather spoiled- but in all of the good ways! I have always been very close to my mom (if you don't include the very few spats we had when I was a teenager). The older I get, the more I can see her in me.

My mom is one of my dearest, closest friends, so I am feeling kind of sad that I won't be able to spend Mother's Day with her (or even my mother-in-law). My mom is in Florida now and my mother-in-law is in Switzerland. The best I can do in this situation is just send flowers- but somehow just feels not good enough.

My Mom said to me this morning "oh Mother's Day is just a Hallmark holiday. For me, Mother's Day is Everyday." I can't tell if she is serious or if she is just saying it to make us both feel better.

I just wonder for all of you parents out there reading this, Is Mother's Day really meaningful to you- or just another day?

And how has your perspective of your mom changed since you became a parent?

{This Mother's Day, I will be with a group of swimmers from CSUB that have volunteered to help Raising Bakersfield celebrate our launch on Mother's Day. We will be taking pictures of local families celebrating Mother's Day at local restaurants. Maybe we will be surprising you! Don't worry, we won't get shots of people actually eating- more like keeping them entertained while they wait for a table. }

On Newsstands now!

To spread the word about everything we have going on here on RaisingBakersfield.com, we will be publishing a monthly newsletter. Yesterday, all 10,000 of our first newsletter finished printing.

As the "mom" of Raising BakersfieldI must admit I am pretty proud of the newsletter the team put together, even thought the perfectionist in me is freaking out some nitpicky things only someone as obsessive complusive as I am would notice. My favorite feature was an article from Heather Ijames bursting with her fantastic comic wit. I have ready it probably 20 times, but still laugh almost to the point of peeing my pants every time.

Our newsletter will feature the best posts of the month, an events calendar, lots of snapshots of cute kids and events, and lots of other surprises we have up our sleeves.

EMichele and I filled up our cars with these thousands of newsletters and headed out to conquer Bakersfield. We wanted to personally introduce our newsletter to local business owners at a couple hundred locations.

I am not outgoing at all, so to be perfectly honest, I was kind of nervous bursting into local businesses with a big pile of newsletters in my hands.

Beside learning that I am really bad trying to look at a clipboard and map while I am driving, I also discovered some wonderful businesses for local parents and met some warm and caring business owners and staff.

My fear was doors slamming in my face, but I was really impressed by the treatment I received. When I brought in our newsletters, it was great to see the excitement in their eyes as they read it. It was really fufilling to see how many Bakersfield-ians sincerely care about the community and local families.

My favorite part was when they asked for more!

I hope you see our newsletter around town and pick up a copy. We are also mailing it to about 3,000 homes as well, so maybe you'll be getting one in your mailbox.

If you get a copy, please send me any feedback you have or any suggestions of places we should take it!

I'm "Hot Mama"- Introducing Myself

I feel a little awkward blogging on this site, since I am not a parent, nor am I even pregnant. So why am I here?

Well, I am the project manager/team leader of the group of staff at The Bakersfield Californian that is bringing you RaisingBakersfield.com. This site is something that is very close to my heart and in a sick, workaholic kind of way it has become my baby. And it has made my biological clock a ticking time bomb, especially since I just celebrated my big 3-0.

I am an Aunt to two boys and my favorite nickname in my whole life came from my nephew and Godson Ben. When he was first learning to talk he had lots of trouble saying "Aunt Mary." It came out "Ahuht Mama"- or as I preferred to hear it "Hot Mama." Is it bad that myself esteem was so low that having a toddler unintentionally calling me a hot mama gave me such a boost?

I did have one of my co-workers say to me during this development process for Raising Bakersfield- "you can't blog on this site, you are NOT a parent." So, of course, my inner-teenager screamed out in my head "Dern it, I'll show you!"

Well, here am I like am idiot. So, what kind of experience do I have that I can add? Ok, maybe not that much. Maybe my co-worker was right. But, I am too stubborn to believe that.

Besides being an Aunt, my only real "parenting" experience was in my early 20s when I was an Au Pair to 3 kids in Switzerland for a family of an executive banker.

But I do hope all of the work the team and I have done makes being an actual parent here in Bakersfield easier and just good ol' plain fun. I am glad that you are here!