Photo credit portrait above: Andrea Scher

I started my blog in February 2009, back when my “big boy” was a 2-year-old with a wispy blonde mane, a penchant for getting up at 5 a.m., and a will of iron. He still has a will of iron, though now he’s a gangly second grader and has been joined by another wispy-haired blonde guy: his 3-year-old brother.

Elan (right) and Emry (left), June 2012

I think of this blog as an open journal, a place for me to put my stories and thoughts about life, and especially about mothering, down on the page.

I write to remember. I have a terrible memory, so writing is my way to preserve moments – both sublime and absurd – inside the full, messy days of mothering young children.

I write to know myself. When I feel like my brain is too full or I’m going round and round on something, writing is often my way in. Writing points me towards what’s important, towards what I’m not seeing.

I write to connect. We’ve all had those days full of meltdowns (ours & theirs), when all we wanted was a big glass of wine and the knowledge that someone else has been there. I think we’re at our best when we share, even if it doesn’t always make us look good. I’m willing to put down the raw and the vulnerable, so that someone else can read it and think it’s not just me. I’m willing to try to share the joys without sounding like a Hallmark commercial (okay, maybe sometimes it’s good to sound like a Hallmark commercial). And I’m happy to tell you when I find something that works for me, just in case it works for you too.

Tidbits about me

I like to move my body. Once upon a time I was a dancer. These days it’s yoga, Zumba, Pilates, swimming, biking, running, walking, or having a dance party in the living room with my boys. Exercise is my stress relief and my mental health necessity.

I’m on my third draft of writing a historical novel. Someday I hope to finish it.

I am lucky to have awesome family & friends.

I find inspiration and respite in nature.

I used to make dollhouses. I even had a (very) small business selling teeny-tiny rag baskets when I was 14 years old. These days, I occasionally fantasize about having A Shed of My Own where I could do that kind of creative work with my hands (not to mention the time to do it).

My superpower is spotting wildlife. Weird, but true.

I know what it is to be clinically depressed, and I hope to never be back there again.

I’m married to a remarkable man. Good choice!

I had a miscarriage due to a partial molar pregnancy, between having my two sons, and it was a sad and – despite the support of my family and friends – a lonely experience.

Sleep is a constant issue in our house.

Long ago in a galaxy far, far away, I did improv – on stage! Wouldn’t my kids love it if I applied the first rule of improv – say yes to everything – to my life as a mama.

I was lucky to have two all-natural births.

I’d rather give birth without drugs twice than suffer from all-day morning sickness for 13 weeks.

In our lives B.C. (Before Children), my husband and I traveled extensively in Latin America and lived in Peru for a year while I had a Fulbright Fellowship to work on my novel.

I like to read, and not just on the Internet. I used to read constantly, but then I became a perpetually sleep-deprived mama. This year my goal is to read a book a month.

I think pregnancy is a miracle. I wish I loved being pregnant, but I was really darn uncomfortable.