Living naturally, most of the time.
As summer 2015 draws to a close, I am filled alternately with grief and with relief. Now, it’s pretty typical for me to flip-flop from one extreme to another in my emotions in the space of about two minutes. I remember one fall day I took my children to Ticonderoga Farms by myself and thought…
The Crayola Experience in Easton, Pennsylvania is a wonderfully fun and creative spot to spend the day, or more! We’ve been for the past two years during Spring Break, and when a friend asked for recommendations for a her toddler, I realized I’d never put together a post about our trip. So here goes! I…
It was after Mother’s Day passed with nary an acknowledgement — other than my daughter adding me to her dad’s birthday card and saying, “We should do something for you for Mother’s Day” — that I decided to register for the BlogU Conference in Baltimore in early June. My husband, who’d been playing in Ultimate Frisbee tournaments…
As the BlogU conference drew nearer, I began to feel more and more excited but less and less prepared. There was a huge attendee Facebook group I failed to figure out until about a week before. What rock had I been living under? It was filled with so much activity! So many people to follow!…
It seems a little surprising that I’m feeling so calm on such a full day. It sure feels different to be trying to figure out why instead of figuring out why I don’t feel well, which is a lot more common! I woke this morning with a sore throat and tight chest thinking, “Oh, maybe…
Today is the last day of Cesarean Awareness Month, something I would not have expected would apply to me when I first got pregnant a little more than 10 years ago. But it does. After my 2006 c-section, I went on to have a homebirth with my second child, thanks in no small part to…
After I’d attended the summer Moms Clean Air Force play-ins and had learned more about the organization‘s important work, I was honored to be invited me to speak at the Virginia Mama Summit at the Virginia General Assembly building. At first, I thought that since my children don’t have full-on asthma and I don’t work as a…
This fall I have noticed the leaves without trying so hard and have immersed myself in a lot of interesting activities that seemed to land in my lap. I have been so many great talks and events, and I’ve wanted to write thoughtful and helpful recaps of all of them for my website, Mindful Healthy…
A few hours ago, my eight-year-old son and I popped back on the Metro from the Library of Congress National Book Festival at the DC Convention Center after sampling just a fraction of what the event had to offer in this, its first year taking place inside. The key attraction that got us there by 11…
What words would you use to describe yourself? How do those words change when you become a parent? What do your choices look like with the glasses of parenthood on? This week I felt like some of my many identities came together outside the Federal Triangle Metro station at the Moms Clean Air Force-organized rally…
Welcome to the July 2014 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Family Vacation This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared their family-travel tips, challenges, and delights. Please read to the end to find a list of links…
When I was a teacher, I considered spring break a reprieve from grading and early morning wake-ups and dealing with adolescent angst in 120 flavors. But now that I am a mom with school-aged children, spring “break” is a misnomer. It is a week when I feel the weight of responsibility of keeping to a…
After my last post whined about the tough time I’ve been having, I really intended to write something more uplifting the following day when I was feeling better. My friend who has been teaching herself energy medicine did a phone consult with me that really turned things around Thursday night. The biggest issue she identified…
With a background in environmental education and an avowed interest in connecting to nature, you’d think my children would be outside all the time. Well, at least I’d like to think that I could have little adventure explorers who would never ask to watch anything on a screen. Not so. I blame it partly on…
The more I channeled Happier at Home author Gretchen Rubin this morning, straightening up and dealing with clutter, the more I started thinking about ditching the chance to see her speak tonight. Talk about shooting the messenger. She didn’t exactly say the words “don’t do anything that doesn’t make you feel joyful” in what I read…
It didn’t look like it was going to go well, this New Year’s Day. I had been eating pancakes all morning (sugar-free and GF but not GAPS-legal) and was wearing the world’s frumpiest sweatpant/pajama combo. My daughter was reaching up to the counter to help herself to the sausage she didn’t eat at breakfast while…
It feels like about 90 days since I woke on November 1 with the intention of blogging every day for NaBloPoMo and working on my novel every day for NaNoWriMo. I made it three days for sure (maybe more that I didn’t tag!) had some great and productive mornings, but I have also been sidelined…
It’s been a lifelong desire of mine to live many different existences at one time. I wanted to be a jet-setting child actress and also live a life of quiet contemptation from my perch in the treehouse. I wanted to be a busy, driven academic and also a party girl. Today, I want to be…
Today I was too busy noticing fall and being with my kids to write, and tonight I was too busy prepping for Tuesday’s blog carnival on humor in parenting. So here are a few images of a still November day in Northern Virginia.
For nearly a year, I assumed I’d be out of town tonight. I would either be at the National Women’s Studies Association national conference, hosted this year by my alma mater, the University of Cincinnati. It would have been a reunion of sorts, and I’d have had the chance to talk to people about the…
