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…
D.C. Metro
City mouse, country mouse, suburban mom
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…
Glimpses of fall
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.
A weekend of many possibilities
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…
So many choices! A blessing and a curse
The same things I love about a day home with my kids are the same things that drive me nuts. I’ve probably said this before, and I’m much more accepting of this contradiction these days, but I still feel it. At least the feeling is more like an ironic chuckle than an internal war that’s…
Taking steps toward wellness
It’s nice to end the day feeling better than you started. My plan was to get to the Stress-Less Expo, organized by Gainesville Holistic Health Center with the support of the Tony Robbins‘ team and Dahn Yoga, among others, to begin raising awareness and funds for the Whole-listic Children’s Foundation‘s project to create a holistic…
On blogging and living (simultaneously)
Everything changes, but what is important never does. That is the biggest lesson I’ve learned from parenting, and I think if I work hard enough, I can apply it to blogging as well. When I was a high school English teacher, back before I became a mom, I was constantly busy reading papers, or thinking…
Believing in work (and parenting): Femworking conference interview and reflections
What a delightful conversation I had last week with Kelley Sanabria, founder of Femworking, LLC and Nicole Dash, author of Tiny Steps Mommy blog and the co-chair with Kelley of the upcoming Blogger and Small Business Conference taking place in Arlington on October 26. They offered a discount for covering the conference for TheDCMoms.com, and…
Life purpose manifesto: Why I want to start a business
One step forward, two steps back. After yesterday’s post on my health journey and optimism for the future, I hit something of a wall last night that had me questioning myself and the purpose that had seemed so crystal clear just hours earlier. I tearfully emailed my energy work practitioner at 11:30 p.m. when, wide-eyed…
Breastfeeding and birth celebrated in book, film, conferences
Birthing and breastfeeding have been on my mind a lot lately for a woman whose days are normally filled with talk of baseball and potty time. My seven-year-old son weaned four years ago, and my daughter, who just turned three, lost her access to my breasts at 22 months when my health was just struggling…
Allison Leotta – mom, author, high school locker neighbor
Back in the day, thriller author Allison Leotta was Ali Harnish. That’s only a few letters — and one Kelly Hardin locker — away from yours truly, Jessica Haney. These days, Ali and I are both moms living in the DC metro area, and we both like to write. Ahem. Maybe the similarities stop there….
Summer events for the green and healthy family
All the events that are fit for green and healthy families this summer into fall 2013. Share what I’ve missed and I’ll add it! Friday, July 5: Book Release and Signing Party for Beyond Bacon by Paleo Parents bloggers Stacy and Matt, Red Apron Butcher, 8298 Glass Alley, Fairfax, VA, 5:00-7:00 p.m. Wednesday, July 17:…
Paleo Parents pen new book, Beyond Bacon
My daughter learned how pigs sound from our trip to Polyface Farms just after she turned two. Since then, every time she’s gleefully snorted, I smile knowing she gleaned that skill right from the source, frolicking right alongside the pasture-raised pigs at Joel Salatin’s farm in Swoope, Virginia. Maybe she’d first picked it up in…
June events for the green and healthy family
Here is a round-up of June 2012 events for your green and healthy family. Leave a comment for others I should add! I hope that in May you submitted your school’s information to the International School Grounds Alliance so they can document what is happening in schoolyards around the world. See http://greenschoolyards.org/ for more info!…
May events for the green and healthy family
Looking for events for your natural-minded family? Here’s an evolving sampling of what’s on tap in May. Before the end of the month: Be sure to submit information about your school’s outdoor space to the International School Grounds Alliance. Register your school at http://greenschoolyards.org/. They’d like to know the name of your school and what…
April events for green and healthy families
April in the DC area is bursting at the seams with events to help you get connected to the earth and focus on your health Here’s a quick look at some of the great offerings for natural-minded families around DC this month. April 13: NoVA Outside Early Childhood Outside Conference: Lens on Outdoor Learning, 9:00-1:00,…
Yoga as birthday gift
I turned 40 on Monday. On my birthday eve — last Sunday — I had the most beautiful yoga class with a small group of friends. I walked in anxious and grumpy and walked out grateful and open-hearted. This weekend, I am off on a retreat through Beloved Yoga at the lovely Kent Manor Inn….
Reading is fundamental (and so is writing)
I did not go to my child’s school to read in my pajamas today. Does this make me a bad parent? I’m going to vote no. I did have his dad pick him up some new non-flame-retardant-sprayed pj’s at Hanna Andersson yesterday (for the “it’s organic and in the mall” price far above Costco rates)…
A retreat and a reboot
Parenting really does make you tired. That’s the conclusion I reached after being away from my family for 32 hours and returned full of pep. For someone who’s had one of the toughest emotional months in her adult life recently and some physical challenges, it’s saying a lot to feel so good about the weekend….
A day of focus
That crazy sound you hear is my head spinning so fast I think my eyeballs will melt from the inside out. In other words, today blew my mind. I left the house at 9 a.m. for a workshop with healer Dr. Claudia Welch on breath, Ayurveda, and hormones. I left that gig an hour early…