• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Crunchy-Chewy Mama

Living naturally, most of the time.

  • About Jessica Claire Haney
  • Contact
  • Holistic Health
  • D.C. Metro
  • The Arts
  • Healthy Eating
  • Activism & Politics

Uncategorized

On being recently separated

April 26, 2019 by Jessica 1 Comment

It’s been two and a half months since my husband and I separated and I moved into a nearby townhouse. After my initial sharing and the kind replies of support I received, I’ve since had a handful of “how are you doing?” questions. A few – most of the ones in person – have been…

Read More »

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: family, priorities, separation

What would “success” look like

February 4, 2016 by Jessica 5 Comments

Today I was challenged to define success. This was at the end of a networking meeting, and I was spinning my wheels about what I’m trying to achieve with Mindful Healthy Life vs. what seems realistically possible given the commitments I have to my health, to my family, and to my community. Well, that was…

Read More »

Filed Under: Activism & Politics, Holistic Health, The Arts, Uncategorized Tagged With: anxiety, calm, fiction, health, intention, joy, novel, parenting, priorities, working mother, writing, writing mother

A no-travel, just-us Thanksgiving

November 26, 2015 by Jessica Leave a Comment

This is the second year we haven’t traveled or hosted anyone for Thanksgiving. I’ve been offline all day and want to avoid getting too sucked into a screen, so I’ll just recap in brief, and in photos. Despite designs on waking at 4:30, I ignored my alarm and didn’t get up until my son woke…

Read More »

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: biking, family, holidays, nature, outdoors, Thanksgiving, tradition, traditions, walking

On the eve of finishing Harry Potter

November 24, 2015 by Jessica Leave a Comment

In just 30 pages, I will have finished the epic that is the Harry Potter series. My son and I started it in July, a week after his cousin had read him a chapter at a beach cottage and two days before my son ended up breaking his leg. We did a lot of reading…

Read More »

Filed Under: The Arts, Uncategorized Tagged With: creativity, culture, Harry Potter, imagination, mainstream, mainstream culture, reading, Shonda Rhimes, writing, writing mother

Chords and tears

November 22, 2015 by Jessica Leave a Comment

Today was a day of children singing and playing music, and a day of me crying. At the UU church where got married in 2002 and are these days, at best, sometimes-attendees, today was an all-welcome service designed around Sesame Street songs. I thought about going when I saw the email describing the service, and…

Read More »

Filed Under: The Arts, Uncategorized Tagged With: crying, Einaudi, family, memory, music, nostalgia, piano, tears, U2

I have no words

November 21, 2015 by Jessica Leave a Comment

Today, I lost my keys. I lost patience. I lost hope. I am not yet sure what I gained. After looking unsuccessfully for my keys, at least I found this.

Filed Under: The Arts, Uncategorized Tagged With: clouds, driving, loss, sunset, uncertainty

You can’t splash in puddles if it doesn’t rain

November 19, 2015 by Jessica Leave a Comment

At the last second, I changed my mind against picking my kids up from the bus in the car and instead grabbed the umbrellas and a jacket. It was warm. I figured they had probably not had recess, what with all the rain. The afternoon included a longer-than-normal piano lesson for my son during which…

Read More »

Filed Under: Featured, The Arts, Uncategorized Tagged With: autumn, beauty, boots, color, fall, neighborhood, outdoors, puddles, rain, splashing, walking, weather

Slippage

November 18, 2015 by Jessica Leave a Comment

Whew, this month is kicking my behind. Or at least this week is. So much stuff to attend and cover, so much school stuff – all-day field trip Monday, two health committee meetings today. Business-building phone calls and interviews… Trying to build a team… I am waking early and exercising and writing. But I’m also…

Read More »

Filed Under: Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, The Arts, Uncategorized Tagged With: balance, blogging, business, health, priorities, writing

4th grade field trip, starting at 4:44 a.m.

November 16, 2015 by Jessica Leave a Comment

Today I needed to get my son to school by 6 a.m. for a field trip to Jamestown. The only reason I can take a moment right now, in my exhausted state before going up to bed probably at the same time as the kids and possibly before 7:30 p.m. is because he is showing…

Read More »

Filed Under: D.C. Metro, Uncategorized Tagged With: NaBloPoMo15

My day in the world

November 13, 2015 by Jessica Leave a Comment

Here is the photoblog I created today after touring the new Arlington MOM’s Organic Market store!

Filed Under: Activism & Politics, D.C. Metro, Healthy Eating, Uncategorized

Getting my kids at home outside

November 12, 2015 by Jessica Leave a Comment

“It takes me a while to get to stuff” would be an appropriate opening for at least a dozen blog posts I could write. One of them has to do with getting on the ball about making my kids at home in the outdoors and also getting at home in the garden. When we set…

Read More »

Filed Under: Healthy Eating, Uncategorized Tagged With: gardening, home, outdoors, outside, patience, priorities, renovation, time

A day “off”

November 11, 2015 by Jessica Leave a Comment

Today my blog energy went to Mindful Healthy Life, where I finally got up a profile the local natural foods grocery store chain MOM’s Organic Market, on the almost-eve of its Arlington store grand opening as well as a gift card giveaway. But just to get out a little update on things around home: I…

Read More »

Filed Under: The Arts, Uncategorized Tagged With: blogging, MOM's Organic Market, NaBloPoMo15, Paleo Parents, writing

What I did today

November 10, 2015 by Jessica Leave a Comment

Today I did write before the kids got up, but nothing personal for here. So behold a partial accounting of my day. Today, I: wrote this play review about Hansel & Gretel put together this quick weekend preview of DC-area wellness events after some research, emails, texts and a phone call added this School Garden Meetup…

Read More »

Filed Under: Activism & Politics, D.C. Metro, Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, The Arts, Uncategorized Tagged With: cooking, food, gardening, kitchen, NaBloPoMo15, priorities, writing

My Experience Wish-List

November 9, 2015 by Jessica Leave a Comment

On my yoga mat this morning, I had that feeling you get when you are addicted to exercising and you have just gotten a hit of the drug. I had just spent 22 minutes on the elliptical, which I’ve done (or exceeded) nearly every day of late, except yesterday. It’s been regularly followed by yoga,…

Read More »

Filed Under: Holistic Health, Uncategorized Tagged With: break, dream, fantasy, garden, home, Joe Dispenza, Kripalu, Monroe Institute, NaBloPoMo15, Omega Institute, priorities, respite, rest, travel, trip, vacation, yoga, Yogaville

Channeling the yoga class I didn’t take my kids to

November 8, 2015 by Jessica Leave a Comment

This afternoon was pretty only with respect to the weather. The rest of it had lots of ugly moments, and buckets of tears from my five-year-old. No, I didn’t do yoga with my kids today, and we didn’t meditate together before bed or anything like that. But I did hold on to the imagined beauty…

Read More »

Filed Under: D.C. Metro, Featured, Holistic Health, Uncategorized Tagged With: belief, cleaning, clutter, eating, expectation, hope, housework, intention, laundry, meals, meltdowns, mindset, organization, paper, presence, priorities, stillness, tantrums, yoga

No expiration date on learning or growing

November 7, 2015 by Jessica Leave a Comment

Today I led a meditation at a health & wellness fair at my children’s school! This happened because last year, after I attended the first National Kids Yoga Conference, I suggested to the principal that mindfulness activities at school be considered, in general and in particular using the wetlands learning lab we built three years ago….

Read More »

Filed Under: D.C. Metro, Featured, Holistic Health, Uncategorized Tagged With: acceptance, calm, challenge, children, meditation, meltdown, mindfulness, modeling, National Kids Yoga Conference, peace, practice, priorities, school, yoga, zumba

What life smells like this fall

November 6, 2015 by Jessica Leave a Comment

It smells like leaves. Leaves warming in the sun, leaves rotting in the rain. They are are plentiful in the woods, but not enough have fallen in our yard to put that much energy into raking, not compared to what is to come. It’s about time to sweep the deck and the walkway, though. The…

Read More »

Filed Under: Holistic Health, Uncategorized Tagged With: food, home, priorities

The art and joy of saying no

November 5, 2015 by Jessica 2 Comments

Sometimes it’s important to celebrate the fact that we didn’t do something. I don’t mean harmful or negative stuff, though, yes, it’s good to give yourself a pat on the back when you choose the high road. What I mean is the things I chose not to do because I chose calm instead. Long ago,…

Read More »

Filed Under: Holistic Health, The Arts, Uncategorized Tagged With: activities, bed, bedtime, calm, children's health, family, groundedness, health, home, NaBloPoMo15, peace, priorities, schedule, scheduling, school, sim, simplicity, simplicity parenting, sleep

Big kids are better than babies

November 4, 2015 by Jessica 2 Comments

“But they’re older now,” I thought, hopefully, as I prepared lunches for an outing to the pumpkin patch for which no friends would be joining us and as I thought about our previous trip two years earlier. Even though I know it’s always more fun for them to have buddies and for me to have…

Read More »

Filed Under: Holistic Health, Uncategorized Tagged With: babies, energy, family, growing up, health, outings, pregnancy, priorities, pumpkin patch, siblings

What life sounds like now

November 3, 2015 by Jessica Leave a Comment

There’s definitely a soundtrack around my house right now that I want to document. That, and today the kids were off school so I’ve had no time to write but am determined not to skip a day of #NaBloPoMo15! So here’s one of the shorter posts I wanted to be sure to write, to peg this…

Read More »

Filed Under: The Arts, Uncategorized Tagged With: blogging, family, Harry Potter, home, music, NaBloPoMo15, priorities

Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Welcome to Crunchy-Chewy Mama, where the wilderness meets the sidewalk. Around here, I do my best to live as healthfully as possible. But compromises abound.

I also publish the resource blog Mindful Healthy Life of Metro DC. To learn about my writing and appearances and for details about the writing, editing and consulting services I offer, visit JessicaClaireHaney.com.

Follow Crunchy Chewy Mama

  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Follow Jessica Claire Haney

  • Facebook

Follow Mindful Healthy Life

  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2025 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress