My goal for NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) will be to write daily: I will aim to write a blog post and also, for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) to do at least 15 minutes of writing on my novel every day before 6:45 a.m. I might not get the blog piece posted with a photo until…
The desire to write: swallow and spit
Some might say if you can’t reflect, then just live instead. I like the concept, but in practice, it drives me crazy. How people live and live and live and manage to be happy only posting about it on Facebook and not writing about it in long form — or to at least have time…
The beginning of some kind of writing: starting NaBloPoMo
The heft of a child against your chest The sitting of a raindrop on a leaf The turning of the calendar on the wall The dirtying of dishes at the table The coming of a holiday or any day without consulting your level of preparation These things are humbling inevitable and all there is…
How to do only one thing at a time: a work in progress
I’m a lucky woman. I get to do a lot of cool things. This morning, I got to take my kids to their great public school, an Expeditionary Learning school, where children start every day Monday through Thursday with a morning meeting and start every Friday with a community meeting. I love that they see…
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…
On nostalgia and novels
It was a throwback week. And a week of looking ahead. Nearly three months after we were supposed to get together for coffee but got thwarted by a health issue followed by travel and a book launch (not mine), my high school friend and thriller author Allison Leotta (nee Harnisch) and I finally had lunch,…
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…
Reflections on the healing journey: summer into fall
“You’ve come a long way,” said the Total Body Modification practitioner as I listed my areas of improvement along with my concerns. When I started seeing her in the spring, I was struggling, as noted in “Morning with a High-Maintenance Mama.” I’d come out of a bad winter cold and a digestive crisis but was…
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….
How TV and books influence our thinking about tough subjects
Television may have informed my opinions even more than I previously thought. Sure, I’ve complained for years about how I watched too much TV as a child. How I learned social skills by way of backstabbing wives on “General Hospital.” How the girl and girl and guy of “Three’s Company” were as much a part…
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:…
BlogHer arrival day
My computer and my body think it’s 12:22 a.m., but Chicago registers pre-midnight. Regardless of the time, I’m not out partying at #BlogHer13 but am instead doing what I so rarely get a chance to do: sit in front of my computer without interruption. This is what some would call bliss. Couple that with the…
Teaching diversity: tales from public school
Welcome to the July 2013 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Learning About Diversity 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 how they teach their children to embrace and respect the variety of people and cultures that…
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!…
Parenting in the land of compromise
Welcome to the June 2013 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Parenting in Theory vs. in Reality This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants are sharing how their ideas and methods of parenting have changed. *** The surprises…
Sharing our stories: a friend documents war rape
There’s been plenty of talk lately about sexual assault in the U.S. military. I have a friend who has been trying for years to share the stories of women who have been the victims of war rape. When she and I were seniors at Kalamazoo College, Ivana Ivkovic helped put on an impressive feminist conference…