Addy Chronicles: COVID Opportunities & BFFs
Physical distancing is hard. We all know that. And then kids really know it! My daughter has grown quite savvy with her mask wearing and keeping 6 feet of distance between herself and others . She knows not to hug, high five nor wrestle. No trading jewelry nor putting her face within 2 cm of her best friend while giggling or playing with her hair! All of these are physical actions that are second-nature to a 6 year old girl. So when wearing a mask becomes so common place that she forgets to take it off in the shower, my heart both shrivels in mourning and lifts in pride. She…
When Hope Still Hurts
My period is late – way late! And just to add context, I am also pre-menopausal. Aaron and I are in the process of adoption. We have accepted our fertility challenges and feel called to grow our family in a way we hadn’t ever imagined for ourselves. My forty-something friend is 12 weeks pregnant! Okay, confession time. Back to my period…I am late, like weeks late. My body has felt like I should be bleeding but nothing happens. With this context and all the various factors swirling around, I started wondering (hoping, really) that I was pregnant! I recognized that little flitter inside my stomach. The one that you get…
Meet My Mom. We’re Talking About Losing A Child (She Lost Two)
Do you follow any blogs or podcasts? No. [laughs] I don’t even use Facebook. [laughs some more] What is your working definition of motherhood? I don’t know if I can make a definition. I don’t think about things like that. It’s different for everyone. For me, it was to help my children to become adults and doing what I could to help them with that. That has nothing to do with being a mother because dads do it too. Providing the basic things every day so that my kids could do other things. That might not be the right way. Did you always know you wanted to be a mom?…
My Decision to Stay At Home & Why I Reserve The Right to Change My Mind
Before Addy was born or even a twinkle in my eye, I put in a lot of hours at work. I saw my job as more than a career. It was my identity and almost a lifestyle. I was a youth director and a really great one! I wouldn’t consider it the kind of career that requires ladder climbing. But it did demand time and a depth of commitment that only the job of mom has rivaled. I was in the process of transitioning out of youth ministry when I discovered I was pregnant. I knew that I wanted to raise a family, and I questioned whether I could do…
Meet Karen Ray: My First Mommy Role Model
I chose to interview my friend and first mommy role model, Karen Ray, because it was a weekend at her home and with her kids that stretched my imagination. My ex-husband and I were asked to home sit with her kids in it. From making meals to playing in the backyard, it was like playing an adult version of “house”. Until that weekend, I never once considered having children of my own. More than that I had made the choice to not be a parent. There are a lot of other circumstances that changed in my life and brought me to this day, a day when being a mom is…
Welcome To A Not So Average Mom Blog
Welcome to another “mom blog”! But wait! It’s not an average mom blog. If you aren’t a mom or even if you are, keep reading. There is something in here for you! “I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I always knew the woman I wanted to be.” Diane Von Furstenberg I’m a mother, raised by a mother, who was raised by a mother, who was also raised by…you guessed it…a mother. My own motherhood came five years ago when I gave birth to my daughter, Addy, with ginger hair and a stubborn streak rivaled only by her dad. For a midwestern gal, I came to motherhood a…
