S'mores Life

The other day one of my daughters asked me if there was a college she could attend to become a Super Hero. As with many of our little ones questions ("But how exactly DID the daddy seed get into the mommy's belly? But, HOW?") I was not prepared with an answer for this so I replied "Well there is school to become a police officer or firefighter and they help people in the same way superheroes do." She wasn't satisfied with that answer, and so I've been thinking about the specifics of becoming our own Wonder Women, magic rope or not. I've been feeling pretty Super Woman myself lately. I've been listening to the Powerful Women of Pop playlist on Amazon recommended by my best friend, I've been responding to tough situations in ways I am proud of. This past year has brought a lot of change to my family, my personal, and my professional life and I feel like I'm finally finding my groove. I'm finding ways to be more efficient with my time,...

Ok so I took a brief hiatus from blogging. Or a not so brief one. But do you know what happens with you start blogging when your baby is just learning to sit up? Nothing. That's right...you can type while your baby chews on your toes or plays with a teether or even type one handed while you feed your baby. Do you know what happens with you try to blog with a toddler? Lots of things. Most of them unsafe and involving calling poison control or unclogging whatever has made it's way down the toilet, that does not belong there. Yeah, we have a toddler now. She's two. TWO. She spelled it out for you in case I wasn't clear. (Laura Reeve Photography)  I cry a lot about this. Not because I'm so emotional that she's two (although yes, I have had those moments also) but mostly because she makes me cry - have you heard the phrase terrible twos? Yeah, we are in the throes of them. Last week I had a meltdown and she stopped what she was doing (beating me) and ran into...

A few months back, my August moms group did a "day in the life of ___" theme for all of the mom bloggers out there to try. I enjoyed reading about their days and seeing how ours were the same and differed. But that post was written nearly five months ago and Clara has changed significantly and so has our routine! I decided to do this again mostly because I know all of my loyal fans are fascinated by the minute details of our day (ha) but also because I enjoy looking back and seeing how much Clara has grown and changed. It helps me appreciate the day to day. I chose today as the day to follow for two reasons - Ian has been working 12 hour shifts so he hasn't been seeing Clara at all M-F (read: mommy gets no break) and also because we have been having a lot more play dates in the past few months but did not today. I love our play dates and they have become a regular part of our week, but sometimes it does alter Clara's routine so I thought it'd be better to choose ...

You know you've been there...one of your parents is telling a story from your childhood and you think "WTF, Mom? You let me play in the street til midnight/cry it out/nurse til I was eight/etc.?!" You might have gotten this from some of my previous posts, but I can be pretty judgmental ( shocking ) and there are definitely still some things my parents did that I think to myself... Really ? REALLY?! But some of those things, now that I've become a parent, I actually understand or (gasp!) have even done myself. So, parental units, I no longer judge you too harshly for... Putting a sticker on the door during our nap times threatening the life of anyone who rang the doorbell.  Because you know what? If I had a threatening sticker (which, in their defense, really just said "Please do not disturb. Baby napping." but I knew the truth behind the words) perhaps LaKersha from Constellation Energy would not have knocked on our door TWICE last night at 7:30. Take a...

A little while back I wrote a post about the culture shock we experienced moving from AK to MD. I promised I would write a post about what I like about Maryland, mostly so I could keep my Maryland friends since according to some people  I was a little harsh (I was holding back too, which should say something)...and since I'm lazy I'm just now getting around to writing it. It's kind of ironic that I started writing this list during a huge ass storm that is tearing through our state - the storms here are NOT making it on my list o' MD loves . But there are a few things that I do love about this place, most of them involving food. Not unlike most of what I love about Alaska. If you know me, this should come as no surprise. Of course my friends and family in Maryland are a given. ;) Cheesy, gooey, crab dip that makes my mouth go nom nom nom - Yes, like the song, Make Your Booty Go Boom Boom Boom  - which is fitting in more ways than one now that I think about it. I A...

This post is not going to win me a lot of fans. At least not a lot of East Coast fans. But I assure you, all of my Maryland friends and family, you are dear to my heart. If I choose to spend my time with you whether you're from Alaska, Maryland, California or Zimbabwe, I love you. I do love a lot of things about Maryland, and the number one on the list are my family and friends. But it will never be home to me. What I do not love are the flippin' Maryland drivers.  I swear to Lucifer just the TRAFFIC alone on this side of the country will send me to a loony bin! Or jail, because it makes me JUST AS CRAZY AS EVERYONE ELSE ON THE ROAD. Yesterday as I was turning left, the person in the far lane stopped to let me in. That was nice. Yay, thanks pretty lady in the blue Audi. But there was a car coming up on my left, I had to wait approximately .05347 second for it to pass before I could turn. I waited and started to turn left...but now the Audi is coming at me. Apparently waiting...