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,...

Names have been changed to protect the innocent...and the not-so-innocent. ********************************************************************************* "Mommy, I have a HUGE crush on David." Where did she learn that word? "What makes you have a crush on him?" I inquired. "Because he's so handsome and he likes to play with me." He's good looking. He likes me. "Is he kind to you? Is he kind to other people? Does he make you laugh?" "Yes, he's nice to me and he's nice to my friends. He makes the silliest faces and that makes me laugh!" She answered. "I'm glad you have a good friend in David. Those are good reasons to like somebody." ********************************************************************************* "You should ask Daddy for help because he's a good worker. And you're a good cooker." Don't ask for his help. Show her you can do it on your own....

About a year ago, I published Our REAL Christmas Letter for 2015 . I shared a lot of things; I was brutally honest about the fact that we were struggling in our marriage, I was mentally struggling a lot, and we had a lot of difficult parenting moments in 2015. I shared joyous moments too of course, but 2015 was a hard year. For most of us, 2016 has not been any easier, but I look back on that letter from one year ago and see it as the starting point for me being honest about my real life on social media, blogging, and in person. Some of you know me well and know that I've never shied away from being honest, sometimes blunt, and sometimes to a fault. There is something different, however, about being real. True. Authentic. Raw. The response both online and in person, to that letter, was staggering. I still have people tell me how much they appreciate how brave I was. To be frank, I feel like my reasons for honesty were far more selfish than brave. Sure, it was nice that other peop...

I am writing this on October 16, 2016. I am purposefully waiting until the election season is over to post this, because I don't want it to get mixed up in the screwed up world of politics. This may be a hot topic right now, but it is an important one.  Rape culture. In a strange way, I'm grateful that the world heard Trump's sick words about sexual assault. He represents a culture, that has little to nothing to do with American politics (I know just as bad has been said and done within the Democratic Party too), that women have known about all along. But his comments getting blown into the media are forcing us to finally talk about it. People want to know why his accusers didn't come forward before the election. Well, first off, BECAUSE YOU'RE ASKING THAT QUESTION. It's also for the same reasons a great deal of us haven't been vocal about this issue or our own experiences with sexual harassment or assault. What if they think I'm crazy? ...

Nine months and my entire second pregnancy of six weeks away, two weeks home. A year of four weeks on, two weeks off . (The "best" year of this job.) Nine weeks of "Oh you're coming back in a week. No, never mind. Ok you're coming back in two weeks. No, never mind..." Eight months of anywhere from four to six weeks on, averaging one week off. No consistent schedule. Alternating between gratefulness for the opportunity and the ability to move our family back to Alaska, and (probably irrational) pure hatred of the slope, everything it stood for, and what I felt "it" was doing to our family. But I knew, deep down, it wasn't doing anything to our family. Maybe some families are strong enough for that lifestyle. In fact, I know a lot of thriving slope families. Our was not one of them. For everyone who thinks that the money is "so good" on the slope, I have a couple thoughts for you. First off, he isn't paid when he's hom...

It's come up in discussions around me a lot lately, whether it's in church classes or just with friends. Christmas letters. And our tendency to brag, show pride, or gloss over the reality of our lives. Now, don't get me wrong. I LOVE Christmas letters and cards. I wish more people sent them, I love reading them, and I love writing them. I also try to be "real" when I write them...this year, instead of a typical letter, I decided to put our top quotes of 2015. Hence, why the words "vagina," "wine," and "poop" (twice!) are on our Christmas card this year. I don't try to sugar coat our lives or our reality in real life, and I try to be pretty honest online too. However, reading this brutally honest Christmas card  made me realize that I really was not being as honest about the brutal parts of our year as I could be. And yes, we want to be uplifting and positive and not complain or drag people down...also, as someone who suffers fr...

Most of you who know me IRL (in real life...I like acronyms. AKA ILA. Figure that one out.) know that I am not crafty...I know how to get down with a glue gun and I love glitter (who doesn't?) but my future sister in law can attest that I am not a painter or artistic - just ask her about the Pic n' Paint plate disaster of 2009. Some of my close friends in Alaska can also tell you about the time (the first occurrence was in 2000) they tried to teach me to crochet and I asked if this is how you made string, and if I could just laminate my project together. If you don't believe me, check out some of the infant crafts I have done with Clara on this blog...in particular, t he Easter one where I may have given a bird a beak...and a mouth. Twice. No big deal. So anyways, while my pinterest followers may think that I am the next Martha Stewart based off of my pins, but really I am just an optimist and like to think one day I will be able to DIY it all. We all know we only do abo...

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...