Choosing Presence
“If you had a full bank account and a clear calendar, what would you do?” I’m reading Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist right now for the second time and...
Traveling Internationally with Kids
by Amber Harder
Recently we had the privilege of traveling to Ethiopia as a family. Our oldest daughter was born in Ethiopia and joined our family when she was 11 months old. We...
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot like Clutter
Dear Santa – all I want for Christmas is a clean house! With the holidays right around the corner, we are bracing ourselves for the barrage of toys that will...
Mary Poppins Is My New Role Model
She flew into town courtesy of an umbrella. She pulled an entire room’s worth of decorations and useful items from her carpet bag, and she danced with abandon on the...
Out of Reach
I recently attended a meeting where I was introduced as the owner of a local wine bar & bistro, a mom of three young girls and a freelance writer. Then...
Inexpensive Style Updates
The Target toy catalog arrived last week. The Target holiday decorating catalog arrived this week. Fine. Take all my money. Sound familiar? Heading into a fun season of holidays, you...
The Magical 3-Second Pause
by Amber Harder
I like being efficient and checking things off lists. Sometimes my children hinder my efficiency with their unpredictable needs and unexpected bickering. Oh, children. When I’m working hard to accomplish...
Maybe I Just Need to Make the Table Longer
It is a typical Monday evening and already I am mentally counting down the minutes to bedtime. I’m feeling overwhelmed. Is that an overused word? In my exhausted mom of...
Art Time
I’m a planner by nature. Always have been, always will be. My husband and I use an app to synch our family schedule and I use another one to plan...
The 8pm Snack
It is the magical time at night. The kids are in bed (awake, but in bed…for now). You are not quite ready to commit to bedtime for yourself, but you...
Easy Fall Wardrobe Updates
It is the most wonderful time of year. Ok…so that’s debatable…and subject to every person’s opinion…but there is something exciting about fall. And especially in our great state of Minnesota....
Forty Things to do While Waiting for Labor Start
by Maureen Zhao
Here I am, waiting for labor. With my firstborn, I was in early labor for many days at home before active labor kicked in. Twenty-four strenuous back-laboring hours after arriving...
I Broke up with My Laundry
by Erin Statz
Laundry is my number one nemesis as a mom. It’s just the most overwhelming, tedious and time-consuming thing that controls my life. I absolutely hate it. Yes, I do have...