Sharing My Work Featured On Other Sites

I wear many different work hats when I'm not parenting the minions.  I work as a freelance writer, editor, ghost writer, and web writer.  Here is some of my non-parenting related writing for your reading pleasure. Please read and share any of the links that interest you, and as always, if you have any article ideas for me for the blog or anything else shoot me an email or a comment! Enjoy!

Music News

via Giphy

Madonna's Career From 1983-2020, In Photos

16 Pics That Change The Way We See Billie Eilish

Kelly Clarkson Thinks "Vampires Are Sexy" And 15 Other Things She's Admitted

Behind Celebrity Friendships

via WiffleGif

15 Sweet Things Fans Don't Know About Jennifer Aniston And Adam Sandler's Relationship

15 Sweet Facts About Hugh Jackman And Ryan Reynolds' Friendship

Celebrity Parenting 

via Giphy

Penn Badgley And 14 Other Celebs Expecting A Baby In 2020

Alec And Hilaria Baldwin: 15 Little Known Facts About The Couple

Famous Stars & Their Relationships

via Giphy

15 Facts About Miley Cyrus And Liam Hemsworth's Marriage, Now That They're Divorced

An Update On These 13 Recently Divorced Celebrity Couples

15 Little Known Facts About Whoopi Goldberg And Ted Danson's Relationship

20 Things Everyone Forgot About J.Lo And Marc Anthony

Emma Watson

15 Surprising Ways Emma Watson Maintains Her Reported $80 Million Net Worth

Lena Dunham

The Ups And Downs Of Lena Dunham's Career, In 20 Photos

For A Little While

When the minions were little I remember actively willing various phases of their lives to end, looking for them to outgrow things.  Whether it was colic, teething, an ongoing cycle of daycare illnesses, biting, and more, there were so many things that I couldn't wait to be over.

Now that the kids are a lot older, it's a lot rarer for me to wish something away (no matter how many stories I've heard about The Amazing Spiderman, Michael Morbius, or actor Dane Dehaan).  A couple of years ago when we were visiting the minions great grandmother she said something that has really stuck with me - We get to borrow our kids for such a short period of time.

As my kids continue to have more firsts all the time, I am well aware of certain things they do that will eventually disappear from our lives, whether I like it or not.  One day it will be the last time that they do one of these things, and I probably won't even realize it until it's gone.

A Mother's Day Photo Circa 2016

Celebrating Today!

Today I want to celebrate some of the things that I get to do with my kids right now, because soon enough they'll outgrown them.  Writing this has been a fantastic exercise in gratitude!

The way they climb into our bed for weekend morning cuddles

How excited they get when they lose a tooth

The way Molly always agrees to take the dog for a walk with me so we can "chat"

How she always reaches for my hand when we walk

How Jack gets a single tear that rolls down his face every time he eats something that he really, truly loves

Vacation Photo  New Brunswick circa 2017

Getting handmade cards and drawings for every occasion

Reading books together out loud

Bedtime story time (especially the voices Chris does and how Jack critiques and coaches him to improve his voice work)

The way they run and hug me at school pick up

How Molly always runs up and down the ramps at the church we walk by on the way to school in the morning

Kisses goodbye no matter when I leave (and for how long)

The way Molly puts on Chris's hoodies and dress shirts after he's taken them off cause "they smell like dad"

Spring 2019

The way she counts how many different beds she gets to sleep in whenever we go on vacation

How he'll ask me what certain words mean whenever he's reading (latest word saga)

Brushing all the tangles out of her hair

Helping her put in (and take out) her earrings

Finding evidence of 'potion making' in the bathroom

Bed time kisses and hugs

What would your parenting gratitude for today list look like?

Bonding With My Daughter Over The Babysitters Club

One of the best things about being an adult is when other adults who grew up alongside me decide to bring back old things and put a modern spin on them.  When I found out that they had begun to release The Babysitters Club (BSC) as graphic novels for a new generation (and their parents obviously) I knew I had to see if Molly was interested.

Image via Vox

Growing up as a kid of the 1980's and 1990's I had access to my older sister's old Sweet Valley High books and my moms Nancy Drews, but nothing quite spoke to me like The Babysitters Club.  I have been told that in its heyday one new book was released each month in a weird sort of Scholastic Sweat Shop so girls like me could pore over our favourite Stoneybrook Middle Schoolers.  Once we were old enough to babysit ourselves, one of my more entrepreneurial friends, K I'm talking about you, started her own version of The Babysitters Club, a 2 for 1 babysitting model where parents would have two babysitters for the price of one, and when the kids went to bed we'd be able to eat popcorn with in front of Saturday Night Live with one of our closest friends.  In turn I'd use my early years babysitting earnings to purchase even more books about the BSC.

Molly has struggled with her reading, but has made a lot of progress this year.  Part of that has come from our regular sessions reading graphic novels together, where she picks a specific character or two to read for.  As we dove head on into the world of BSC, we talk about a lot of things: Which babysitters I liked best when I was a kid (Claudia & Dawn), Who I like the most as an adult (Maryanne) and who I think I'm most like (probably a Kristy/Maryanne combo). Molly is team Maryanne/Dawn.

via Oprah Magazine

Molly and I have now read every BSC graphic novel available to date.  We watched the 1990's movie (which stars a very young Rachel Leigh Cook as Maryanne and 'The Guy With The Bike' from the movie Singles as Kristy's hella sketchy dad).  We talk a lot about the conflicts the BSC have, I never realized how much they fought with each other until re-reading as an adult, we talk about responsibility, parents being unfair, and how Stacey is THE WORST.

For Christmas I found the first eight books in the original Babysitters Club series I grew up with to gift Molly at a local thrift shop.  Molly was over the moon and we've been reading those together to compare and contrast the storytelling with the Graphic Novels.

It turns out we're not the only one feeling nostalgic for BSC.  Netflix has recently announced a season of BSC coming out in 2020, starring Alicia Silverstone as Kristy's mom. We will watch all of it, whether it's good, bad or lands somewhere in between.

via Girls Life

If you're a fan of podcasts and BSC I also highly recommend checking out the Babysitters Club Club Podcast where two male Buzzfeed employees read the series book by book and then drink beer and hash out ongoing themes, conspiracy theories (like that Logan is a secret vampire and that's why Mr. Spiers won't let him in the house), rank the 'hotness' of Stoneybrook dads and so much more.  While the podcast isn't really for kids, it certainly entertained me for hours on end, with a particular binge on the series the last time I had a scratched cornea.

We're working our way through the original series this spring and summer as we eagerly await the release of Logan Likes Maryanne on September 1st.

What book series helped you better connect with your kids?

Our Family Weekend of Hygge

Perhaps you've heard of Hygge before.  Quite simply it's a Danish cultural practice embracing everything cozy about winter.  Coming from a family who is prone to SAD (Season Affective Disorder) and is undergoing a somewhat 'dry' February (this is our third year of limiting our drinking in the month of February), creating a weekend where we embraced Hygge seemed like something fun to look forward to together and to break up the monotony of winter by leaning into it.

Hygge is about curating a space where you embrace coziness and relaxation and is all about wellness.  Having felt like we still haven't recovered from a busy holiday season, a weekend involving embracing the great indoors (and outdoors a little bit, but then retreating back to our den of comfort) seemed really appealing. Here's how we did it.

Molly enjoying hot chocolate 

Book a Block of Time in Advance
Look at your calendar and try to allocate at least a day or two to embrace Hygge. We booked an entire weekend starting on the Friday night and working right through to our Sunday night.

Figure Out What Cozy Means For You & Your Family
To us this meant lots of blankets, candles, comfortable clothes, and warm beverages (think tea and hot chocolate).  We stocked up on all of these and had them readily available all weekend long. I indulged in a face mask and a brunch catch up with a friend.

Plan Your Time
We wanted to make this experience about family togetherness. Our quiet time was a mish mash of quiet reading, board games, puzzles, crafts, soft music, family movies, crock pot meals, Lego Building, and naps.  We also planned an outing on Sunday to check out ice sculptures, enjoying a winter activity and then retreating back home for some more warm comforts and togetherness.  All meals were baked, slow cooked, and based on comfort foods with one delivery exception.

Enjoying the Ice Sculptures In Yorkville

What We Played
-Zombie Dice
-Yahtzee
-Jenga


Movies We Watched
-13 Going On 30
-The Greatest Showman
-The Muppets

Would I Do It Again?
Yes, much like Dry February this is going to become an annual occurrence in our house.  We all had fun and look forward to doing it again.

What I'd Do Differently
I would stop by a fruit market before hand to up the fresh fruit we had on hand. Next year I might add in a little more self care whether it's bath bombs, a massage, or just painting my nails with Molly.


Happy Winter Everyone, Only a month and a half to go!