Colleen
Colleen is a freelance writer who loves being a mom, and spends most days trying to write with one hand while playing peek-a-boo with the other. Coffee is her co-parent, and Dr. Sears is her spirit animal. She loves (in no particular order) her baby girl, her husband Matt, walking along Lake Michigan, eating cake and embarking on DIY projects she has neither the room to display nor the time to complete. She wants to give her daughter the same blissful childhood she had but without the corduroy shorts for picture day, because those were just the worst.
Why I Let My Daughter Watch Too Much TV
I’m writing this post, “Curious George 3: Escape to the Jungle” is playing in the background, and my two-year-old daughter is sitting next to me on the couch, surrounded by her Little People farm...
Close Calls: Motherhood In a World That Feels Dangerous
It happened today at the park, in the early evening hours. I was tired and so was my little girl, so I loaded her up into her red wagon and we walked to our...
I (Literally) Can’t Wait to Find Out the Sex of My Baby
Just a few weeks ago, I found out that I have a son. When I looked at the screen and the ultrasound tech said “it’s a boy!” all I could say was, “Oh. Wow.”
I...
What I Want My Daughter to Know About Anxiety
My husband and I have always known that we would most likely have children who struggle with anxiety in some way.
I could write a 4,000-word post entitled “Things I Currently Am or Have...
The 9 People You Meet When You’re Pregnant
Nothing brings out the crazies like the sight of a doe-eyed, soccer-ball-tummied first-time preggo.
The nurse who knows everything.
This gal’s been delivering babies since the days when they force-fed preggies laxatives, and she’s not impressed...
Negotiating With Terrorists: Discipline in the Toddler Years
Before you read any further, I want to let you know that I will offer absolutely no advice in this post about how to discipline your toddler.
I have no tips. I have no ideas....
Milwaukee Mom and Kids Time :: Two Hours in Port Washington
When I tell people that I live in Port Washington, they often look at me like I just said I own a condo on the far side of the moon and commute to downtown...
A Mother’s Checklist for Taking Advice
I’ll never forget the first terrible advice I got as a mother.
It came from the pediatrician who examined my daughter before releasing us from the hospital 48 hours after she was born. He was...
Dear Baby: A Letter to my Daughter, Five Years Before Her Birth
Dear Rose,
Today was a bad day.
It was bad from the start, as my alarm went off before the sun and I slipped my frozen, unpainted toes into hole-worn socks. It was bad when I...
The Three Things I Said I’d Never Do
Back in my previous life as a childless woman, I had some grand plans about the sort of mother I would one day be.
Didn’t we all?
It’s not a characteristic unique to mothers, of course...