What I REALLY Want for Mother’s Day

May 4, 2016May 7, 2016Lacey Anne Zeiler

I googled “how to ask for the Mother’s Day you want,” and you know what came up? “10 Questions To Ask Your Mother Now,” “15 Questions to Ask Your Mom So You Two Can Become Close Friends,” and “Questions To Ask Mom Before She Dies.”

Nope.

Nope. Nope. Nope.

Mother’s Day in my house growing up always seemed mostly the same: Let Mom sleep in, bring her breakfast in bed with a handmade card. Dad always bought her a beautiful piece of jewelry, and we would spend the day frolicking in the California sunshine together. I have no idea what my Mom’s expectations were, but to me it sounds pretty great. Read more →

Well, I’m Not Going Back to Sleep After That….

April 12, 2016April 12, 2016Emily Pike

It’s Severe Weather Awareness Week here in Minnesota, so it was somewhat appropriate timing for an unintentional activation of the tornado sirens in Hennepin County at 6:10 am today. It turned out to be a software malfunction, not an actual threat, but what a way to start the day! I have a bit of an obsession with tornadoes after living through the Night of the Twisters in Grand Island, Nebraska, when I was three; our house was spared, but hearing the sirens go off always gives me a little flashback to that night and the storms’ aftermath.

While I am not excited to have been so abruptly awoken from a deep sleep in my warm and cozy bed, after I calmed down I did realize that I learned a few things this morning: Read more →

8 Things it’s Okay to Want for Your Kids

January 11, 2016December 10, 2017North Coast Mamas

“I just want them to be happy and healthy” is the de rigueur answer to a number of polite(ish) questions about our children, and it’s really never the truth. There are so many things we want for our kids.

The problem is, there are a lot of things it’s really not okay to want for your kids. Read more →

5 Motherhood Stock Photos that Prove Shutterstock is Drunk

September 21, 2015September 19, 2015North Coast Mamas

It’s no secret that stock photos of mothers are a hot commodity. A search for “mother” on Shutterstock yields nearly 8,000 pages of results. And they have someone vetting the photos … but my question, which I think you’ll come to agree is a good one, is: who? Who is vetting these photos?

Obviously, Shutterstock is drunk. Read more →

Why No One Told You the Gory Details of Pregnancy, Birth and Having a Newborn

September 17, 2015September 13, 2015George Miller

Imagine this: You are a capable adult human being who has recently found out that you will be ushering another human being into the world sometime within the next nine months. It’s amazing, and extraordinary, and now is the time to figure out everything that you will experience during the process.

Whether you’re super excited, or intellectually fascinated, or you just want to be prepared, when you start looking at all of the things that you may have to deal with (or definitely will have to deal with), it can be a bit disconcerting – to say the least. Read more →

How to Survive as an Introverted Stay-at-Home Parent

September 14, 2015October 24, 2015George Miller

So, after 9 months of blissful pregnancy, or hellish pregnancy, or something in-between, you find yourself with a perfect little baby. The baby is lovely and wonderful and … with you all the time. At first, it isn’t too bad. The baby is small enough that you can watch TV or read or listen to podcasts while you’re holding their adorable little sleeping form. But then they get bigger, and they need your attention … all the time. And if that wasn’t enough, you’re now trapped in your house with a baby that needs your attention all the time. Suddenly you find yourself in need of both alone time and time with other (adult) people and it’s almost impossible to determine which one you need more. So what do you do? Read more →

5 Reasons to Get Behind Equal Paternity Leave

September 11, 2015December 10, 2017North Coast Mamas

Maternity leave is in such a dire state in this country, it’s practically safe to bring up at dinner parties. Everyone seems to agree that when an employed woman gives birth, she ought to have the right to some serious time off to recover and bond. But as we progress toward equality in the workplace and equality in the household, paternity leave is rarely even suggested as a way to push us forward. Let’s talk about some reasons to get behind Equal Paternity Leave (yeah, I’m capitalizing it). Read more →

On my 8-month-old’s feelings this evening

September 7, 2015December 10, 2017North Coast Mamas

It is time for me to accept that my daughter is not going to bed tonight. Or maybe ever. Read more →