Seattle Mom Blogs

Hello, my name is Stacy and I am a blogger. I have one blog (so far), Mama-Om. I know y’all are dying to know how a nice girl like me ended up writing for the internets, so read on!

1. Where do you live and how long have you lived there? Where did you grow up?
I’ve lived in Seattle since back in the grunge days (early nineties for all you young ones out there). We currently live in a central neighborhood in Seattle — we love Seattle and we love our neighborhood. We moved into this house six weeks before our first child was born. Amid all the chaos and boxes and huge belly-ness, I could focus on only one thing: CURTAINS. All I needed was curtains on the windows so I wasn’t flashing my heiney to all my neighbors as I gave birth (both our kids were born in this house). We got the curtains up and pretty much haven’t done another thing to this house since, unless you count the crayon wall markings.

Before Seattle, I lived in Ketchikan, Alaska, where I was born and raised. Ketchikan is a small town on a huge island amid an immense ocean. With no way to get anywhere except by boat or plane. And it rains all the time (really! 160 inches a year). It is exceptionally beautiful, especially if you’re into the temperate rain forest with everything absolutely stunningly green thing.

2. What’s your blog about and why did you start blogging?
Mama-Om is a place for me to share sincere and silly stories about my attempts to parent from the heart. I write about my kids. I create and photography skits starring their toys. I make fun of myself. I make mistakes and try again.

I started my blog almost two years ago when my first child was three years old and my second was three months. In an attempt to fit together the puzzle pieces of WRITING, WORK, MOTHERING, and MEDITATING, I started working from home part-time, quit my writing group, started a meditation class and began this blog, all in the same week. At the time, starting the blog was a way to say to myself, “See! I’m still writing!” One of my first posts was about trying to remain calm as the new mother of two, and that has been a theme ever since.

3. What are your most and least favorite parts about blogging?
My favorite things are writing and meeting people in real life. I love thinking up new posts, revising posts, and then reclaiming the work and repurposing it for other mediums (mostly personal essays). I have also really enjoyed meeting some bloggers in real life (through Seattle Mom Blogs!) and maintaining a connection with them.

Another favorite part is seeing all the great blogs that are out there! I love getting comments and then getting to know other bloggers. There is such fabulous writing and photography happening in the world.

My least favorite? When the computer overtakes my life, and the blood in my veins begins to feel like electricity. Must. unplug. from. the. borg.

I’ve recently started keeping the computer upstairs and mostly off during the days, and my kids and I are much more relaxed! No-computer-for-mama days seem to go much more smoothly.

4. What does your spouse/significant other/family think about your blogging?
I didn’t tell my family (other than my spouse) for a long time. My mom loves it, in only the way a mother, and grandmother, could. My husband likes reading the stories, and supports me in my desire to write.

5. What goals, if any, do you have for your blog?
Goals? To keep writing, to connect with other parents, provide some entertainment value to all those who are reading, and to record my life with kids. Mama-Om is basically the only baby book my youngest son has ever had!

6. What topic would you never discuss on your blog? (yes, discuss it now!) I try to practice Right Speech in my life but even more so on my blog. Right Speech is understood to be abstaining from lying, abstaining from divisive speech, abstaining from abusive speech, and abstaining from idle chatter.

To put it positively: I try to be truthful, kind, gentle, and helpful in what I write. One way I do this is to only write from my own perspective and from what I know to be true. I do not want to tell anyone what they should be doing, but I will talk about what I am doing.

I tend not to write about anyone else but myself and my kids, but I always ask myself, “Would I be comfortable saying this directly to the person I am writing about?” If the answer is no, then I won’t post it.

7. Are you a cat person or a dog person?
Both. As an adult, I’ve had cats (and loved them lots!), but I think I see a dog in our far-off future, once our kids are bigger.

8. What’s your favorite coffee drink (this IS Seattle Mom Blogs!)? Um, tea.

What a way to end, huh?

Thank you, Wendy, for doing these interviews!

Blessings,
Stacy

Thanks, Stacy, for sharing! We SMB members are all enjoying getting to know each other with these features. It’s fascinating to see our diversity! SMB members and everyone else can visit Wendy at Let the dog in!, where she will be taking a deep breath. She can be reached via email at wendy(at)letthedogin(dot)com.

Dearest Seattlemomblog Readers,
Hi! Im and I blog at The United States of Motherhood. I cant say how flattered I am you chose to interview me. Whats that? I signed up? (Shhh) Really? (Shaddyap) Ummmoh yeah. Still an honor!

Without further ado, here are my scintillating interview answers:

1. Where do you live and how long have you lived there? Where did you grow up?
We live in on the Plateau. Hehehe. I know. I know. So snotty to say the *finger quote* Plateau *end finger quote*. Imagine mommies in matching tennis whites, perfectly whitened teeth, frosty platinum highlights, having Botox parties saying with pursued lips, “Pla-teauuuuu.” (By the way, Im not one of those mommies.) Or is it better to say Sammamish? I know it sure as Sam Spade isn’t when you are trying to relay your address over the phone. Sa-mam-mish. “Sha-mame-ash?” The operators ask. No, Sa-mam-mish. “Sta-beam-itch?” Sigh. S-a-m-m-a-m-i-s-h. You know. Near Issaquah. Cue crickets.

So, we have lived here 3 years this month. We came from the Bay Area. I know. Hiss. We got sick of the schools, the real estate, the smog, the traffic, of everything in California. So we trotted online and used a splendiferous tool to find our “Best Place.” Surprise! Seattle popped up. We decided to be brave. My husband took his job with him and we found a realtor. We searched place to place on the Eastside, with a trusty file of every school’s test scores, comments from PTA board (yes, being a former PTA president I emailed every PTA board of every school and neighborhood we looked at), and Seattle Times Ranking. We’ve never looked back.

I grew up in the Bay Area, Livermore to be exact, went to Berkeley and met my husband there. I then started my life with my him, a former Army captain and infant son, first for a few brutal months in the Ozarks (Missouri) which made this California girl from Berkeley twitch with the Confederate flags, gun racks, sewage lagoons, and amazing amount of stray dogs dumped near our apartment. Then it was off to the interior of Alaska for four long years. Fairbanks! Best and worst place I’ve lived in my life. The Northern Lights, the moose, the midnight sun, and the 2 hours of daylight in winter. I survived 67 degrees below zero with two small children. Shiver! I put booties on my dogs so they could go outside to pee. I sprayed water on dry, powdery snow just so my kids could make snow balls and snow men. I survived six long, cold winter months homebound alone with a toddler when my husband was deployed to the Sinai Peace Keeping Mission in Egypt. Alaska gave me the greatest gift of my daughter born one cold October morning at -30. I wouldn’t trade Alaska for the world, but when we got out of the army, we went home. Meanwhile, in California, real estate had sky rocketed as had crime, traffic, and inferior schools. We hung on for 5 years, then ended up here. We LOVE it!

2. What’s your blog about and why did you start blogging?
My blog is a kitchen drawer. It is ill-defined and often stream of consciousness. I do blog politics and I should get out right now I am probably the only agnostic Republican, former Army Lieutenant, in Seattle that supports gay marriage, environmental issues, the Iraq war, and animal rights that wishes the Republican religious right would get out of her party. However, I highly respect others’ opinions and love when people respectfully stop by to stir the pot at my blog. I also mommy blog about my 3 children–a lot! I blog about my period and dreams of uterine ablation–a lot. I blog about my metro sexual, computer geek of a husband and his sexual harassment and white socks. I blog about my kids’ competitive swimming since it consumes our lives. I blog incessantly about my love of anything cocktail or made from Cabernet. And, yes, my friends, on occasion I blog about the craziness that is living on the Pla-teauuuu.

I started blogging in 2006 because my husband blogged and the bugger was always stealing my material. I would make a joke and the next week it would be on his blog. I would have an idea and magically it would be on his blog. I think it might have been his way of getting me to start blogging. I called him an Idea Succubus, but finally gave in with this first set of blogs.

3. What are your most and least favorite parts about blogging?
My favorite part of blogging is hands down meeting friends I might never, ever have met without my blog. Rural central California, metropolitan Los Angeles, teeny islands off the French channel, British babes, small towns in the Midwest, humid Florida, and yes, my friends spread all over the Northwest. They listen to my drivel. They come in droves when I need back up. They make me realize I am not insane for how I feel. And best yet, they call me on my ideas and make me often re-think what I believe. My blog is filled with people who found me through my words, not from where I live and who I know since I have never told anyone about my blog, including family and friends. Those people have sometimes discovered me, but I don’t promote my blog to people I know willingly because I want to be free to write about my nonexistent sex drive, sometimes crappy mothering skills, my marital woes, my incontinent dog, and my politics without sympathetic looks at the next PTA meeting or family holiday dinner.

My least favorite is the stress of blogging and keeping up readership–being a slave to my blog. Then in comes the high school part of women blogging: worrying about popularity and who likes who, who takes offense or misunderstands what you stay, the drama, the bitch slapping, and the trolls. Sometimes blogging turns into a Jerry Springer sideshow act. So with stress and drama, I habitually have nervous breakdowns every couple months and take a month off.

4. What does your spouse/significant other/family think about your blogging?
My husband absolutely loves me blogging, even when it’s used as a tool of public therapy and, yes I admit, blackmail in our marriage. I let people weigh in. Nothing is sacred. One sister who discovered my blog is a big supporter. Never comments, but emails me so I forgive her. My biggest fear would be my parents and my MIL, who I haven’t spoken to in 4 years, discovering my blog.

5. What goals, if any, do you have for your blog?
Goals: Hmmm. More friends, more comments, and more readers, in that order. I recently had a milestone where I was able to pay for a whole meal of Chipotle burritos off the proceeds of my blog. Whooo-hoo! Maybe next year I’ll spring for extra guacamole. A girls got to have dreams, my friends.

6. What topic would you never discuss on your blog? (Yes, discuss it now!)
Honestly, there is nothing that is verboten. I dislike my husband’s wardrobe, I share it with you. I have no sex drive and moan about it all the time. I voted for George Bush and admit it. I have child molesters in my family and I freely discuss it. My kids do something horribly embarrassing? Odds are it shows up on my blog. I even blog sometimes on the toilet. My husbands vasectomy failed and is a frequent subject. Sorry too much info? I have no filter when it comes to my blog. None.

7. Are you a cat person or a dog person?
Hands down, I am a dog person. We’ve had our 2 rescued dogs longer than our children. Grendel is 14, survived cancer, and still putters on like a puppy most days. $2000 in one months vet bills later, I wouldn’t trade her for the world. The other, Sebastian, is my hero, my ferocious defender, my friend, my spider eater, my shadow. It will be soul-shattering when they die.

8. What’s your favorite coffee drink? (This IS Seattle Mom Blogs!)
My favorite coffee drink is a bit embarrassing since it does show my addictions to caffeine, fat and sugar: Venti Italian roast brewed coffee, 2 shots espresso, splash of cream, 1 equal, with whip cream. Num! Starbucks will make it for me, but it’s better when my husband makes it.

I noticed this interview is pretty long. Oops, did I forget to mention that my readers call me “Windy Douchehole?” Yep, I am known for being Windy. Love me or leave me.

Many Regards,
Scouts Honor

Thank you, Scout, for your, er, ummm, candid interview! We expect no less!

Meanwhile, Wendy is being less candid at her blog, Let the dog in! You can reach her at wendy(ahhht)letthedogin(doggit)com where she promises to be more candid.

Our first interviewee in the Getting to Know Youuuuuu series is Ramona from kirida.com. Let’s all say “hi” or “hafa adai” and learn more about her.

1. Where do you live and how long have you lived there? Where did you grow up? My husband and I live in West Seattle with our two-year-old son and two manic cats. I have lived in Seattle for the past seven years and before that I lived on a tiny island in the Pacific called Saipan. Saipan is a gorgeous island with temperate weather and jaw-droppingly stunning sunsets. But I’ve made Seattle my home now and I don’t mind the rain one bit. I’ve lived all my life with fierce typhoons–light sprinkling is nothing.

2. What’s your blog about and why did you start blogging?
My blog is called “Kirida,” (). The word “kirida” means favorite child in my native language, Chamorro. I started blogging in 1999 and I was Blogger’s 1,000th blogger. I was a junior in high school and I needed to have an outlet that static pages like tripod, angelfire and geocities couldn’t provide. There’s only so many midi’s and lightning bolts a 17-year-old can take! I shut down for a while before starting back up in 2004. Since then, I’ve blogged about college, pregnancy, marriage, motherhood and Javier Bardem love. Swoon!

3. What are your most and least favorite parts about blogging?
My favorite part about blogging is connecting to people in ways I wouldn’t be able to in my day-to-day life. I’ve blogged about personal issues like connecting with other mothers or losing touch with friends and whenever I’ve felt utterly vulnerable in these confessions, I am flooded with warmth and high-fives and reminders that I am not alone. I’ve also made several genuine friendships thanks to my blog. Bloggers are just awesome people to have around, both online and off. My least favorite part about blogging has to be the trolls who leave vitriolic comments because they can. Thankfully, most people who visit my blog play nice.

4. What does your spouse/significant other/family think about your blogging? My husband loves it. At first, I think he was feeling a bit orphaned by the amount of time I spent blogging or reading blogs, but he’s seen the true benefits. We met our real estate agent thanks to a blog reader and I have received some pretty sweet swag thanks to my blog. My other family members love my blog because they can keep up with my life in Seattle. My mother doesn’t understand blogging at all and thinks this whole “internet” is way too public. So I just tell her that my blog is an online dedication to the Virgin Mary and we keep it at that.

5. What goals, if any, do you have for your blog? I would like to post more videos. I have an awesome Flip Video camera and I need to unleash its magical powers.

6. What topic would you never discuss on your blog? (yes, discuss it now!) I would never discuss my in-laws or my workplace. Politics are also off-limits only because I don’t think I can do a proper job discussing it. I prefer to keep my blog light-hearted and funny. I prefer to talk about bedroom antics, old Nickelodeon my flabby stomach, issues where I am a definitive font of knowlege.

7. Are you a cat person or a dog person? We have two cats. My husband brought a cat into our marriage so by default, I’m with the felines.

8. What’s your favorite coffee drink? (this IS Seattle Mom Blogs!) I love white chocolate mochas with whipped cream. Whenever the barista asks if I want whipped cream, I yell, “YES!” before taking it down a notch with, “Yes, please, thank you.”

Thank you to you, Mona, for sharing a bit about yourself!

On other news, Wendy is still blogging at Let the dog in! and letting her dog in, and out… You can notify her of any prizes she might have won at wendy(aht)letthedogin(dawt)com.

Calling all Seattle Mom Bloggers!

As some of you may know, we are going to start a feature here to learn a little about our members, one by one, in the form of mini-interviews.

Maybe we’ll post them weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly…. We’ll play that part by ear (I’m not Marsha Brady after all!).

If you want to be interviewed, leave a comment on this post, and I’ll email you the interview questions. We’ll go in order of comments received.

I’m looking forward to Getting to Know Youuuuuuu!

Wendy is also looking forward to blogging about her life on Bainbridge Island at Let the dog in! You can reach her at wendy(at)seattlemomblogs.com.