changing the world

Somebody Loves You, Kristen McGee

Congratulations to Kristen McGee…the very 1st recipient of a SLY Award here on Metropolitan Mama.
Kristen is a giving, thoughtful, and intelligent woman. She and her husband currently work in language and literacy development with a linguistic NGO.
Pre-kids, they spent a year in an immersion language program and lived in SE Asia. Now they live on [...]

Inconvenient…or Incredible?

Most of the time, it’s pretty inconvenient to be a parent.
You want to sleep in. But your kids wake up at an unforgiving hour. You need to make dinner. But your baby wants to be held and swayed and jostled just-so. You’d love to sit in Starbucks for an hour with a book in hand. [...]

It’s Really, Really Good To See You.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about greetings.
We, as adults, tend to be so boring and “cool” when we run into people. “Hey, how’s it going?” we say with a subdued smile. Then, we say non-definite statements like, “let’s get together sometime…“
But small children do things differently. They don’t contain their excitement when they see their favorite [...]

8 Reasons to Consider Starting A Twitter Account

“I just don’t get Twitter,” I remember saying to Tim when I first started my account in the spring of ‘08.
“It all seems a bit narcissistic – tweeting or twitting or whatever-you-want-to-call-it about your life. And, besides, I wouldn’t be able to keep up with all of those updates. Oh, and people on Twitter must [...]

Introducing…the SLY Awards

I’m launching a brand new feature here on Metropolitan Mama…to honor and celebrate everyday people who are doing good things in the world.
Introducing…The SLY Awards (short for Somebody Loves You…or, alternatively, Stephanie Loves You). Every 2-3 weeks, I will be featuring one person [or one non-profit organization] who is an inspiration to others – someone [...]

I blog because…

I blog because I am a writer.
It’s imprinted in my heart. It’s who I am.

I blog because I cherish relationships.
It’s a way to connect with people – from Santa Cruz, Sydney, Syracuse, and Sicily (and everywhere in between).

I blog because I want to record the simple beauty of the everyday.
Because the everyday is [...]

Make Someone’s Day — Give…Baked Goods

I try to keep baking basics in my pantry at all times: vanilla, flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, honey, cinnamon, wheat germ, chocolate chips, dried cranberries, oats, and nuts.
That way, when one of my friends is in a funk or has the blues, I can bake something…and then present it in a [...]

the closest ones

There isn’t time to love absolutely everyone, to change the whole wide world.
There are so many places to volunteer, so many causes to champion, so many people who need a shoulder to cry on or a listening ear or a five dollar bill.
I wish with all my heart that I could be on a million [...]

Themed Weekend: I Want My Kids To Be…

Recently, I wrote down a list of qualities that I would like to nurture in my children. I wrote them down because I want them to be right where I can see them.
It’s so easy to just let the days pass me by – to think, “Oh, I’ll work on that tomorrow” or “Next week, [...]

I want to be…Selfless

selfless: concerned more about the needs and wishes of others than with one’s own; unselfish
Often when people talk about selflessness, they talk about heroism on the battlefield, in the workplace, or in other scenarios with adult-to-adult interactions. But I like to bring it down to who I am as a parent.
I want to be “concerned [...]

Here In The Darkness

Every night at around 7pm, I have about 20-30 minutes of quiet. In the dark. My 10-month-old has a mattress on the floor in her room and I lay beside her in the stillness. Since we don’t do the whole cry-it-out thing, I typically stay with her until she falls asleep.
After bath at 6:45, I [...]

Products for People Who Work at Home: The 1 Book

Thomas Edison once said, “I never perfected an invention that I did not think about in terms of the service it might give others… I find out what the world needs, then I proceed to invent it.” I love his philosophy – his thoughtfulness – his generosity – his ability to look at the bigger [...]