Organized chaos

Writing this article inspired me to buy all kinds of bins, and some of them even have stuff in them now! Unfortunately, I've got a long way to go before our chaos gets organized.

"Help your preschooler control toy chaos", ParentMap, March 2006

Integrated preschools, for kids with and without disabilities

This was one of those topics that I definitely had an opinion on before I even started. Fortunately, that always makes me even more careful to research thoroughly. It's always fun to do an article where the research and interviews force me to completely change my previously uninformed opinions. This one will stand out in my mind for a long time, and I'm thankful I had the opportunity to write it.

"Integrated preschools provide benefits, lessons for all", EveryChild Special Supplement, Spring/Summer 2006

They're only baby teeth... Why bother?

Here's a topic I am all too familiar with. Despite my best attempts, which admittedly are neither thorough nor consistent, both my children had cavities by age three. I thought I'd done all the research, asked all the right questions, and made all the right decisions to prevent it from happening again, so I was sure I knew exactly what would go into this article. Research is my favorite part of writing, though, so I dug into it anyway. I found out there's always more to learn. That's what I love about research.

"Taking care of your preschooler's teeth", ParentMap, February 2006

Blogging for Change

Over the past few years, I've been doing an increasing amount of research about social entrepeneurs, nonprofit organizations, and local and global challenges. Because I believe it's my responsibility and privilege to share the knowledge that I collect, I'm launching a new blog for my findings and thoughts on how we can change the world for the better. You can find it at http://changemaking.blogspot.com/.

There's not much there yet, but please stay tuned for more.

My first "review"

This month I got to review a new children's museum which opened near our neighborhood. I was excited to see the museum, and excited to try something a little bit different with my writing - a review. It turned out I loved the museum and couldn't wait to take my kids there, so here is the glowing review.

"KidsQuest Children's Museum -- Exciting new Eastside space for fun and learning", ParentMap, January 2006

Write what you know

This is an article in which I got to be my own expert. My husband and I have had plenty of experience traveling with our two small children. Many of our friends and family think we're crazy (and some of our trips have occasionally bordered on insanity), but we love having the opportunity to expose them to new things. I'm confident it is good for their development, even if they're too young to remember the actual experiences.

"Holiday travel with babies and toddlers", ParentMap, December 2005

Ask the experts

This was an easy one -- not much writing or interviewing. I just found a bunch of parenting experts and asked each one the same question, "What's the most important thing for new parents to know?" Here's what they said.

"Expert education tips for new parents", ParentMap, October 2005

Decisions, decisions

BabyMap runs a regular column called Decision Digest, where they summarize all sides of important issues that expectant and new parents face. In this issue, I tackled two questions: whether to bank cord blood for personal use, and using cloth diapers versus disposables.

"Decision digest -- Private cord blood banking and diapers", BabyMap, Fall/Winter 2005-2006

Keeping love alive after baby arrives

Here's one where I have some hands-on experience -- maintaining a healthy marriage after kids join the family. My extraordinary husband and I will celebrate our 10th anniversary this year. We make time to care for each other and our relationship, as well as for our two young children.

"Keeping love alive after baby arrives", ParentMap, September 2005, pages 13-14

Book Review - Swimming with Maya

I picked up this book because the picture on the cover looks like my own daughter. When I read the back notes and learned that she was dead, I quickly put it back down. I didn’t want to read about Eleanor Vincent’s devastating loss. For some reason, though, I felt compelled to try to comprehend her experience.

What I found was indeed distressing, but inspirational at the same time. The book is in many ways a postmortem tribute to Vincent’s daughter and an exploration of the healing effects of organ donation. Taken in its entirety, however, this book is really about a journey through the process of healing from a lifetime of psychological traumas. The extreme grief over her daughter’s sudden death and the struggle to cope with it lead Vincent down buried paths of pain going all the way back to her childhood. She emerges transformed. She lost her daughter, but therein found herself, and we can’t help but applaud her success.