This year I’ve been focusing on “making a clearing” in order to steal myself against the onslaught of difficulties that come from opening a school and raising two young children. Honestly, the process of opening a school has been more difficult than I ever imagined. 

This year, “making a clearing” has included different things. I’ve tried to make aspects of my life as easy as possible, so that I could invest more in two main areas: mothering and working. We’ve definitely made dinnertime easier by using Greenling some weeks or cooking frozen meals other weeks. We sometimes hire a housekeeper when it gets so dirty we can’t stand it, but

I had a chance to reconnect with an old friend this past weekend. She’s a very special friend, indeed. We met during prenatal yoga. Our babies were due within a day of each other. We didn’t really become good friends until after our babies were born (hers was early; mine was late), and another mom from our prenatal class suggested that we all get together. I remember that they had gone for a walk together, and then we all met at a coffee shop (I had to skip the walk because I was still bleeding too much). I soaked up every ounce of our conversation. I didn’t even realize how

In a recent article by Mr. Money Mustache about why it’s okay to only have one child, I stumbled upon this quote: “In the thick of the bad times of raising a young child, you sometimes feel like your whole life has been one long screaming, screeching, smashing, crying argument.” 

This stage in our lives is definitely a challenging one, with Henry being 3.5 and Tate being 1. My professional job is so demanding right now, as is my mothering job. 

So when I think about ways in which I want to keep tangible memories of this stage in our lives, I look for very simple, low-maintenance ways. I’m