Maureen Zhao
Maureen is an educator and a mom to a sweet and wild seven year old named Leo and newborn named Remy. She and her family can be found digging in the dirt, seeking adventures outside, traveling, hunting down thrifty deals, visiting local museums and parks, discovering new global flavors at local restaurants, and looking for resourceful ways to be involved in their community together.
Maureen is eager to connect with those around her regardless of where they come from and is passionate about raising a son who cares for the world around him. Both her and her family have a strong desire to be where the action is, yet yearn for the solace that is found when they're surrounded by nature. When not in the city where home and work is, they can often be found venturing north and setting up camp where the only thing they need to worry about is where to bike that day and where to find the best view of the sunset.
You can follow Maureen and her family's daily adventures on Instagram {@maureenshealer}.
A Christmas Letter to My Daughter
To my youngest, during her first Christmas Season,
Every year, in December, families around the world join in some of the most incredible displays of holidays and traditions, with our family celebrating Christmas. This year...
School This Fall: We Can Make This Good
Yesterday I masked up and went into a store. And right there by the entrance stood a display that gets me excited each summer - bright, colorful teacher supplies. I'd normally load up my...
The One Gift an Imperfect Mother Can Always Give
Being a mom has been a huge part of my identity the last nine years. Yet, there’s another part of my identity that I will always and forever cling tightly to. It’s the identity...
A Message From the Teacher on the Other Side of the Screen
To All the Distance Learning Parents at Home,
You’ve been asked to do it all. Your job. Your children. Your partner. Your family. Your dishes. Your dog. Your health. Your community’s health. And now your...
Adventures in Toddler Sleep Training
While many quick to think parents tackle the feat of sleep training their baby when they're a few months old, we had the awesome idea of waiting until our baby was a full-blown toddler....
Mom Birthdays
With our 7th birthday here at Twin Cities Mom Collective on the horizon, we decided to take a moment this week to turn our hearts and minds towards all things celebration! We are rerunning...
Saving Sunday Nights
Sundays can be hard.
I think I’ve always had an unattainable ideal of what it should be... full of afternoon naps and a whole lot of doing nothing. I do, after all, subscribe to the...
But I Want to Keep Them Safe
The other night our oldest fell off his bike. It wasn’t the usual fall that just requires giant knee bandages and some Neosporin. It was the kind of fall that had me rushing to...
Thank Goodness September is Gone
I hate September.
I hate August as well, but I hate September the most.
It's September that gives us anxiety and throws off our groove and causes us to feel weird. It's September that takes my...
Our Baby Got Kicked Out of Daycare
There are a few stories I really don’t like to retell. One of them is that time I got Norovirus one hour into a 13 hour flight from China. The other is the time...
The Reason I Over-Scheduled Our Family’s Summer
For me, childhood summers were carefree.
They were run wild in the neighborhood, stay out till the dinner-bell rang kind of carefree.
They were filled with all the neighbor kids playing kick-the-can in our backyard and...
Honoring the Refugee Moms in Our Community
Every evening I hop in bed, pull out my phone and scroll through the news. My mama heart is tugged in all sorts of directions. Sometimes the troubles of the world can be utterly...
The “Only-Runs-On-The-Playground” Lady
There are only two times you will find me running- if I am being chased, or if I am chasing someone. Both usually occur on a playground with my children and both usually occur...
Our Rescue Dog Adventure
On our dog’s first birthday, she ate a chocolate cake. I spent the day forcing hydrogen peroxide down her throat until she vomited down the center console of my car and in between every...