2017 was a stretch year for us, not always the easiest in many ways. Wait…it’s a celebratory post! It’s your birthday week…shouldn’t you be shining a light on all that went well this year? Well, yes. Plenty went well this year, and we’ll get to that, but can we be honest? This time of year is chock full of motivation, excitement, newness and planning what’s to come. While all of that is well and good, and we are digging in and doing our own goal setting for the new year and making plans, we also very much value reflection. Reflection on the past year certainly brings to mind all that was good. Four years in, we are stronger at our core than we have ever been, but we’re also taking stock at what we can do better for you, in every aspect of what we offer through Twin Cities Moms Blog.
For our team, this was a big year of digging in deep and laying some new foundation. New ideas, new structures, brainstorming, evaluating and looking at this site as you might, as readers. And we can’t wait to spend this year taking all of that new foundation that we built in 2017 and creating new and exciting things for you in 2018.
What we’ve always hoped for the moms within our community is that they will find a place where they belong. Not only because we truly want you to be here, but because you see a bit of yourself in one of us. Our team is more than 100 strong. Moms who have walked some of the same roads you have, and while each experience is personal and unique, the ties that bind us really do bring the larger community together in a way that we believe moms and women can do that others can’t. We build micro-communities within our homes and we can easily do the same outside of it as well.
Below we’ve gathered the top 10 posts of 2017 – we hope you love this second glance at them as much as we do! Beyond more real content, written by local moms, we are looking forward to 2018 and all that we can provide – resources, our signature events, local guides and so much more. Keep an eye out for us this year because we’re coming for you, and we’re coming big! Cheers to a great 2018!
“I’m in line behind a mom at the grocery store. She’s trying to wrangle three littles around one, overstuffed cart as her baby screams and she fumbles for her wallet in her gigantic tote bag. ‘Sorry you’re stuck behind me,’ she mumbles.
But I just didn’t see it.”
“I’ve been married for almost four years to a man 29 years my senior. We have a dog, and we have a cat, and we have a toddler named Lucy. And guess what – age is a big part of a relationship. But it’s part of what makes it amazing.”
“I get why some people are afraid to ask questions in the first place. Sometimes when a window in conversation surrounding our daughter’s adoption is open, the questions can get a little intrusive and inappropriate. To help those who are wondering what is ok to ask and what is not, I have compiled a short list of what is never ok to ask an adoptive mama.”
“As we all know, date nights are pretty important to a marriage. Sometimes when we are in the thick of parenting, it is so easy to forget to spend time alone with each other and to really invest in our relationships. My husband and I don’t get out on very many date nights, but when we do, I want to make the most of that time. So often we fall into the ‘let’s just go out to eat’ date night slump…
Here is a list of 20 winter date night ideas in the Twin Cities for when just ‘going out to eat’ isn’t going to cut it.”
“It’s been a year since we arrived at the MSP airport, carrying a cat, toddler, carseat, travel crib and as many suitcases as we could manage. We really miss our friends back in Brooklyn, NY – but let me tell you: parenting is a lot easier here in the Twin Cities. We knew before moving that a lower cost of living and strong schools often help Minneapolis rank as one of the top cities in the U.S. to raise a family, but some things have surprised us.”
“There have been times when I was tempted to gorge on the summertime buffet of sports and camps and enrichment activity for kids. It all looks amazing. But I decided that more than any enrichment, my kids need downtime. And if I am not proactive about scheduling unstructured seasons into my children’s lives, they will never get a break from the merry-go-round of activity inherent to the way we raise kids today.
So, instead of planning activity into my kids lives over the summer, I schedule it out of their lives. I block off the calendar with weeks of free time just as I would for a sport season. And we love it.”
“When you’re 19, the gyno feels horrifying. Mine came with the extra bonus of blood work, a complete abdominal ultrasound (performed with a painfully full bladder), and several rigorous pelvic exams. The final doctor stopped just short of the endometrial biopsy I had been ordered. While a nurse stood next to me, patting my knee, the doctor pronounced that I had Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS).”
“‘You can do it, you are stronger than you think.’ He told me that often… It was always his pep talk to stop the crying and start the breathing.
Breathing is something I take for granted. I don’t have to think about it, it simply happens. The only time I even realize I am breathing is when I can see it because it is so cold or when I can’t catch my breath.
The day my husband Adam and I were told he had a massive tumor in his colon, I couldn’t catch my breath.”
“Listening shows you care. There is no need to fill silence with words unless there is a real purpose. And I’m going to listen to what’s happening with you and be there by your side to help make a change. We’re a team. You, me and your daddy. You can tell us anything. And if you want us to do something, we will. But if you want us to just listen and be there, we can do that too.”
“The ultrasound started and I immediately, I mean immediately knew that something was wrong. The images I was staring at on the TV right in front of me seemed gloomy, cloudy and still, compared to what we had seen the appointments prior. The tech just looked at me and said those dreaded words, ‘I am so sorry…'”
Our most popular articles are local event guides, which we’ve kept out of our Top Ten, but we couldn’t help but share a few here!
