Jenna
Jenna lives in Midtown with her husband and two kids (ages 6 and 4). She has an M.A. in English and too many overdue books at the library. She has been working with writers for over a decade, as a high school teacher, college instructor, and writing coach. She loves good coffee, serious conversation, and not-too-serious fiction.
10 Reasons I Love My Costco Membership
It's no secret, Costco and moms are a match made in heaven.
Earlier this month, the Costco Mom Hour event opened up 80+ Costco warehouses nationwide an hour early exclusively for City Moms Blog Network readers,...
Parenting in the Tech Age: What Our Own Mamas Can’t Teach Us
We’ve been in IKEA for hours. I have saved my toddler from toppling furniture and sprinting away from me, all while encouraging his mastery of the letters “I, K, E, and A” and the...
Mothering in the Nighttime
Except for the repeated psst-whirr-mmm of the window air conditioner, all is still. My husband is sleeping soundly in the other room, unaware of my lumbering exit from bed.
It’s 3 a.m., which means time for...
Everything You Need to Know About Being a Firstborn
To my firstborn son:
In just a few months, Lord-willing, you will have a baby sister! We are all excited for her arrival, and we’ve been letting you watch season 5 of Daniel Tiger on...
Saying Goodbye 8 Times: Life as a Foster Mom
Inside this family of four’s living room, a collection of decorative letters spans the length of the fireplace mantle. Trying to understand their meaning can be perplexing at first:
“JKAOBERINI …?”
But if you’re in their...
Kansas City History for Kids
Cowtown. Gullytown. Paris of the Plains. Jazz Capital of the World. BBQ Capital of the World. Kansas City has quite the variety of nicknames, each reflecting our city's multifaceted and colorful history!
I didn’t grow...
Pregnant while Home Renovating
Call it "nesting," if you wish.
But I think nesting is too tame a word to describe the home projects my husband and I have undertaken during my pregnancies. In fact, our home renovation record...
Do Stay-At-Home-Moms have a Job?
About a month ago, an article entitled "Being a Stay-at-Home Mother is Not a Job" by Liz Pardue-Schultz began circulating around the internet. Typically I try to stay out of anything that smells of...
A Love(ish) Letter to my First Trimester
Dear First Trimester,
We need to talk.
No, it’s not me – it’s you.
You’re an unstable friend.
We’ve been down this road together three times now, so it seems we should be old pals. Yet I still...
Non-Traditional Baby Shower Gifts
‘Tis the season … for baby showers!
Springtime always seems to bring lots of baby celebrations, and I find myself lately searching for great gifts for moms and babies.
Registries often list many of the standard...
Books for Moms: Motherhood Memoirs
There are all sorts of books targeted specifically at moms. You can simply conduct a quick Amazon search on "best books for moms" and marvel at the variety. (I mean… wow.)
In my early days...
Résumés for Moms: Handling an Employment Gap
Even with the many opportunities afforded to women in the workforce, the decisions we face surrounding motherhood and career can be quite complicated.
One such decision for many women is whether to continue working in...
There is Life After the First Year!
Tiny, newborn babies. What could be more adorable? More romanticized? More instagrammed?
“Don’t grow up!” we say to our babies.
“Always stay a baby!” we write as a caption to their pictures.
Indeed, babies are wonderful. What...
Secondhand Shopping for Beginners
Before becoming a mom, I liked buying new furniture, new clothes, and new books with those crisp, clean pages. But now, my budget is tighter, my clothes are more well-loved, and the furniture in...
When Naps Aren’t Working
Before having my own child, I understood only a few things about mom life. One is that there was a blissful, sacred space on the calendar each day called "nap time." The way my...
