I feel like mom friends are the best friends, right? The ones where your children can be shoving a cheerio in your nose while you are changing a diaper and carrying on a conversation like it was completely normal. Because that is the normal.
I have always found community as my fuel. I am not a huge fan of small talk, so I jump right into the good stuff. I love connecting and making others feel seen. In a season of life that can feel relentless and exhausting, my mom friends are my breath of fresh air! They GET IT. So that brings me here, joining Des Moines Mom. I sort of stumbled into it, to be honest. But it all makes sense and it is funny how life goes.
So a little about me! I am 32 and happily married. I am mom and stepmom to 5 and I love the chaos and joy in our large family. I am originally from New Hampshire, but have also lived in Florida, Connecticut, and I landed in Iowa on accident last year.
I lost my first husband of 9 years in 2019 and we had three kids together, then 5, 4, and 2. I found myself in love with a midwestern heartthrob, in a place I couldn’t tell you where it was on a map. (I wrote about how we met on my blog and it really is such an awesome story!). We got married last year and had our sweet Piper this August. It has been sort of an amazing mess and I love it!
Although our story involves heartbreak, there has been so much redemption and joy in spite of that. When my husband first died I had been blogging for a bit, and sort of just continued documenting our adventure. It was a great outlet for me, especially in such a busy and demanding season with the kids being so young and being a stay at home mom. This led me to establish some amazing local connections back in New Hampshire, as well as writing for some higher-profile publications (here and here).
I love to write, and it has become a great outlet for me as we navigate all sorts of complex situations. And now living in Iowa, writing for Des Moines Mom seemed like a natural fit to establish more roots and community out here! I love to chat about all things home, blended family life, grief, fashion, faith, basically whatever is on my mind that day.
Our lives are so incredibly full and loud, but I am so thankful for it and wouldn’t want it any other way.
I tell you what, Iowa nice is a real thing and I am so happy to be here. I would love to sit down at your sticky kitchen table with a cup of black coffee and talk about the emotional highs and struggles as a mom. I want us to encourage each other and figure out how we all can thrive through the chaos. I want to build the friendships where when something happens and all you can do is cry, the person across the table knows what you are trying to say.
Life is so much bigger than small talk. It takes a village!
You can follow me on instagram or Facebook, my blog, or liketoknowit.
photo by Rachel White
