"Minimalize" Your Workflow at Mom 2.0 Summit
Tomorrow I head to Laguna Niguel for Mom 2.0 Summit and I'm excited for many reasons. First, it's always so powerful and energizing to connect in person with the blogging community. Second, this will be the first time I've seen Asha since Minimalist Parenting launched (no need to tote my Flat Asha cardboard cut out!). And third, Asha and I are leading a session called "Minimalize" Your Workflow: Practical Steps for Enjoying Your Blogging More By Doing Less and also doing a book signing for Minimalist Parenting at the conference. Yay!
Continue reading ""Minimalize" Your Workflow at Mom 2.0 Summit" »
Happy last day of April! Following my 
I've been so grateful for some happy things that have been happening around the internet, many of which went live last week while my brain was largely unable to focus on anything other than our dear city and my little family. So I wanted to take a moment today to share these happy things. Oh, and also, two really awesome photos. Here's why I'm now the (unofficial) fan club presidents of the 
There are many challenges that come with parenting, but today I have been most challenged by my overwhelming urge to weep (in response both to the week's tragic, chaotic events and stories of bravery and compassion, such as 
Every time tragedy strikes nationally or around the world, my heart tightens and my eyes leak. But there is something different and deeply painful when crisis culminates in your backyard. I'm not being dramatic when I say that Boston runs through my blood. I was born here (at Brigham and Women's, when it used to be the Boston Lying-In Hospital). I have spent the better part of my 39 years here. My babies were born here. Boston is my home. When the explosions erupted at the Boston Marathon yesterday, I was a flood of emotions.
One of the most beautiful things about the online space is how incredibly nimble people can be to make awesome things happen. In October when I traveled to Ethiopia as part of the 
Following my 
As in, it's the official publication day for 
Following my 
When 
In one month (minus a day) Minimalist Parenting will officially release and there's been so much great stuff happening! I'm mostly staying offline this week for the holiday break, but I have some timely news to share and figured I'd round up all the recent goodness in one post. 
Friends, I'm so excited to share some fun 
It's hard to believe that 
I'm so proud of the wonderful, resourceful, multi-vertical writing that goes on at this site! I used to do monthly newsletters and round up my favorite posts but completely fell off the newsletter wagon once Violet was born. So I've decided to revisit this approach in an easier way: at the end of each month I'll share the most helpful, insightful, favored-by-the-community posts. I'll also try to sprinkle in some other fun finds, such as favorite 
Today's 
Today's 
Ever since 
Happy New Year everyone -- I hope you enjoyed a wonderful holiday! I apologize for not giving proper warning about my radio silence here...I had a post queued up to let you know about my holiday plans for the site, but ended up falling off the social media map in the most delightful way. Taking work into low gear + truly living the 
The events in Newtown likely have left many or all of us with an altered lens on the holidays. Every day since last Friday, I've experienced countless seemingly everyday moments with Laurel and Violet that just don't feel so everyday to me anymore. I'm not saying that every moment is easy or fun (for example, Violet's tantrums), but the moments where I feel my eyes fill with tears and think I am lucky to be experiencing this have been plentiful. So for this week's 
Hi everyone, as you might have noticed, I've gradually been working on an overhaul -- I recently changed the banner and got down to more involved structural changes over the past weekend. And while I was trying to clean up one seemingly simple thing, the site got broken -- you can see the homepage but the permalinks and archive pages don't work. Ugh! I'm working on getting this resolved as quickly as I can. Thanks for your patience! 
It's hard to believe that this time last month I was in Ethiopia with 
Today is the first day of November (!) which for me signals -- among other things -- the approach of the holidays. Every year, Jon and I try to minimize holiday stress (incidentally, I'm super excited about the ideas Asha and I share on this topic in 
Our final site visit in Ethiopia represented the awesome and the ironic. 
Ever since reading Roger Thurow's 
The more Ethiopian families I've met and the longer the time apart from my family grows, I find myself increasingly wondering about how the girls are doing in school. Did Laurel have a good day? Was the special Italian, art, music, or gym? [I can never keep the schedule straight.] What songs did Violet sing today at circle? All of what I envision -- the shiny classrooms, piles of books, and endless snack supply -- lies in stark contrast to what I'm seeing on the ground in Ethiopia, whether at 
Today was a day of inspiration. We rose at 4am and flew from Addis Ababa to Bahir Dar. We then spent many hours traversing bumpy rural roads on a bus. Our first two stops were the Madera Woreda Health Office and Anbesame Health Center, which both benefit from 
This morning the 
I have been a complete jumble of emotions since arriving in Addis Ababa on the 
The beginning of my journey to Ethiopia was not ideal. I slept through my 3:30 am alarm and was woken to the sound of my phone ringing -- the cab company calling to find out why I missed my 4:15 am reservation. Luckily, they doubled back and I made it to my flight out of Boston (barely). Then we had a 5 hour delay in Dulles (I am forever grateful to my friend 
I love cooking, but like many parents, on weekdays I need dinners to come together fast (often one handed while I haul around Violet, whose latest great delight is honking my nose repeatedly). We've been in a bit of a food rut, so when my friend 
A month from today I head to Ethiopia as part of 
Well, so, amidst getting our family acclimated to summer schedules (or rather, the fact that every week seems to be different around here), finishing 
Happy Friday everyone, and man, what a week! The mid-week holiday left me a bit confused about what day it was, in addition to getting into the rhythm of Laurel's day camp + working amidst a landslide of deadlines. But the awesome news is this: 
Friends, I'm diverting from regularly scheduled editorial today because my mind is swimming after my trip to Washington, DC yesterday. I am humbled and honored to share that I am now part of the 
Back when Asha and I 
It is enormously gratifying when ideas that I propel into the world not only stick, but help people minimize stress and clutter. During my Do Less As a Life Strategy talk at BlissDom in February, someone asked me about e-mail management and I shared my "3-touch rule." And then a couple of days ago (about two months later!), there was a bunch of Twitter chatter between 
For Laurel's first few birthday parties, I assembled fun yet somewhat insane birthday parties -- inviting tons of people, making tons of food, and admittedly not being particularly mindful of the fact that Laurel is overwhelmed by large crowds and that I was putting a lot of unnecessary work on myself. I eventually smartened up, opting for smaller and simpler gatherings. And whether it's a function of my 
So, what seems like a million years ago, I issued a 
It's sort of crazy how things come full circle. Two years ago at 
Hi everyone, I hope you had a great weekend! I just wanted to check in to let you know that I'm going to be largely absent this week (though I do hope to reveal some exciting news soon!). I want to spend time with Jon and the girls on the front end of this week, particularly because I will be heading to 
Happy snowy Tuesday everyone! I hope you all had a lovely and reflective long weekend. This morning I wanted to share one timely online event + some other fun updates. First, today at 1pm ET, I'll be co-hosting a live chat on 
Happy 2012 everyone -- I hope you had a wonderful holiday break! We soldiered through a plague-filled start to the vacation, but eventually recovered and enjoyed the relaxed pace so very much. I also did pretty well on my 
Hello wonderful readers! I have been waffling over whether to blog or take a break during the winter holidays, and then yesterday the universe decided to provide me directives by sending me and Laurel the dreaded stomach bug. Yesterday was beyond awful, but we are on the mend and moving forward with Christmas plans (though somewhat subdued, and with the mindset that we will pull back as needed). However, I will follow the universe's sign and take the holiday break off here! If anything truly timely comes up, I will share quick links via 
I'm part of the 
I've been immersed in change and exploration ever since career pivoting five years ago, so I'm really looking forward to attending the 
While I was en route to California this past weekend, I was so happy to have some quiet time to read through more of the 
I'm so grateful to everyone who bought raffle tickets for 
In reviewing the responses from the 
Having 
Hello everyone -- I hope you've been having a fantastic week! I went off the grid longer than expected due to an 
Hello friends! I hope you're having a super week. I'm going off the grid for a few days so I thought I'd leave you with this weekend roundup a bit early. Enjoy! Also, a couple of fun media things. I've been meaning to share that a cute little picture of me, Laurel, and Violet is included in the October issue of 
As part of Momversation and Ragú®'s Mom's the Word on Dinner Program, I recently chatted with 
Oh my goodness, I'm still on a high from the awesome that was 
Whether or not extreme couponing is your thing, grocery budgeting is top of mind for most families. As part of Momversation and Ragú®'s Mom's the Word on Dinner Program, I recently chatted with 
Today's 
Today's 
Today, ten bloggers -- including my incredibly talented friends 
Through the 
Today's 
As social an animal as I am, I have to admit that I get a little squirrely when faced with the prospect of the "first date" parental chit chat associated with Laurel's playdates with new friends. This week I shared thoughts about 
It's hard to believe that today is the 5th birthday of Boston Mamas. It's been an amazing journey -- thank you so much for being a part of it! And on that note...the last few years I have set up giveaways to celebrate the site's birthday, but this spring/summer I've been focusing on baby Violet and our family's adjustment (so, I haven't had time to reach out to giveaway vendors), plus I've been thinking about the site and how to shape it. Which is where you come in! Since you all contribute to the awesomeness of this community, I'd love to hear from you -- will you help me celebrate today's milestone and give me a little gift by 
Today's 
It was a momentous week, and one that left me -- and many others -- with complicated emotions and reactions regarding the death of Osama Bin Laden. This week 
Hello everyone! Tomorrow is the March for Babies in Boston and I would be super appreciative if you would make a donation to 
It is with immense sadness that I share that yesterday, contributing writer 
I consider myself a total eco-geek, but clearly you can never stop learning. I picked up tons of 
I had a fantastic time chatting with Paige Lewin of 
It's been fun to see the family and food dialogue that has transpired as part of Momversation and Ragú®'s Mom's the Word on Dinner Program. Today, my second video with the project just launched -- in it, Whitney Moss, Kim Tracy Prince, and I discuss 
It was so fun to return to Life.Style this week, and especially cool that technology allowed me to host via Skype so I could remain close to baby Violet. I had a fantastic time chatting with Melissa Massello and Amy Chase of 
I can't believe it's been one week since Violet was born. She is such a love and Laurel is a wonderful big sister; we feel so grateful every day. And one thing is for sure; it's very easy for the days to slip away -- I feel fantastic and full of energy (compared to how depleted I felt after Laurel's C-section...I even made 
I wasn't terribly organized in the nesting department, but one thing I did square away last month was a line up of wonderful guest posts to share with you all while I'm enjoying a bit of a babymoon with 
Hello everyone! As you may have gathered from my absence here the last few days, the baby has arrived! It was not a fast journey -- I wish I was kidding in reporting that I endured 58 hours of labor (including excruciating lower back pain during contractions due to the baby's positioning), but I'm thrilled that my desire for a natural birth panned out and that the baby latched right on after delivery. Jon and I were so grateful to the wonderful midwife, doula, and hospital staff that helped us through the process and Laurel is thrilled to be a big sister...she said she doesn't want to leave her little sister's side for her whole life.
Today's 
I was truly honored when Momversation invited me to become part of this 
Now that we're finally getting tastes of spring weather, it's the perfect time to think about moving in ways other than hoisting a snow shovel. For inspiration, check out my latest episode of Life.Style, during which I chat about 
What a fantastic episode of Life.Style this week! I chatted about 
One exception to my 
Hello friends, I just wanted to let you know that -- save a few existing commitments -- I'm going to be a bit scarce online the rest of this week (I figured I should state my intentions publicly since, after a few days of limited online activity, I received several e-mails asking if the baby arrived). I imagine many of you are off enjoying February vacation, and I have designs to do the same -- both in that I'd like to spend quality time with Laurel and Jon (our last school vacation before the baby arrives!), catch up on some projects, and finally get our house ready for the baby. Time (
Despite the unusually warm weather this week, I'm pretty sure winter is not done with us, so it was perfect to chat yesterday about 
What a fun episode of Life.Style this week! I chatted about 
This week on Life.Style, I engaged in a second conversation on 
Now that we've officially switched from count up to count down mode with this pregnancy (7 weeks to go!), many people have asked what we're naming our second daughter. And as with many responses to questions (e.g., Have you figured out child care? Where will the baby sleep? What do you need for baby stuff?) associated with my remarkably laid back approach to this pregnancy, the answer has been, "Hmm...I have no idea." But a few things recently suggested that it's time to get a move on thinking about this name business -- and I'm hoping you can help me out here:
Hello everyone! I just wanted to let you know that this is a short week here at Boston Mamas, between the school holiday and travel to Salt Lake City. I am so thrilled to be heading to 
This week on Life.Style, I engaged in the first of a two-part (at this point...the conversation could have continued for hours!) series on 
It was so great to get back into the studio this week, and it was wonderful to kick off my 2011 programming talking about 
Hello everyone and Happy New Year! I hope you had a lovely and restful winter break. I missed you all, though the break was really lovely (and also logistically necessary since we had a steady stream of friends and family in and out of our house for 10 days straight). That said, I did remain connected online minimally, primarily in order to complete my participation in a writing initiative called 
Hello everyone! For those who celebrate Christmas, I hope you had a lovely holiday weekend. And to all, I hope you're enjoying the general slowdown associated with this time of year, and that you're staying cozy inside today while the blizzard finishes its course. And related to the holiday slowdown, I just wanted to touch base to let you know that I've decided to take the week off, both to spend some quality time with Laurel during her winter vacation and also to tackle some long overdue creative projects. I'll be back to regular posting on January 3.
Today's 
I've long been a fan of 
One thing I have procrastinated on for over two years is hanging pictures in our home. But thanks to inspiration from a recent Life.Style episode (re: 
So fitting for the holiday season, 
Wow, I learned so much via my amazing guests on 
If you didn't have a chance to watch 
I've always been a proponent of assessing and using what you've got instead of always buying new. And if you're looking for a little inspiration in this domain, tune in to 
Today's 
If you didn't have a chance to watch 
I'm not sure what my problem is, but I'm having the hardest time wrapping my brain around the fact that Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday!) is next week. If you also need help getting in the holiday spirit, and/or want to pick up some awesome tips and inspiration, tune in to 
Today's 
On 
Wow, I truly cannot get over the awesomeness of 
Do you -- like me -- enjoy taking pictures but want to take your photography to the next level of awesome? Then tune in to 
Jon, Laurel, and I just returned from voting, parting ways with the load of brownies Laurel and I baked for the Election Day bake sale at her school-turned-polling-station, and an unexpected celebratory family diner breakfast. (Laurel turned out to be a fine helper at the polls, instructing me to fill in my ovals more cleanly...) The polls are open until 8pm tonight and I urge you all to get out there and vote today. If you plug in your address at the Secretary of the Commonwealth 
Hi folks, if you missed 
I'm super excited about tomorrow's episode of 
Wow, wow, wow. I had such a fun time launching 
My dad used to tell me that I should be a lawyer, diplomat, or talk show host since, well, I love to talk with people. And as it turns out, tomorrow I'll take a step closer to the talk show host thing. I'm thrilled to announce that starting tomorrow, I'll host a weekly live talk video show (like talk radio, but streaming live on the web...apparently you can also tune in via iPhone or iPad) called 
What an outpouring of birthday love I felt in my inbox and Twitter stream yesterday -- thank you! I had a fantastic day off; most of the morning was spent with my midwife and an ultrasound technician, and then I enjoyed bento boxes with Jon, he helped me take a step towards #36 on my 
Hello friends! I know we're coming off a long weekend where I've already taken a couple of days off from blogging (excuse: we were away at the loveliest wedding!), but today I'm going to remain offline because it's my birthday. I don't have major plans (Jon threw me an amazing surprise party last year so I told him to do nothing this year), with the exception that I'll spend most of this morning taking care of prenatal matters (including finding out whether we're having a boy or girl), but I hope to otherwise enjoy some relaxation and reflection today.
Today's 
Today's 
Today's 
Today's 
Hello friends! I hope you had a fantastic week while I was away. Other than dealing with a pesky head cold, I had a wonderful, reflective week off; I'm excited to be back sharing all sorts of useful and clever awesomeness with you, and I'm also feeling very happy about a new perspective I developed on parenting, work, and balance this past week. It only seems fitting to 
Friends, if this summer has been to you what it has been to me, it's sort of been like the summer that never was; full of awesome visits and events and projects but also crazy, crazy busy. As an independent businessperson with an endless number of ideas, it's always hard for me to step away from work (my model was my parents who never, ever took a vacation), but for the good of my body and soul, I'm going to take a break from the internet this week. I want to enjoy time with loved ones, make and eat delicious food, exercise, enjoy 
Today's 
Now, the second of two 
Today I'll be fielding two 
Today's 
Today's 
Today's 
Today's 
If you've ever lamented over the quality of your family photos, or the fact that you're almost never in them (since you're the one busy snapping), hire a professional. And if you're local, consider Kate McKenna of 
I've been standing on my green soap box for over a decade, and it's been truly gratifying to see green living embraced in a mainstream way in the last several years. I'm thus honored to be part of a similarly impassioned group of 
Today's 
Friends, I was so happy to walk in yesterday's March for Babies (which had an impressive turnout despite the downpour preceding the walk), and am enormously proud of all of the funds raised by 
Yesterday, I was honored to be featured as a 
Given that I spent the majority of my childhood free time toy-free and playing outside, I have always been concerned about curbing material excess in Laurel's life, and aware of how important it is for her (and us) to be active outdoors. I thus was happy and honored to be invited to be part of the National Wildlife Federation's Founding Mothers, a group of women writers who will work to mobilize families outdoors in partnership with the NWF's 
Today's 
Today's 
I field a lot of inquiries here at Boston Mamas and I've been thinking for some time about sharing some of the reader Q&A I typically engage in via e-mail with the community at large (as I've seen my friends 
This time last week I was headed back from the 
I truly was overwhelmed by the generous response when I sent out queries regarding the 
It’s been over a decade since I visited Houston and I’m thrilled to return to this city next month for the 
Apparently (and unintentionally), today is all about 
As I noted in yesterday’s 
I meant to write this post in advance of January 1 but instead opted to take a much needed break to enjoy downtime with family and friends. However, this week I'll hit the 1800 post mark at Boston Mamas -- a number that seems both arbitrary and momentous -- and it seemed fitting to peruse the 2009 archives and reflect on what happened this past year. So much of my life is set in the context of the work I put into Boston Mamas, and it truly is an honor to be here with you. I hope you enjoy this recap of my favorite posts and notable occurrences of 2009 and I wish you all a year full of joy and blessings and fantastic surprises!
Today I was included in a Boston Globe article about 
It's been so fantastic to meet aspiring and established small business owners and entrepreneurs through 
Since launching Boston Mamas in 2006, I’ve made truly incredible friends in the blogging community; some who regrettably remain at laptop’s reach, and others who I’ve had the immense fun of meeting in person. And I’m especially lucky that a group of my talented friends have agreed to share their expertise on Boston Mamas in a guest blog series I’m calling Simplifying the Holidays; editorial focused on interesting, stylish, crafty, philanthropic, and/or time saving solutions to help your holidays be fun, meaningful, and less stressful. As the series progresses, I’ll link each guest blog to this post for easy referencing. Now, off to launch the first guest post in the series...
This past summer I responded to an invitation to submit an idea for an episode of 
Back in May, 
Yesterday I had the pleasure and honor of being interviewed by 
It’s hard for me to believe that 
I’m thrilled to soon be on my way to Chicago for 
I'm a tad remiss in reporting, but wanted to share some recent kind media mentions. A couple of weeks ago I was quoted in Joanna Weiss’s Boston Globe feature on 
In response to an invitation to submit an idea for an episode of 
I’ve palpably felt the heat of fireworks in the blogosphere lately, no doubt due at least in part to reactions to a certain family reality show, the tension that can come from stratifying moms via 
One thing readers periodically have asked me for is discussion forum and social networking capability on this site. But as much as I’ve always loved the idea, it’s something that simply has been out of my time and technological reach given that I run Boston Mamas on my own and wear several other professional hats. So, I’m thrilled to announce that I have partnered with the cool folks over at 
Folks, I don’t like to beg, but in this special case, I will. PLEASE consider making a donation - $5, $10, more if you have the means - to 
I’m honored to be among a handful of moms that 
I’m honored to share the link for my 
I’m incredibly grateful to everyone for their support following last week’s 
This past Thursday (when I was absent from posting…) I had the honor of attending a media event in New York, during which Jodi Allen (VP of North America Baby Care, P & G), Caryl Stern (President and CEO, US Fund for UNICEF), and Salma Hayek (actress and Pampers/UNICEF campaign spokesperson) announced the relaunch of the “1 Pack = 1 Vaccine” campaign to eradicate maternal and neonatal tetanus. Read on to learn more about the campaign and press conference; in my next post I’ll share the transcript from my small group interview with Salma Hayek.
To be perfectly honest, I’m struggling a bit to get back into the swing of things after two weeks of weird schedules, too many cookies, and holiday chaos (despite my best attempts to 
After 10 years of academic conferences, it’s probably no surprise that this past weekend’s BlogHer Boston conference felt revolutionary. Fun, energizing, and replete with interesting content, people, good food, and an affirming obsession with 
I didn’t manage to post about this before I headed out for vacation the other week, but I was honored to be 
I love conducting interviews via 
After 3 years of resisting periodic friendly nudges from friends and family (primarily because I couldn't bear the idea of tracking yet another username and password), I finally joined Facebook. If you’re already part of the (addictive) FB craze, please consider visiting the 
Wish me luck, folks! This afternoon I’m off to tape my first TV interview, with 
Congratulations to Alison from Watertown, MA, the winner of our 
OK, so how cute is this? At long last, I’ve designed a cool, cute, and comfy 
I’m thrilled to announce a new component to the site: 
Given my belief in karma, last week I was left to wonder whether I had wronged someone when, without warning, our hosting provider pulled the plug on my ability to publish. Despite the stress and frustration of the last several days, I'm happy to report that we're up and running again with a different, decidedly more friendly host. Thanks for your patience while we work out the final kinks of moving the site to a new home. 
I’ve finally made live a 
Congratulations to Brandy from Hanover, NH, the winner of our 
Dear Readers: Apologies for the unusual radio silence; after attempting to fight off a bug early in the week, I took a dramatic turn for the worse following my Wednesday morning post and spent the next 36 hours shivering in the fetal position, drifting in and out of Law & Order re-runs. It seemed a bit dramatic to get flattened by the flu on the last day of winter, but it hasn’t dampened my excitement about spring’s official arrival one bit.
Dear Readers: Lest you think I’m trapped under something heavy (I can’t even remember the last non-holiday Monday I haven’t posted!), I wanted to let you know that I’ve just returned from a trip to semi-sunny California and will be back to business tomorrow. Per usual, lots of great content and goodies in the pipeline so stay tuned! And hope you all had an equally fabulous weekend.
Congratulations to Alexandra from Chestnut Hill, MA, the winner of our 
In addition to a seemingly limitless supply of cookies, one nice byproduct of this week’s holiday slowdown has been the ability to attack a few projects long sitting on my to-do list. So in this vein, two bits of housekeeping: First, I just designed a series of “cute as a button” (as one mama I know called them) 
Dear Readers (and potential writers!): I am looking to expand my merry band of 
Congratulations to Julie from Brookline, MA, the winner of our 
by Lisa Garrigues. To enter to win this prize (US & Canada entrants eligible), 
Dear Readers: It’s a bit embarrassing that something this easy has taken this long, but we finally have added e-mail services to Boston Mamas. The ability to subscribe for automatic e-mail updates - once a day when new posts are available - is easy and convenient both for those not familiar with RSS subscriptions, and for RSS users who want to access content on platforms without an RSS aggregator. 
We’re thrilled to announce our October contest giveaway in partnership with 
