Who Are You?

I'm Sam. Proud mama to William (born August 2010) and Charlotte (born April 2013). I have been a stay-at-home mom and a full-time working mom. Right now, I work outside the home part-time, which seems to be a good fit. I struggle regularly with finding "balance". I recently finished my master's degree, which means I have lots more time for freelance writing gigs, library books, running and public radio.

Copyright Lanari Photography (2011)

I'm married to Ben, who is sweet, kind, handsome and funny. He makes fire trucks for a living, which will pretty much make him the coolest dad ever when our kids get older. In addition to Will and Charlotte, we're also proud parents to Stella, an affectionate and energetic 135 lb. Great Dane we adopted from a local shelter.

Copyright Lanari Photography (2011)

We live in Wisconsin, and yes, we like cheese. I've considered going vegan for the health benefits, but I'm not sure a life without dairy is a life worth living. In our pre-baby life, Ben and I loved to cook and travel (neither of which we have much time for anymore). Our favorite trip ever was to Italy, where we got to eat a lot of great food and drink a lot of great wine.

Copyright Lanari Photography (2011)

My parenting style is kind of "granola". I like baby wearing, cloth diapering and making my own baby food. I don't believe in "cry it out". But we have electronic toys and Will has been sleeping in his own room since he was 3 weeks old. So I guess it's a nice balance.

Copyright Lanari Photography (2011)

This blog began as a way to keep my mom updated on my first pregnancy. I didn't expect anyone other than her to read it, but even people I'm not related to seem to like it, so that's cool. I talk mostly about being a mom and raising our kids. I'm no expert, and I have no clue what I'm doing half the time. But I'm loving (almost) every minute of it.