Living With Kids: Maureen Vazquez

Maureen seems like she would be a great instant friend. You know the one: she invites your kids over for a crafter-noon just when you’re on the verge of a “I can’t glue one more thing to one more thing” moment, delivers a meatloaf just because she made two, and shares all her secrets for making her life easier just in case you need one. She is someone I love sharing with you today, and you’ll soon understand why.

Oh, and her London space isn’t too shabby either! Welcome, Maureen!

We are a family of five, and are expecting to round our numbers out to six any day now with the arrival of another little girl. Nathan works in finance and has the most impressive design eye of any banker you’ll ever meet. I am a graphic designer and recently launched my own business.

Nathan and I met 12 years ago at my brother’s wedding. My brother was his boss and I was the younger sister, just graduated from college and in town for the wedding. I hate to sound cheesy, but we had a magical connection. We spent the whole reception dancing, and then we talked on the hotel lobby sofa until morning. Though he claims that was it for him, I felt like the world was my oyster and wanted to experience some adulthood before settling down. Four years (and quite a long story) later, we got back in touch just before he was transferred to London. I was in San Francisco, he was in Minneapolis. After spending two months on the phone every night and meeting each other in Chicago for a weekend, he asked me to move to London. And I did! My parents always said “When you know, you KNOW” and I realized – when I was finally ready – I had ALWAYS known. Four years later, and five years ago, Atticus was born.

Atticus is Nathan’s clone: they look alike, they act alike, they sit the same way. He is fearlessly social and happily unaffected when people don’t respond. He is matter of fact and likes rules and directions. He loves legos and craft projects – provided there are instructions to be followed. He loves listening to stories on his radio and quizzing us with facts that he’s learned. He is very curious; when I was pregnant with his little brother two years ago, he asked me whether the baby had used a key to get into my belly.

Eleanor is 16 months younger than Atticus, and reminds us on a regular basis these days that she’ll be four soon. She is funny and dramatic, with a will of steel and the ability to melt your heart. She is an ace negotiator, and moved from the role of little sister to big sister with amazing ease and grace. When she’s in motion, she’s more like me than Nathan. She needs to be doing something most of the time – outside for a walk, baking, drawing, creating. Unlike me, she may be president one day.

And then there’s Ike. At 20 months, he’s right in the middle of things, instigating the dog pile, joining the conversation (pronunciation be damned), and loving everyone with abandon. He’s beloved by all of us, and has absolutely no idea what’s about to come.

We live in what used to be an old furniture factory in North London. The owner is an art history professor and created this amazing space after gutting it 15 years ago.

We were transferred to London with Nathan’s company over the summer, and came on a house hunt for four days the month before the move. After seeing lots of other places, ranging from two bedroom flats in central London to houses with grass out back and long commutes, we saw this one. From the outside, it’s just a innocuous garage door on the street. Once inside, however, it leads to a courtyard that feels transplanted from Italy. It is a secret sanctuary. We were gobsmacked the moment we saw it.

It is far bigger than any place we’ve ever lived – so much so that I initially didn’t think we could make it our home. The space has enormous windows, wide open spaces, and details that sing. I thought it was too much – too nice, too big, too MUCH. Everyone told me I was insane; of course it was the perfect place. This was the chance of a lifetime. We are zealous about great design and we would have been crazy not to take advantage of the opportunity.

We signed the lease. Even now, every time we walk through that garage door we do a little dance.

We moved to London for Nathan’s job last June. He and I had already lived in London for five years and moved to NYC when Atticus was a baby. Knowing the area made an international move with three kids (while pregnant) less intimidating, but we adored living in New York and missed it fiercely for a few months once we got here.

We lived in SoHo, where people literally stopped to take a picture of me walking down the street with three kids. Virtually nobody has more than two children in Manhattan, and there’s a reason for it. With kids, everything is difficult – a real schlep – hauling groceries and Christmas trees on top of the double stroller. So, in order to live there happily with a family, you have to LOVE it, which we did. Things that seem a challenge to others are just things you deal with in order to reap the family benefits of New York City living: exposure to different kinds of people; the best food in the world (delivered to your door); fantastic play grounds (and a community of people without backyards who forge friendships at their local swing set); and nonstop energy.

Much of that great city life is here in London, too. And, after being here for a while, there’s something to be said for its slower pace. It’s nice not to have to hold the kids’ hands everywhere for fear they’ll be hit by a car or run over by a quick paced pedestrian, and for them to be able to play more freely outside. London is much more spread out, but the tube system is child friendly, and double decker buses are pretty much THE BEST THING EVER to three and five year olds.

New York may be anything you want RIGHT NOW, but London is everything you want in due course.

I often joke that I could never move to a place where I’m not within a half mile of an authentically French croissant. I’m about 50 yards from them now. New York and London spoil you with these amazing little things that are so accessible. And now, if that pastry isn’t quite up to par, we are only two hours away from Paris on the Eurostar. Everyone travels, with or without kids. You can rent a villa on the Amalfi Coast, a family apartment in Copenhagen, or, ahem, a REAL CASTLE in the English countryside.

The weight of history in London is nowhere to be found in the states. Two blocks away from us, there is a church built a few hundred years ago. Back home, this would be a national treasure. Here in London, someone bought it and turned it into a paint shop.

The attitude toward lifestyle and family here is also completely different. People create separation between their jobs and family life. Families spend Saturdays in the parks when it’s not too rainy, and have leisurely roast lunches at the pub on Sunday. Sometimes the pace – especially in terms of efficiency and customer service – drives us Americans crazy, but there are benefits if you choose to embrace them.

Living in large cities means you meet a lot of people who often end up moving far away. Over the years, you develop a network of friends around the world. That’s great, but as a mom at home it’s essential to find support close by – even just one real friend – who will laugh, cry, and pour you a cup of tea or glass of wine when you need it.

My advice? Be fearless. It’s kind of like dating – you have to put yourself out there. Smiling and online mother forums went a long way in NYC. London is a bit tricky in that the English tend to avoid eye contact or smiling at strangers, which makes for very dull bus rides! It’s even hard to engage fellow moms in small talk.

People here usually wait for a mutual acquaintance to introduce them, and it’s not a given that you will strike up a conversation with someone just because you’re both waiting to pick your kids up from the same class. However, as an American in London, I take license and reject these social norms. I find that once I’ve broken the ice, women are eager to connect.

Don’t be afraid to ask for a phone number after a good five minute conversation with someone at the park, on the bus, or in the grocery store line. It’s just a phone number. Kids are a great excuse in the whole making new friends game, so use them.

Our kids seem to follow my lead and then some; they make new friends everywhere we go. Luckily, because of their American accent, their outgoing nature is not frowned upon by the average Brit, however they definitely catch people off guard with their liberal salutations, direct questions, and overuse of the phrase “I love you” to people they’ve just met.

Every place we’ve lived before has been much smaller, and as our family has grown, we’ve had to make the spaces work in order to stay in the cities we love. First, we cull our belongings regularly. This has been natural with so many moves. We buy what we love, and what we can hand down to the next child.

Smaller spaces can be more efficient. Even in our larger kitchen here, we still hang everything within an arm’s reach of the stove. I’ll never go back to knives in a drawer or pots in a cupboard.

Kids are adaptable and can sleep anywhere. People have the idea that babies need total darkness and quiet to sleep. While these things help, no doubt, they can be achieved with a bassinet or travel crib in a bathroom or a walk in closet.

All three of our kids share a bedroom. In NYC it was a necessity, and though we have the space now to separate them, we wouldn’t think of it. They quickly learn to sleep through the others’ coughing, night terrors, and early waking. It teaches them to be considerate of one another and cements their relationships.

It’s also sweet to overhear their bedtime conversations, efforts to console each other when one of them is upset, and excitement in the morning when their clock turns green and they are allowed to get out of bed!

Small spaces aren’t a problem to be overcome; they are an invitation to create intimate spaces and close relationships. Trying to make a small space big makes it cramped. Don’t try to change the nature of the space; embrace it and make it do what you need it do.

About a year and a half ago, we were invited to join one of those sticker club chain letters. Like all chain letters, it was a bust: loads of time and energy spent to find friends, write letters, enclose stickers, address envelopes, and find stamps. My kids received one measly response. Though maddening for me, they went absolutely bananas crazy over that one sheet of stickers waiting in our mailbox.

As a formerly sticker-obsessed girl of the 80s, I saw an opportunity to combine the simple joy of stickers, my background in design, and the lost art of receiving mail to start a company that could inspire not only sticker lovers and crafters but parents, too.

Motherhood and design inspire this business. Though every sticker pack appeals to all ages, each is designed to be child-friendly. Kids can open it up by themselves and get started on their own without parent involvement. They’re great when you just need to keep the kids happy, occupied, and quiet.

That said, the stickers are fun and cool, which means many of our subscribers are adults who use them for crafting, snail mail, and scrapbooking. I love connecting with other makers, artists, and crafters, finding new and exciting suppliers, and designing each month’s sticker pack.

Part-time childcare and school schedules allow me to work three partial days a week and still spend lots of time with my kids. Being totally pumped about my work (I mean who wouldn’t be ecstatic over a huge box of puffy robot stickers!) is consolation for the challenge of balancing work and family. Both require immense mental energy.

I let my mind wander to new designs and business issues when I’m folding laundry and picking up legos, but when I’m with my kids I’m WITH MY KIDS. I do work most nights after the kids go to bed. Luckily, my awesome and insightful husband is happy to help me washi tape my keyboard for a photo shoot or discuss the merits of Korean sticker design over dinner. I am lucky.

I take a nap every day, which is my secret to success. I’ve been doing it since Atticus was born. Though it’s really difficult to choose sleep over the other thousand things on your to-do list (especially as that time is usually when the kids at home are also asleep), I find that napping lets me roll with the inevitable punches at the end of the day. If I’m happy, everyone else is happier.

Nathan and I love spending time together and we never get enough. We work hard to get one on one time with each child, but I don’t beat myself up when I don’t get everything done. My mother always said “You can do anything you want in your life, but you may not be able to do it all at once.” She’s the best, and she was right.

Though this is quite personal (sorry if you’re reading this, Dad!), it’s particularly relevant as we are expecting another newborn any day now. I wish someone had told me that after you have a baby, your hormones shift, and sometimes your libido disappears. As a society, we grow up with the age-old understanding and assumption that marriage and kids take a progressive toll on a romantic relationship. It’s the subject of sitcom after sitcom. And it can be true – family responsibilities, combined with lack of sleep, definitely change a relationship.

What I didn’t expect was that after I’d had my second baby, and was breastfeeding, I would have absolutely no interest in it whatsoever. It had nothing to do with being exhausted and emotionally drained (though obviously those things would have taken their toll too). I didn’t care if I ever had sex again. And that was scary. Sleep deprivation, busy schedules, and the other obstacles to intimacy can be overcome. But the disappearance of your libido entirely? Frightening.

The good news is that Nathan was amazingly matter-of-fact, understanding, and supportive about it. I think I actually had a harder time with it – consumed by the “what if” scenarios, and imagining myself a frigid, uninterested partner forevermore. The better news was that about two weeks after weaning Ella, I was back to my old self! The hormones behind it are a mystery, as I’m one for three on this post delivery experience. We’ll see how the coin lands this time around.

The lesson: immediate and open communication – with your partner – is key to getting through a dry spell.

The degree to which you love your own children so much more than any other child you’ve ever known is unreal. The way they fascinate and entertain you (when they’re doing pretty much the same thing all kids do) is astounding.

Watching our kids interact as siblings is a joy. The things that I remember as a kid growing up with brothers and sisters are so different when I see them from a parent’s perspective. The way they cheer each other on, knock each other down, and just get goofy together is priceless.

We’ve also found that our perspective changed with subsequent children. At first, we took everything about our child personally – the good and the bad. Life experience helped us get a grip. Each child goes through the inevitable ups and downs of development. We aren’t there to fix them all or take them personally. Our job is to stay consistent and help them not get arrested.

If my kids could remember just one memory from this childhood home, I hope it will be the arrival of their new sister!

Nathan and I work hard to foster the relationships between our kids. We try to strike a balance between letting them work things out on their own and having zero tolerance for nastiness toward each other. Our household mantra is: “Your brother/sister is your best friend.”

Because this attitude takes the decision out of their hands, they quickly fall back into being thick as thieves after confrontations and disagreements. I hope that they will remember all the adventures they create together in this house: jumping from “ice berg to ice berg” on our mountain of couch cushions, doing collaborative arts and crafts, and making waffles together every weekend.

As a mom, I think I’m strict but fun. I am no nonsense when it comes to manners, schedules, and sleep. But I do my best to balance that with spontaneous donut runs (selfishly, who am I kidding!) and glow stick baths. I hope they’ll remember me as a consistent and loving mom who always had a goofy side to her.

I wish I could go back and tell my younger self, that as a mom, sometimes all you really want is a nap and a good cup of coffee in peace and quiet. I am ten years younger than my sister, who also happens to be my best friend. She had her first baby when I was 16 and while I did my best to be a great aunt, I was clueless. After college, I lived with her and her husband for the summer to help her with their two young children and baby girl, and make a bit of money as their nanny. I thought I was supportive and sympathetic, but in retrospect, I wish I had understood what only someone who has been through it themselves can.

Had I been able to better relate to her during those first years of motherhood, I would have watched the kids while she took naps, forced her to enjoy long showers, and made her and her husband go out at night. A lot. She does all of those things for me whenever we’re in town – I definitely drew the long straw.

–-

Thank you, Maureen!

Okay. Who laughed at this one? “Each child goes through the inevitable ups and downs of development. We aren’t there to fix them all or take them personally. Our job is to stay consistent and help them not get arrested.” Yes, a million times over! Thank you for that and all your other gems, Maureen!

On a personal note, I LOVE that your went there about your sex life after kids. I have so much respect and love for women who share their struggles with the rest of us in the hopes that we all do better. Who’s with me?

P.S. – Are you interested in sharing your own home with us? Let me know! It’s a lot of fun…I promise! Take a peek at all the homes in my Living With Kids series here.


Photos by Lesley Colvin.

67 thoughts on “Living With Kids: Maureen Vazquez”

    1. totally agree ! i often feel guilty when i take a nap on my wednesdays off, so this is comforting to know i’m not the only one !

  1. I cried in my coffee cup while I read this. I just found out I’m pregnant with my fourth and my older kids are the same exact ages as Maureen’s. So much of this post resonated with me and I think I just really needed to know that I’m not alone. Her home is lovely, too! I completely relate to the libido after kids issue, and I wish I had a more ‘legit’ creative outlet that was also a source of income. Maybe I should work on that… Thanks for sharing!

  2. Stunning home! I loved her honesty as well. Mothers who have grace and can talk about struggles are few and far between in the mom world. Thanks for sharing, Maureen! I hope the new baby is a smooth and exciting transition for your family!

  3. Yes, best house tour ever! The home is amazing and the interview was great! I too loved the part about not getting arrested! Best of luck on their upcoming baby!

  4. This is definitely one of my faves. Colorful, filled with light and a fantastic interview. I love the bit about listening in on kids’ convos when they share spaces. I have two boys who share and two girls who share, and I love that, too.

  5. So, I didn’t waaaant to like Maureen – I mean, she almost sounded too perfect with her husband, life in London, and -wait for it – 2 boys aaand 2 girls? COME ON! ;) Seriously, suuuuch a great and inspiring post. It’s like every week, I think THIS ONE’S MY FAVORITE!

    Maureen, thank you so much for your honesty! I also love that you overcome English norms by asking for phone numbers anyway (that made me giggle. Rules, schmules!). The end about your sister made me a little teary too, awww. :)

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  7. What a wonderful LWK! I loved reading Maureen’s interview so much I totally forgot to look at the pictures of her beautiful home so had to go back through the article again!

    I was wondering if Maureen could tell me where she got the kids’ beds from? They look perfect for what we have been looking for for our little ones…

    X

      1. That’s right, Jocelyn. They are KURA beds from Ikea. If you want to lose an afternoon google KURA hack – people have done amazing things using this bed as a starting point.

  8. You are on a roll with this series; another great one. Three cheers for a daily nap.

    Love the pops of color and fun all throughout this home, love the super fun sticker business, love the honestly of the author. For us too, breastfeeding and an active sex life were not at all compatible. Scary the first time and just kind of an annoying reality the next time. While I adored and valued breastfeeding my babies so much (a way to get the baby to quit crying no matter what!) I was sure to make the last nursing session on their 1st birthday for this reason.

  9. Great story and inspiration as a mom. I want my kids to be best friends too… so they can commiserate over their ‘crazy annoying’ parents when we’re old. haha!

  10. I’m so happy to read someone who also actively fosters a good relationship between their children. I tell my two, who are fourteen months apart, “Your sibling is the best thing I ever gave you.” My mom has three siblings and it seems every decade there’s a new round of who isn’t speaking to who. My husband and I are both only children so we didn’t know if you could actually do much about their relationship. The least I can do is try!

  11. Love the airiness and colors of your home, and I also love how you continue to foster all the relationships in your home — between children — between your spouse…isn’t that what makes a beautiful home in the end? Thank you for sharing all the light (and dark) that went into making it such. Best of joy with your newest addition!

  12. When I saw the name for this tour, I thought it sounded familiar but I couldn’t figure out from where until I read the article. I just corresponded with Maureen about Pipsticks! After trying a sample pack, I got my son an annual subscription, which he loves so much that I upgraded him to a family subscription just for himself. Not to go all fangirl but I love Pipsticks and have been telling all my friends and acquaintances about it. My son loves to create his “sticker scenes,” as he calls them. I even bought some big pieces of card stock, which he uses to make his “sticker paintings.” He’s always asking if his stickers have arrived. Great job, Maureen!

    1. Thanks so much for sharing! I SO appreciate your enthusiasm about and support of Pipsticks. YOU mean the world to us as a business, and it makes everything so much more worth it knowing that our subscribers feel this way. xo

  13. Love this house & mom! I always say, hopefully I’m saving for college & not rehab! Here’s to an arrest-free upbringing!

  14. Wow. I’ve looked at every home tour in the Living with Kids series and this one made my day. The interview is as encouraging as the pictures are inspiring. I was so captivated by her answers that I’m going back to look at the photos again!

  15. OK, I’m so curious. After Atticus, Ella, and Ike…. will this next little girl have an O name? Will you round out the set with a U? :-)

      1. Olive was high on the list for a while, but we thought it was a little excessive… and might invite yet another pregnancy to round it out with U (We joked about the possibility of Umberto)!

    1. Or, there are three letters between the first letter of each name (A, (BCD) E, (FGH) I , (JKL), so it could follow that pattern and be an M :) I’m sure, based on the names they’ve already chosen, that it will be great no matter what!

      Such a lovely home and family. I too appreciated her honesty about dry spells after kids. Risking TMI, I’ve been struggling with that and it’s so frustrating! Even after weaning. I just keep thinking “This too shall pass”.

      I really look forward to these posts! Keep ’em comin’!

  16. I want to move to London so I can be friends with Maureen! So much of what she says hit home. She is positive yet honest – a rare combination. Our kids share a room and we are also hoping it creates a deep bond. I loved the arrested comment too, but I think my favorite is her emphasis on self-care. I wish someone had told me it’s okay to look after my own needs first.

  17. Where did she get the turquoise wall hanging containers from? Those are so cool and I loved her words. I felt like she was a friend. I also struggled with the whole no libido thing and waiting to be done with breast feeding so I can see if it comes back. :)

  18. What a wonderful home tour! Thank you for the glimpse inside your amazing space Maureen. Those windows are amazing and I love that your house is a secret treasure hidden behind the garage door facade.
    Your parenting philosophy and style really resonated with me. I too am firm but goofy and consistency is my middle name. I love that your children share a room even though there is space to spread out, and that you continued to cull the collection of things even as your space grew.
    I love that London is a big city but that there is a separation of work and home life. I think San Francisco (where we have a 24/7 style of work) could learn a thing or two from the UK for sure.

    1. This was the very first baby thing I got excited about when I was pregnant with Atticus – I LOVE it. It’s a Brio cot that we bought in the UK. All of our kids have used it and it makes me happy every time I see it.

  19. This one is one of my favorites- I relate to SO much of this. I totally want to be her friend for life!

    (Seriously, our households would get along… I spotted four well-loved books by Brandon Sanderson in that close-up! My and my hubbie are HUGE fans… who’s the reader in your house?)

    1. Those books are mine! Even though Sanderson isn’t at the very top of my list, I have to admit I’m pretty impatiently awaiting Stone’s Unhallowed (and he did a pretty unexpectedly fantastic job of wrapping up the WoT series). I’m definitely the resident SciFi and Fantasy Geek in this household.

      p.s. If you haven’t done it already already, you should spend some time with Iain Banks’ novels in the Culture Series.

  20. Man…I love this home tour…equally as much as Hollywood Housewife’s home tour – you are both tied at the top of my list! Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful home and family!

    I love the three star lamps! Where did you get those and their colorful cords?

  21. I am cracking up at the notion of London as ‘slow’ paced. Lovely lovely home. I love those blue wire shelves! Source? And you know what I found virtually impossible to find was sticker books…like the kind we used to have in the 70s and 80s when we would ‘collect’ different stickers. I finally found one, sort of, but still nothing as good as what we had growing up with pages for various collections.

  22. I can state with complete fact that I never ever comment on blogs, however, I had to here. I feel like I heard myself being interviewed, or at least the mom I want to be. I absolutely adore that you emphasize to your children that they are each others’ best friend – we say that all the time as we deal with the angst of the 3 and 1 year old brother interactions. And you touched on a very private issue that I’ve been dealing with since the birth of #2 that I so appreciate. Just nice to know you’re not alone. Your house is beautiful, but really, the interview is what I enjoyed most. Hello from Wisconsin!

    1. Thanks for your post, Nancy. Coming from a family where my siblings are now my best friends as adults, those relationships are the most important thing I can give my kids. Keep up the great work.

      ps. We’ll take ’em next year, Packers!

  23. This home does not look like a rental. It has so many personal touches and has a lovely lived in, loved look.
    Maureen sounds down to earth and full of sound advice. Good luck to her and family.

  24. This tour was full of fun and light! Thanks, Maureen and Gabrielle!

    Would you please share some details about your craft table with the roll of paper mounted beneath? It seems to be part of your kitchen, but I’m not sure if you designed it or if it was kitchen cabinetry put to genius use. My family is moving from a large house into an apartment with little built-in storage, and I need to get smarter about maximising space. We love to craft, so setting up a table and storage in one as you have would be perfect!

    1. The craft table is an Ikea hack. We took the NORDEN occasional table, and secured a 9 foot Ikea butcher block on top. Then, we bought a meat packing/bakery paper roll off of amazon (about $20) and screwed it into the bottom of one end of the table. To make it more functional and kid friendly, Nathan mounted chip board on the side opposite the drawers and covered that with sheets of hammered tin. Voila. We LOVE it.

      1. Maureen,

        I would echo everything everyone else has said on here but I’m speechless. I had 4 kids in 5 years so I am just completely in awe of what you have accomplished. I WANT YOUR CRAFT TABLE!!!! I think anyone with kids understands that the kitchen is kind of the heart of the home and everything happens there. What you’ve done is wonderful. I wish you all the best with your upcoming little one.

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  26. Being part of a family of three in a one-bedroom apartment, I second this, “Small spaces aren’t a problem to be overcome; they are an invitation to create intimate spaces and close relationships.”

  27. Good taste throughout. Your close to an Ikea for shelves to replace the glass. Nothing like one of them breaking and your kids watching arterial blood squirting out of the radial artery and done and gone in ten minutes. I’d check if Neasden has stainless ones. Easier to clean too. Oh well you don’t need Utopia.

  28. I love the tour, your style is amazing!
    And I am intrigued – you have a clock that turns green? I couldn’t find it in the pictures. How does that work? Would love to have something like that for my kids :-)

    1. I don’t know if theirs is the same, Iris, but we use a clock called the Tot Clock. We bought it years ago, and now I believe there are even more options like it on the market. The concept works fabulously!

  29. Oh yes, this is amazing. I dream of knowing how to design the inside of my home, but instead I sit here with blank walls and no confidence in my decorating abilities. Any tips for getting started in making a house a home? Like do you start with a piece of art, furniture, or what? I love how comfortable it is for your kids.

  30. Beautiful home, so considered, creative and organised!! And I am with Gabrielle and Maureen 100 per cent. Sharing about even the wobbly times of our lives is the best way to show solidarity. It’s normal :-) and we’re together in that.

  31. Pingback: Welcome, Maureen! A new contributor « Babyccino Kids: Daily tips, Children's products, Craft ideas, Recipes & More

  32. Such a lovely story! Thank you for sharing your life, Maureen!

    Was the name of your sticker company in the post and I just missed it? If not, can it be shared? (I’m a scrapbooker and am increasing frustrated that my local craft store is less and less oriented toward scrapbooking.)

  33. This may be my favorite one ever and I’ve been a looonnnnggg time reader! Love the space and really love Maureen’s writing style/thought process. My kids are now in high school and college, so I’ve been at this parenting gig for awhile. I think Maureen is going to raise some fantastic people with her approach to parenting. xoxo

  34. I think this is the only one of these posts I’ve read through for the words and not the photos. I just kept relating and relating and relating. As an expat mom of three littles five and under, fitting kids into whatever space we have, hoping they turn out to be best friends, existing with zero libido, i just kept thinking ‘yup. and that. that too.’ I send big hugs from across the planet!

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