I can feel it in the air. The Portland summer is starting to shift into autumn. The transition is subtle, something I witness when I sit long enough to feel the light’s gathering weight. I see it in the copper-tipped trees that line the streets, and the brown grass, dry as roasted husks. This is... Read More The post Partial Preschool appeared first on pnw mountain mommy ..read more

There is a roar to the sound machine in the bay leaf’s room that reminds me of the ocean. It has this deep resonance, like when water is pulling away, bringing all the pebbles with it. I prefer the basalt beaches–the way the tide moves over smooth rocks. The sound I hear through the walls... Read More The post Anemone Toes appeared first on pnw mountain mommy ..read more

I woke up with a vision. It was sunny, it seemed soft and inviting. Tulips were everywhere, our trees were parading their fresh green leaves around like it was Paris fashion week. I. Was. Feeling. It. So I made a grand pronouncement to my family: “I will be taking my coffee on the deck.” Everyone... Read More The post Try Some Self Care, They Said appeared first on pnw mountain mommy ..read more

The other day I went for a drive. I’ve been out of the house very little since this whole thing began. About a week into the coronavirus outbreak, I got sick. We don’t know if it was Covid-19 or not. I have a strong suspicion it was, but they wouldn’t test me because my symptoms... Read More The post Coronavirus and a Call to Action appeared first on pnw mountain mommy ..read more

I figured out this whole Easter candy thing. I suspect it serves the same purpose as Halloween candy. Bribes. This morning, after a healthy bowl of oatmeal and blueberries, I fed the Cub chocolate eggs in the bath while combing through his accumulated dreadlocks. Also, the bath water was freezing. I had filled the tub while... Read More The post Chocolate Detangler appeared first on pnw mountain mommy ..read more

I got a text last night at 9:30 from the Easter Bunny. She wanted me to know that there were eggs out front. She had tucked a couple in some tulips, a few behind the daffodils, three near the cedar tree. She wanted me to know where they were because she knew I wasn’t an... Read More The post Easter. Nailed It. appeared first on pnw mountain mommy ..read more

Today I am perched at the end of my writing chair. I’m wondering why the keys on my laptop are SO INCREDIBLY LOUD and how I didn’t notice that before. My back is hunched and also stretched slightly to one side, in an attempt to maintain front-heavy equilibrium. Why am I so uncomfortable, you ask?... Read More The post Lukewarm Equilibrium appeared first on pnw mountain mommy ..read more

I recently learned an approach to writing that was new to me. My instructor told me that when I sit down to write, I should empty my head. Seems simple, right? It’s not. It’s not because I have a thousand ideas every day. It’s not because I have things that happen in my life and... Read More The post A Scoop of Decaf appeared first on pnw mountain mommy ..read more

I have a stack of books next to me. Two different sleep training methods and one collection of Mary Oliver poems. The two sleep training books are out because it’s time to sleep train Bay. There are as many approaches to sleep training as there are opinions about it. To be fair, we’ve already tried... Read More The post Sleep, Sleep, Selected Poems appeared first on pnw mountain mommy ..read more

It has been a year since I’ve written in this space. A lot of things happen in a year. Time, for one thing, has disintegrated into the stratosphere. Now there are two children instead of one. Two children who require constant observation. Except for now, right now, the baby is asleep and the toddler has... Read More The post Writing Instead of Eating appeared first on pnw mountain mommy ..read more