About Us
The Chicago Moms blog is a collaborative
group of moms writing about their lives in Chicago, Ill., where moms
endure “El” construction on the way to work, navigate their way into
tight parking spots, push strollers through slushy sidewalks, and
occasionally indulge in a shopping spree on Michigan Avenue, if, that,
is, they can get sitters.
Contact Us by email: info(at)chicagomomsblog(dot)com
Our Legal Guru/Lawyer: Linsey Krolik
Our OH-SO-FABULOUS Graphic Designer (banner and buttons): Kris Loew
Our URL: http://www.chicagomomsblog.com
Come and meet the Chicago Moms Bloggers:
Alma
is a Foreign Service brat with a globe trotting childhood who moved to
Chicago at 18 to attend the U of C and never left. She married her
college sweetheart and the two lived in Hyde Park, Lincoln Park and
Lakeview before finding the perfect neighborhood in Oak Park and
starting a family. The two share their 100-year-old house with their
two girls, 3-year-old Z and Baby A, born in July.
Alma works for love and money as an associate creative director, dreaming up new and innovative ways for packaged goods companies to connect with consumers through experiential, retail and online marketing. Occasional pangs of mommy-guilt are assuaged by husband Josh, who’s able to squeeze grocery shopping, cooking, laundry and two days of childcare into his freelance writing schedule.
When she’s not working, blogging, sleeping, or wiping someone’s face
or butt, you can probably find Alma cooking up a storm, bargain
hunting, organizing a playgroup outing or looking up contractors on
Angie’s List. If the day had more hours, she’d finish some
long-neglected knitting projects and finally learn to blow dry her hair
straight. Alma writes about parenting, products, marketing and whatever
else strikes her fancy at Marketing Mommy.
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Amy M. grew up in a small town nestled comfortably in the Allegheny Mountains. Although she misses the slow pace of her hometown at times, she has always dreamed of moving to the big city to surround herself with the hustle and bustle, not to mention the fabulous food and endless aisles of shoes and purses. She met her music blogging, punk rocking husband when she was just 19 years old and made the 600 mile relocation to the Chicago area.
Fast forward three apartments, a marriage and one mortgage later and they now have a spastic, blabbering toddler and every day proves to be a new and amazing adventure. Amy takes zillions of digital pictures and tries to capture those "moments" that fade away so quickly in her memory. That being said, she has never enjoyed life more than right now, at this moment. Her journey is only just beginning...
Amy reviews unique kids and parenting products at MumsTheWurd!..
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Amy Steier
was born and raised in Chicago and is a full-time working mother of two
toddlers (a boy and a girl) who are fourteen months apart in age. She
wears many hats: Mother, wife, sister, daughter, teacher, perpetual
worrier, etc. Her biggest outlet is writing, which is evident in her
blog, Comments from the Peanut Gallery.
She has successfully found a balance between work and Motherhood. The
sound of her children's voices is music to her ears and Motherhood has
changed her for the better. She can't remember what life was like
before she had children. Life is a journey and she's enjoying every
step of it.
xxxx
A Midwest transplant from Los Angeles, Arianne is a
former Paralegal turned freelance writer and mom of three boys. She loves to
challenge people to think and to educate themselves, all the while throwing in a
little snark for good fun. An advocate for natural health and green living, she
fully embraces the “eco-mom” title. Her two oldest boys have autism, and their
view on life challenges and inspires her every day. With the baby on her hip
and the older boys in tow, she is on a mission to change the world...or at least
a few dirty diapers. xxx
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Carrie
is a word-nerd mommy, a former full-time newspaper reporter, a lapsed
world traveler and a recent returnee to the Midwest. She grew up in a
dead Wisconsin auto town, came of age in Madison, Wisconsin, and Paris,
began her career in Beijing, and started her family in San Francisco.
These days you'll find her in Oak Park, just outside Chicago, toting
around baby Pebbles, trying to reason with preschooler Nutmeg, helping
husband Epu fix up their recently purchased Oak Park home, and trying
to get her bearings as a semi-suburban stay-at-home mother.
Carrie
may forget the kids' doctor appointments but always finds time to
marvel at their latest linguistic developments. She's shoehorning in a
little freelance writing and blogging, and longs for the day when she
can get back to writing that future Oprah Book Club novel and maybe
even a few poems, which her husband says are her forte. Perhaps this
day will come when Carrie's blog, My Funny, Funny Family,
becomes lucrative enough to pay for a cleaning lady who comes every
ding-dang day. Dare to dream, that's what Carrie says. Carrie also
writes about personal finance for Wise Bread.
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Catherine McNiel
was born in Chicago, but spent her childhood enjoying the open air in
rural Wisconsin and Minnesota. She moved back to ChicagoLand in 1995
and has been here ever since (except for a year or so when she was
living in India and Switzerland). Her loves including reading,
writing, books, blogs, deep thoughts, music, nature, culture, people,
traveling, reading books (did I say that one already?), her wonderful
California-born husband, and her very adorable son. Before she took a
full time job of bouncing, feeding, burping, changing, and chasing her
baby, she worked as an International HR Manager for a local
organization. Now, she manages to keep herself busy working part time,
as well as teaching as an adjunct professor at a local University.
Because she tends to ponder everything, she enjoys processing her
thoughts and experiences at her personal blog: everyday life as lyric poetry.
Caitlin has a great gig . .
. and she knows it. Formerly well-tailored, manicured, and regularly
shampooed, she traded Cook County courtrooms for the Chicago park scene
with her two constant companions: four-year-old Eleanor and two-year-old
Brendan. Their collective interests include riding the carousel
at the Lincoln Park Zoo, cruising the Wicker Park neighborhood in their
massive double stroller, and pretending the bathtub is a spaceship.
She also has a handsome husband who makes an amazing halibut with buerre
blanc. Lucky girl. When she can get her kids napping at
the same time, Caitlin masquerades as a freelance writer. Find
her at A Hen and Two Chicks, Parenting Squad and Chicago Parent.
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Cindy Fey lives in Wilmette with her TV ad-cutting husband and her two curly-haired pre-school age daughters. She has degrees from universities in three states starting in "I" which helps tremendously when the kids are hungry and the pasta water won't boil any damn faster. Cindy taught speech, TV, film and English for eight years at a Chicago all-boys high school, but nowadays her daughters are her teachers and she's the student. (B average with a few A+ days here and there.) You can read her tales of mothering and movies, grief and grace, books and blunders at her blog, We All Fall Down.
Cheryl O'Donovan met her husband at a tire shop, had her kids in her late 30's and wonders if the chiropractor will accept beads and trinkets as payment. Cheryl forged a 22-year career in corporate communications and advertising before being offered a lucrative contract making paper airplanes. Her exuberant boys steal brooms to make light sabers. (They're Dooku, Mom's koo-koo). Her IT consulting husband graduated summa cum laude from Grouch Tech. And the dog flunked obedience school three times. Find her humor column, "Van Mom Strikes Again," every Thursday in Pioneer Press papers in Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates and Elk Grove Village, and occasionally in Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, and Palatine.
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Danielle Altshuler Wiley is a food-loving mom who
lives in the Roscoe Village neighborhood of Chicago with her two children, her
high-maintenance husband, and two dogs. When not blogging at Foodmomiac, she works for a
large PR firm as Vice President, Social Media/Food & Nutrition. Danielle
grew up on the south shore of Long Island, but lost the accent years ago (though
she sometimes slips when she is excitedly discussing cawfee or chawcolate). She
loves living in Chicago for many reasons, but the killer food scene is certainly
a huge part of it. Danielle's favorite Chicago restaurants are Hopleaf and
Shaw's Crab House, and her favorite Chicago food activity is shopping at the
Green City Market.
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Elizabeth
moved from New England to Chicago with her family as a teenager. After
a year, her family gave up, packed up, and headed back East. Elizabeth
waved from the sidewalk as they drove away; "Have fun storming the
castle!" She'd found home and wasn't budging.
After college,
Elizabeth climbed the corporate ladder in the IT industry for over a
decade. Then in 2006, she made the decision to change course and left
her senior management position at global giant CSC to become a
stay-at-home parent. Life after the full-time nanny, the housecleaner,
and the noted private school is... an adventure. She lives in a stucco
bungalow on the west side of Chicago with her handsome Icelandic
husband, brilliant son, aged cat, neurotic puppy, hungry turtle, and
frightened (and diminishing) fish.
Most of her days are spent
crunchy granola homeschooling and child wrangling. In her downtime she
writes freelance; gives tours to visiting friends and family ("There's
a statue of Grant in Lincoln Park, and one of Lincoln in Grant...");
rummages through the produce at the farmer's markets; swims endless
laps; and never tires of discovering of her adopted hometown. She can
also be found at http://corporatemommy.mu.nu/
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Farrah Brown is a military kid that actually considers Florida to be home. She came to Chicago to attend Wheaton College in 1995 and, as fate would have it, met and married a Chicago guy. Besides a brief stint on the east coast (Baltimore) for nursing school at Johns Hopkins University, she has been here ever since. And although she misses the beach and sweet tea, Chicago is starting to grow on her too.
Farrah works part time as a cardiac interventional nurse at a local suburban hospital to keep her nursing skills current and give her at least one day a week with adult conversation. She also started her own small work-at-home business about a year ago making and selling ring-sling baby carriers. But the job she truly cherishes is the one of mommy to her rambunctious two year old son and three year old Beagle puppy. Life certainly keeps her on her toes!
Besides her husband and son and puppy, her other passions include babywearing, attachment parenting, the beach, and most recently Bravo TV.
When not sewing, napping or catching up on Project Runway, Farrah spends her "spare time" writing about the joys and pains of motherhood and babywearing at BabyLove Slings.
Gillian Marchenko has given birth three
times in three cities, the most interesting of them being Kiev, Ukraine.
Currently, she lives on the North Side of Chicago with Sergei, her husband of
ten years and their daughters, all of whom share the patronym Sergeyevna.
Gillian speaks Russian and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications with
an emphasis on creative writing. She hates to cook, loves to read and spends
six hours a week in therapy. Unfortunately, the therapy is not for her but for
her two year old daughter who has Down syndrome.
Most Sundays you’ll find Gillian in the back row of the church her husband pastors, bouncing a toddler on her knee and giving her older girls the look. It’s been said that wives of clergy live in fish bowls. Gillian is the first to tell you that her bowl is cracked and most of the water has seeped out. In an effort to breathe, she blogs about parenting, Down syndrome, being the pastor’s wife and somehow, in the midst of it all, being herself at Pocket Lint.
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Jen Khatchatrian is The EcoChic Urban Organizer. After switching her goals from pleasing an over-demanding Board of Directors to pleasing her two gracious sons (Jack-4 and Chaz-2) with art time, she started her own business. Function & Space allows Jen to do what she calls "closet therapy" (removing items that no longer have a function in her client's space and recycling them via ebay or donation). When she is not enjoying the latest museum exhibit or Chicago event with the boys, you can find Jen attending programs at the Chicago Center for Green Technology, shopping for the latest allergen-free products at Whole Foods, sifting through fashion magazines at the Lincoln Park Library or watching Project Runway on Tivo!.
Jessica Ashley
is a writer, artist, feminist, reality TV junkie and shoe whore who
often wears fabulous but inappropriate heels to playgroup. In former
lives, Jessica was a professional fundraiser, documentary maker,
adjunct professor and restaurant hostess with an attitude. She goes by
Grrrlfriend Jess on her blog Sassafrass, is a feature writer of FitBeauty and contributor to That’s Fit, provides opinionated commentary on Strollerderby and creates customized paintings for kids’ rooms and spirituality workshops for mamas.
Jessica is a native northside Chicagoan. She met her hilarious husband
during a four-year graduate school stint in Oregon. Their relationship
miraculously survived driving all their possessions and a 1980 green
Volvo station wagon cross-country to live in the city and they are now
parents to a honey of a boy they call Lil E.
Irene
is the mother of 2 toddler boys who are 16 months apart and she works
outside the home as a software consultant. Her husband, a patient and
wonderful man, agreed to put his career on hold and be the stay at home
parent. When she leaves this earth, she wants to be remembered for the
beautiful boys she brought into this world, a wicked sense of humor,
and a raucous and infectious laugh. Her personal blog is Chicago Chick.
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Kim Moldofsky , aka. Hormone-colored Days was born and bred in the Chicago area. She has been a factory worker and a social
worker; a dolphin trainer and a corporate trainer. Then she took the
plunge and became a potty trainer and stay-at-home mom. Her career is
still in the toilet after several years at home. Kim currently works as
a freelance writer contributing to Chicago Parent magazine, corporate
newsletters, and other publications. She also holds several part-time
jobs to keep her boys, ages 7 and 9, in private school after the public
system left them behind.
Kim documents her family’s dining adventures and dishes up all sorts of foodstuff in Scrambled CAKE, her blog about Eating Around Chicago with Kids. She also writes for the BabyCenter.com's Momformation Blog and serves up whatever’s on her mind at Hormone-colored Days . She can be reached at blogger(at)moldofsky(dot)com.
xxxx
Laila L. is firstly, a fast-talking, button-pushing woman trying to make
sense of this world, her place in it, and the consistently challenging
identity crisis of being a mother. By day, she works in the marketing
and creative industry. Born in Saudi Arabia
to an uber-liberal Danish mother, she understands the meaning of irony.
Laila recently moved from Lincoln park to the western suburbs by way of
Copenhagen, London, Boston, Houston, (even Iowa) and Sydney. Her
snarky take on men,life and current events has triggered all kinds of
emotions from readers (and those in person), but at the end of the day
her heart puffs up for her thick-skinned, very tolerant husband and the
beautiful creativity of her two-year old daughter. Having a
child inspires her to be better, love harder, and give more...
everyday. Other trials of modern womanhood, mistakes, muses and monkey
business can be found at her blog: http://lulunotes.blogspot.com. In her "free time", Laila is a professional model who rarely gets gigs, a freelance writer
with an emphasis on "free" and a certified Asthanga yoga instructor.
She strives for balance and stillness to find more time to laugh at
herself. There may not be tons of time, but there are tons to laugh at.
Lydia: "Over ten years ago, in what can only be called an extreme act of
hubris, my former husband and I adopted twin boys from Russia. Since
then I generally feel like I am living in some bizarre reality TV
show--SPEND A DECADE LIVING WITH TWO CRAAAAAZY KIDS!--or that I am a
feature of a hard-hitting documentary exposé on the difficulties of
raising children adopted from Eastern European orphanages--FETAL
ALCOHOL SYNDROME, HYPERACTIVITY, LANGUAGE DELAYS, BEHAVIORAL
IMPAIRMENTS, OBSESSIONS, COMPULSIONS: THIS WOMAN GOT MORE THAN SHE
EXPECTED! After years of being urged by friends to write about the
experience, I started a blog, RAISING ROMULUS AND REMUS, in May 2006."
Marcie is a former secondary education teacher with a Masters Degree in Reading and
Young Adult Literature. But none of that education could have prepared her for
her first son, a “special needs little guy with auditory, visual and sensory
processing disorders, food allergies and intolerances, heavy metal toxicity,
parasites and bacterias.” She’s a Chicago suburbanite at heart, returning to her
hometown of western Chicago with her husband in August of 2006 to raise their
two adopted children. AJ is from Arkhangelsk, Russia and the baby will join the
family soon from Guatemala. She writes at My Two Boys, A Child Chosen, and Discussing Autism.
Mary Anne Mohanraj is the author of several books, including her
novel-in-stories, BODIES IN MOTION (HarperCollins 2005), an exploration
of sexuality, marriage, and Sri Lankan/American immigrant concerns.
Mohanraj has also written THE POET'S JOURNEY (a children's book,
2008), AQUA EROTICA (ed.), A TASTE OF SERENDIB (a Sri Lankan cookbook),
and several others. She is currently writing a travelogue/memoir
(ARBITRARY PASSIONS), a YA fantasy novel (RASATHI), and a mainstream
novel about a woman who was once a Tamil Tiger and is now a suburban
Chicago mom.
Mohanraj has received an Illinois Arts Council Fellowship in Prose, a
Neff Fellowship in English, a Steffenson-Canon Fellowship in the
Humanities, and the Scowcroft Prize for Fiction. She serves as
Executive Director of DesiLit (www.desilit.org), an organization that supports S. Asian and diaspora literature, and also directs the Speculative Literature Foundation (www.speclit.org).
Mohanraj lives in Chicago with her partner Kevin, their daughter Kavya
(born May 2007), and their dog, Ellie, where she teaches fiction and
Asian American literature at Northwestern University. She was born in
Colombo, Sri Lanka. http://www.maryannemohanraj.com
Meagan Francis
moved to Chicago last June from a small rural town in Michigan, and has
finally learned to parallel park. She's been a mother for nearly ten
years and is now the proud ringmaster of her own personal four-boy
circus (five if you count her husband, Jon). She writes for a living,
dispensing advice about pregnancy, birth, and motherhood for magazines
like Parenting, American Baby, Yoga Journal and Natural Health; and
writing about her parental philosophy and foibles in her syndicated
parenting column and blog posts. Meagan's also the author of two books:
The Everything Health Guide to Postpartum Care (Adams Media) and Table
for Eight: Raising a Large Family in a Small-Family World (Alpha
Books). Meagan looks forward to a day when she can indulge her love of
live theater and music more often, but finds that life with four
children is filled with its own kind of drama and noise. Find out more
about Meagan at her professional site.
MJ is a wife 14 years and a mom of 3 rambunctious little kids. She had found the joy of blogging when she first accidentally discovered it in 2001 while raising her firstborn and has since been blogging at I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl. MJ is also (still) mourning the loss of the personal clothing allowance she used to receive while working in the fashion industry prior to having children, but realizes that the neighborhood park has no room for a fab frou-frou apparel anyway.
Currently, MJ aka Sugarmama is currently scattering sugar sprinkles in MomViews.net - a Family Informational Smart Shopping Source – where the deals, steals, and giveaways are definitely sweet.
This mom can also be found spilling more sugar in FilipinaMoms.com – a collaborative cultural blog.
.kls
Sara blogs under the name Self-Made Mom because it's way more interesting than her given name and it matches the title of her personal blog
where she vents about being a working mom trying to stay true to
herself. Sara works for a major public relations firm and when she's
not busy helping companies improve their employee communications, she
can be seen dragging her 1-year-old son to mommy and me classes or to
Michigan Avenue where she is bound to walk away with a pair of shoes.
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Shannon was once a single girl who taught second grade and lived in Southern California with a cat. Now she lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, toddler son, and that very same cat. She works part-time as an editor for math textbooks, which does not make her as much of a math whiz as you might think.Shannon considers writing to be hobby, but she wouldn’t be at all upset if somebody offered to pay her for it. She also enjoys crossword puzzles, newspaper advice columns, and an hour of mindless TV every night. Shannon is a cat person, but hopes her interest in cats falls just shy of making her a crazy cat lady.
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Shawnna Rovinsky is the Graphic Design Goddess, a title coined by her husband to describe her all too "fortunate" lifestyle. Shawnna is a mother of two, a step-mother of three, and a wife of a former chef who cooks every meal. She is also a self-employed graphic designer/web site guru who has the wonderful privilege of working from home. But don't be fooled, Shawnna is hard-working and doesn't take any of it for granted.Shawnna was born and raised in the very rural setting of Southeastern Ohio and now happily resides in the city of Chicago. Always an urbanite at heart, Shawnna and her two young boys love to explore all that Chicago and her neighborhood of Wicker Park have to offer. She feels blessed that Jazper (age 4) and Max (age 2) get to experience city-life in a way she never did. Shawnna hopes to contribute real-life Chicago experiences and give newcomers, like herself, a one-of-kind resource for urban family living in the Midwest. Shawnna blogs regularly about her graphic design adventures and her love for creating tailored designs with a personal artistic flair. See Shawnna's work online at www.rovinsky.com.
Sophia Leto
is a pen name. After loving her life in the city during her twenties
and for a brief moment in her thirties, she and her husband moved to
Skokie. They moved there for the schools, for the affordable housing,
and for the diversity. Sophia has two children and a dog, her "first
born." She has two advanced degrees, but right now she is putting them
to use (some would argue non-use) as a stay-at-home mom. In addition
to parenting, her passions include breastfeeding, organic food,
chocolate, baking and politics (not necessarily in that order). In
addition to Chicago Moms Blog, she has her own blog where she can be
"heard" ranting and raving about anything and everything, especially
her severe PMS called Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder ("PMDD") at www.moodymommy.wordpress.com. She loves comments and you can email her at sophialeto(at)yahoo(dot)com.........................................
Stephanie Precourt is a stay at home mom and freelance writer. She has three small sons and a baby
due fall 2008, and blogs about it daily at Adventures In
Babywearing. Stephanie writes the Real Reviews column for NWIParent Magazine
and the NWIParent blog Close To
Home. You can also find her contributing to the review blog for Mamas by Mamas at Mama Speaks.Before marriage & kids, Stephanie attended Columbia College and Second City in Chicago majoring in theatre and improv. So far she prefers her long-time and current role as Mom. Surprisingly, it has much better hours
Tracey is mother of 3(9 yr, 5 yr and 2 yr), living in the suburbs of Chicago. Having lived here her entire life, one would think that the cities of Oaks, Parks, Forests, and Groves would make sense to her.... One would be mistaken. Thank God for Mapquest!!Knowing that family would be her first "career" the jobs before children were just that: jobs. The ability to quit working when her eldest son was 15 months old was the beginning of a crazy career as a SAHM. 2 kids, 8 years and 2 houses later, she is still in love with her job and family.
Her time is spent carting the kids to and from school, helping with homework, and getting ready for soccer seasons. (though it never seems to truly end...) Cooking and cleaning are not top priority, but hanging out with the family definitely is. She spends the majority of her personal "free" time blogging at JustAnotherMommyBlog.
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Chicago Moms Blog is a member of the Silicon Valley Moms Group. Other blogs in the group include Silicon Valley Moms Blog, New York City Moms Blog , New Jersey Moms Blog and DC Metro Moms Blog.
The management team:
PARTNER - SILICON VALLEY MOMS GROUP & CO-FOUNDER: Jill Asher considers herself a community builder, exemplified by creating collaborative blogs,
growing high-tech and bio-tech companies as a Human Resource Executive,
and even taking the role of "President" for the local parent's club, PAMP.
Her other passion is community outreach and supporting local non
profits. Jill learned never to take "no" for an answer, and has proven
that will a little faith, communication and sheer will, communities can
support one another.
By far, her biggest challenge and greatest joy is motherhood. Jill and her husband are the proud parents of two elementary school aged daughters. Jill admits that she is NOT A PERFECT PARENT and fears her daughter's teenage years. Her girls can be heard running around the house screaming, "Mommy is blogging again!" and she needs to bribe from time to time them with treats. Is she allowed to admit that? On the bright side, Jill really digs living in Silicon Valley and tries her best to blend in, praying that no one will hear her "New Jersey accent". Unless, of course, she is royally upset.
Jill Asher is the Co-Founder of Silicon Valley Moms Blog, Chicago Moms Blog, DC Metro Moms Blog, NYC Moms Blog and New Jersey Moms Blog. More sites to come in the near future! Jill handles PR, Marketing, Business Development and outreach for this collaborative community.
PARTNER - SILICON VALLEY MOMS GROUP &
CHIEF TECHNOLOGY MOM: Beth Blecherman (Beth B at svmoms.) is a techie turned blogger mom who is in charge of blogging technology (and here are 5 things to know about me).
She started her career in application development, then system auditing
and her last role was Senior Manager, Computer Process Integrity, for
Deloitte. After senior management she decided to take on family
management (with husband and three boys, two of which are twins
preschoolers). Other hobbies include compulsive use of Web
2.0 technology, implementing technology process improvements for friends and families, searching for fashionable mom wear, organizing makeovers for moms and
learning more then she ever wanted to about super heroes. Beth's
personal blog is about tips, tricks, and discussions on parents use of
technology for their families (Techmamas.com).
PARTNER - SILICON VALLEY MOMS GROUP & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Tekla S. Nee blogged for five years before there was such a word, writing about her life with three kids in The Mommy Zone for the Palo Alto Daily News. She parlayed that gig into two books, The Mommy Zone: Tales from the Trenches of Parenthood and The Everything Baby's First Year Book.
Neither the books nor the column made real money, so she never gave up
her day job, hiding her supermom cape to masquerade as a mild-mannered
technology journalist working for a major metropolitan magazine.
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