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A Mom's Year

Creating a comfortable life one moment at a time

December 4, 2020

Advent Reflections: Home

One of the nice things about moving to Bainbridge Island is that we’re closer to Lily’s godfather, Arun, and his family, who have a home just across the Puget Sound in Snoqualmie. We met Arun when he and Tim worked together in Minnesota years ago (Lexie was a baby) and we quickly grew to love the entire family, which includes Arun’s wife, Alraune, and her parents, Abhijit and Ranita.

A few months after we moved to Bainbridge, we went out to dinner with the Kothanath/Chowdhury crew. Alraune had taken a job in the Netherlands and she was cheerfully telling us about their new apartment and how different it was from American apartments. Apparently, there weren’t a lot of closets so she had to store her clothes all over the place. She laughed as she described getting a shirt here, pants there, and a scarf in yet another room.

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December 3, 2020

Advent Reflections: Excitement

There’s always that moment when you feel the first frisson of excitement. It might happen when you hear a few strains of a Christmas song in a shop or when you see a car driving down the road with a tree tied on top. It might be when you bring out the first box of decorations from the attic or bake the first batch of Christmas cookies. Whatever it is, you know the excitement will continue to build throughout December with every ornament hung, gift purchased, and carol sung.

I come from a family that gets carried away with Christmas. On both sides. My grandmas’ Christmas preparations would’ve given Mrs. Claus a run for her money. They sewed, baked, knit, shopped, cooked, decorated, and entertained their way merrily through December, supported by husbands, children, friends, and relatives delighted to share in the excitement. No one was at all surprised when I wrote a Christmas book; it probably seemed inevitable after being raised with so much jollity.

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December 2, 2020

Advent Reflections: Peace

At this point in 2020, I think most of us have heard it said that while we’re all in the same storm, we’re not all in the same boat. That’s true even within families. For lots of reasons, some of us are struggling more than others. But a pandemic is a force to be reckoned with and I know I can’t fix everything for my kids. So how can I best support them and help them find peace in a world that’s filled with social distancing, fear, upended plans, and so many unknowns?

We have a magnet on the refrigerator that says, “Peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.” I’ve always liked that description of peace because my life choices have led to a lot of extra noise and hard work. I mean, I have four kids and two big dogs. It’s bonkers around here and there’s no sign it’ll be letting up any time soon. And I’m cool with that. But the “trouble” part is a completely different animal.

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December 1, 2020

Advent Reflections: Wonder

I thought our big move to Bainbridge Island four years ago and the subsequent reworking of our Christmas traditions was challenging. We went from multiple celebrations that teetered at times on the edge of overwhelming (in sheer volume and number) but were unquestionably full of Christmas cheer and goodwill, to quieter rituals that, while more intentional in nature, sometimes felt like ghosts of their former selves. Little did we know what was waiting for us in 2020.

And so we find ourselves having to whittle down the already whittled-down traditions to versions that would be unrecognizable to us in the days of yore. Christmas shopping is mostly online, there are no parties, no visitors, no concerts, and the sing-alongs will be virtual. Gifts sent to far-off friends and family will contain pre-packaged treats instead of homemade.

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September 14, 2020

This Week’s “Menu” + Once Upon a Chef

Twenty-five years of married life, four kids needing to be fed every.single.day, endless hopeful PDF downloads of menu planners, and this is what it comes to: a Post-It stuck to the fridge every week with a few scribbled ideas.* As much as I like the idea of Taco Tuesdays and Crockpot Wednesdays, life inevitably messes up any plans for consistency. (It’s my turn to drive the carpool again?) So what works for me is to have the ingredients for a few dishes on hand and then decide what to have each night based on how the day is going.

The Thai Red Curry Chicken recipe comes from Once Upon a Chef. Jennifer Segal is hands-down my favorite chef. I’ve never come across someone who’s so good at creating food that feels special but is so easy to make. I bought Jennifer’s cookbook after ALL SIX of us liked all FIVE recipes I made from her website. That doesn’t happen often around here. Her pasta dishes are especially fantastic and Lily regularly makes her chocolate banana bread.

How about you? Do you have a menu-planning system you’ve been able to stick with? Or a favorite chef, online or otherwise?

* Laundry, on the other hand, is a well-oiled machine, thanks to FlyLady.

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Welcome

Hello! My name is Shannon Taylor. I'm a long-time writer and editor from Minnesota surprised to find myself on an island in the Pacific Northwest. I'm sharing this adventure with my husband, four kids, and two dogs. I “published” my first newsletter when I was nine, and I’ve loved sharing ideas, stories, and information ever since. I hope you find something here to inspire you and help you create a comfortable, cozy life.
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