Brenda Steffen
I spent my twenties and a good chunk of my thirties living and working in various countries. I met and married a South African sailor and I was quite content to keep traveling without kids. We landed in Chattanooga in 2013 and our son arrived over the summer of 2014. We haven’t really slept since. Sometimes jet-lag gets the blame. Or Daylight Savings, or even a good book. Usually though, it’s the Peanut.
You can often find me charged up on caffeine, chasing after my son at Coolidge Park, the zoo or the library. You can also find me online on my blog.
My Life as a Soccer Mom
About a year after I got married, someone asked me if I learned to cook soon after the wedding. I nearly spat out my drink. I got married a little later in life and...
Economy Class 101: First Class Revelations
I have a love hate relationship with Facebook. Reading other people’s minutiae can cause a bit of turbulence in our own lives. Recently, I felt the need to cool my own jets after reading...
Mama Must Haves: Travel Edition
Recently, my travels took me to the following places: CHA-ORD-FRA-JNB-FRA-ORD-CHA-ATL-LAX-ORD-CHA. If you can decode that, then you too may be a frequent flier. Basically, I’ve done a lot of traveling recently — most of...
Post Office Survival Guide
While I may get excited about FedEx, UPS and even DHL making a delivery to my house, nothing warms my heart more than the USPS mail truck driving by and delivering packages and envelopes...
Just Show Up: Ways to Show You Care During Times of Change
So much of the newborn days with the Peanut are a giant blur, but I distinctly remember standing at the kitchen counter, devouring the contents inside a cardboard takeaway box that someone delivered to...
Mama Must-Haves: Handbag Edition
I don’t know when my handbag addiction reached its peak, but I do know the exact moment it began. Several decades ago, I had a crisp $20 bill in whatever bag I carted around...
Motherhood 101: Advice from an Old Amateur
I only have one child, but I’m still a professional mom. I mean, really, anyone who calls themselves an actual mom should automatically be classed as a pro, right? However, the interwebs tell me...
69 Uses for a Sippy Cup
I loathe all things plastic, and yet after having a kid, my house is full of the stuff. Ironically, my child’s favorite toys lately are made out of recyclable plastic. Never mind the toys,...
Hotel Can’t Afford Ya
My parents never took me on vacation. Well, not in the summer anyway. And certainly nowhere exotic, fancy or far away. Hotels, beach houses, chalets, cabins in the woods? Those were all for rich...
When Twins Vanish: My Miscarriage Memory
I never thought I would have a miscarriage. Then again, I never thought I would have a child, either.
I knew from a young age that my mom had miscarried once, before she’d had my...