Sara Strand
Sara is a stay home mom (not a regular mom, a “cool” mom) of two teenagers and two elementary grade kids, who is always stressed out because one has their driver's license, one is a free spirit, one is fearless, and one is always in the clouds. In her “free time”, she is a book reviewer, dance mom, true crime podcast junkie, Dateline/Keith Morrison fan club devotee, and an Amniotic Fluid Embolism survivor. Always honest and sometimes funny, you can also find her at her blog, Stranded in Chaos (www.strandedinchaos.com), where she shares good (and not so good) books, tales from mom life, recovery and life after birth trauma, and livin’ la vida loca after 40ish.
Concerts with Kids: A Bonding Experience
I remember my first concert. It was the Summer Magic Tour for New Kids on the Block. My uncle won tickets off the radio and gave them to my mom to take me. We...
Even People with Chronic Illness and Pain Can Have Fun
When I had my last baby, died, and was revived, it stands to reason that I was in really rough shape. I can’t really remember a lot from that time but when I look...
It’s Okay to Cry: Navigating Strong Emotions with Kids
Last June we lost my grandma to bile duct cancer. She had been sick for over two years and she fought as much as she could but we all knew that it was time....
Parenting the Left Out Child
One of the worst left out feelings I can remember from my school days was walking into the lunch room. The lunch room is awful if you don’t have assigned seats and you have...
It’s Time to Slow Down and Stop Glorifying Busy
It was only a few years ago that I was a self-described busy Super Mom. When my kids first entered school I was determined to do it all. I was going to work full...
Teacher Gift Made From Recyclables!
I am just going to through it out there that I’m that mom who brings a gift for the teacher on the first day. And Christmas, Teacher Appreciation, and the last day of school,...
Choosing Compassion Even When It’s Hard
For the last three summers in particular I have made a conscious effort to not watch the news. Every summer we hear of a few deaths involving children left in cars when temperatures soar...
The Best Family Vacation We’ve Ever Had
Our family is really into road trips and we have a goal of seeing all 50 states. We also don’t have a lot of money to put towards a family vacation so we’ve had...
Tween: A New Season of Parenting
I am in a weird season of life in which I’m dealing with two kids who are in their tween/early teen years and two who are in the preschool stage. It definitely wasn’t the...
Working Vs Stay at Home Mom: We’re All Great!
I remember when I was pregnant with my first child. I knew instinctively that I did not want to be a stay-at-home-mom. I don’t know if it was the beginnings of my postpartum depression...