Feature Yourself Friday: Meet MaryAnne

 

 

Hi! I’m MaryAnne, the mama behind the mama smiles =). I live in Massachusetts with my awesome hubby Mike and three fantastic kids: Emma (5), Johnny, (3), and Lily (1). Most of all, my blog is about the joys of parenting these three little ones:

 

We love to play outside, make crafts, try out science experiments, and read great books. I focus on activities for kids that don’t require expensive materials, and that can be completed with minimal preparation and clean-up. Besides day-to-day activities, my blog has several free downloads, including felt food patterns, felt board dress-up templates, and a pattern for a little stuffed monster you can make out of muslin (or a similar fabric), decorate with washable markers, wash, and decorate again (and again, and again!)

I run a “Learning Laboratory” linky every Monday showcasing something we learned because we wanted to (as opposed to “had to”). I love seeing posts from other blogs in this linky, and any post (new or old) is fine to link up!

 

This series was inspired by my mother, who always said she designed her home to be a learning laboratory. I think she did a fantastic job – all ten of her children have grown into happy individuals, who excel in a diverse range of fields! I also run a “Monthly Goals” linky to help keep myself accountable for goals I set each month! I’ve picked health, peace, education, gratitude, and generosity as over-arching themes I’m trying to meet in bits and pieces each month of 2011.
 

My life is as eclectic as my blog. I live in Massachusetts, near Boston, but I was born in Utah and spent the first not-quite-seven years of my life on a corn farm. Then my father changed careers – a change that had been put on hold for five years while I was being treated for pediatric cancer. I spent the next 11 years in Guatemala, France, Bolivia, and Austria before returning to the US to attend college in California. That’s where I met Mike, and also where I taught high school French and Spanish before returning to school for a PhD in Medicine. Oh, and my first love was music – I love to sing, and I play violin, piano, organ, and guitar (with widely varying competency!) I do currently use my music background once a week, conducting a children’s choir.

 

Being a parent is the best “job” I’ve ever had! I love teaching my kids – and learning things from them. And I’ve found all sorts of new ways to learn (and play) with my kids through the genius of talented bloggers – so if you have a blog you think I’d enjoy, please let me know and I’ll come visit! I’d love for you to visit my blog as well, and you can also find me on facebook and twitter. Drop by for a visit anytime!

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