Meet Our New Contributors! {Part 2}

Today we introduce you to the second half of our new writers!  Yes, you read that right: second HALF.  After nearly a third of our team moved away in the last six months (so sad!), we are thrilled to have ELEVEN new faces on our contributor team.  Their posts will start on the blog this month, and we’d love for you to get to know them first!

::Amber::

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Amber has called Iowa home all her life.  She and her husband Jeremy live on an acreage just south of Traer where they raise their 6 blue eyed, blonde haired babes.  Amber is a stay at home mama to 3 girls ages 12, 9, & 4 and 3 boys ages 2,1, & 7 months.  Amber earned an AAS in Early Childhood Education at Hawkeye Community College.  She also spent 9 years in the Iowa Army National Guard.  Amber is  always busy attending Redhawk sporting events, 4-H meetings, teaching RE classes at St. Paul, reading stories, playing house, cooking, feeding various animals, & running around after her kids.  In her spare time (ha!) she likes to can produce out of the huge garden her husband plants every year, read a book to the end, watch a good movie (that she normally falls asleep in the middle of) and spend time with Jeremy, which is normally at Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling Meets!  Go Hawks!

::Emily::

IMG_2997Howdy, I’m Emily Elaine Britt.  I love my whole name and I like to see it in lowercase letters.  My favorite color is green.  I am a 34 year old stay at home momma.  I have been married to a sweet bearded man for 12 years, this month!  I have followed so many different paths in my life and the one I am on right now is the most fulfilling.  It’s crazy, difficult and hasn’t been anything like I thought it would be.  I have learned that the mystery in the unknown is kind of my favorite, even though it can feel so nerve racking.  I love our story.

We have been gifted with three adorable blondes, they are fierce and they teach me so much about the woman I want to be.  Our oldest, Zoe will be 11 this month, our middle, Bailey will be 7 in October and our youngest, Jovie is 2.5, pre-threenager, YIKES!  There are definitely days that I feel like I am being tossed in three different directions at a time, motherhood has stretched me for sure, but I have a love in my heart that I wouldn’t trade for the world.  I am c-section mom. I am an attempted VBAC mom. I am a Texas native, transplanted to Iowa mom. I am a far away from family mom.  I am a mother of three girls.  I am a mom with MS, a dysfunctional thyroid, anxiety and depression, along with extreme idealism and big dreams, I find that writing, reading, talking, being in small groups or sitting in the middle of the woods helps me.
I attempted college, in fact in three years I went to four different colleges and I still don’t have a degree or a clear idea of what what I want to be.  The past five years have been a time of self-discovery, breaking down and rebuilding.
I am so excited to be a part of the ICMB team, I am looking forward to sharing my stories and getting to know about other moms around town.

::Mandy::

IMG_2775Mandy is a first-time mother who is anxiously awaiting her Rainbow Baby. A North Liberty native, Mandy has spent almost her entire life in the Corridor. She took a brief hiatus and moved to Chicago, where she met her fun-loving husband, Tom. By day, Mandy is a Marketing Maven for a large corporation who helps employees at her company understand and embrace “buzzwords” like innovation, customer centricity, and being digital. Mandy loves to be with friends & family, play sports & euchre, volunteer with her church and spend time with her “little sister” through Big Brothers Big Sisters. 2 things that will always win Mandy over? Cupcakes & corny jokes.

::Mary::

IMG_2911Mary, a native of Rockford, Illinois, attended DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois where she received her BA in Secondary Art Education. In 2007, she moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa after accepting a position as a high school visual arts teacher with the Cedar Rapids Community School District. She and her husband, Collin, who is a teacher in the Iowa City Community School District, reside in Cedar Rapids with their daughters, Zoey and Munroe. Zoey is five and Munroe will be turning one in October 2016. In addition to being a full time mommy, full time teacher, and writer for the mom’s blog, she is also a professional artist who has shown and published works both nationally and internationally. Mary enjoys traveling, painting, and most of all, spending time with her family.

 

::Megan::

profile for blogHello!  I am Megan, an Iowa Native currently residing in Iowa City with my husband and son.   I grew up in West Branch and graduated from Wartburg College with a degree in Social Work.  I love to spend time with my incredible family and friends, watch YouTube vlogs, research minimalism and personal finance, traveling and am a beginner runner. I am thrilled to share my point of views on life and motherhood as a new contributor.

::Nicole::

nicoleNicole is full-time Mother-Baby Nurse at UIHC and full-time mommy to her 2 year old son, Griffin.  She grew up in Iowa and graduated from the University of Iowa where she met her (now) husband of 6 years.  They lived in Chicago for almost 4 years before moving back to Iowa City to start a family.  After struggling with infertility and undergoing In Vitro Fertilization and Embryo Transfers, they worked hard for the title of Mom and Dad.  Feeling complete as a family of three, they are donating their last remaining embryo to another couple, which has been an interesting and complex process.  Nicole’s next conquest is to get her Lactation Certification and do some in-home consultation on the side.   Her other passions are hiking, reading non-fiction science (or parenting) books, Sudoku, being mamarazzi/managing Griffin’s modelling hobby, visiting museums,  and listening to podcasts.  She describes herself as resilient, passionately curious, coffee-obsessed, science nerd. 

Sara
Sara and her husband Matt (sweethearts since they were just 16) got married in 2007, and since then have welcomed four beautiful children (Sam in 2008, Cooper in 2010, Nora in 2012, and Adam James in December 2015). A born-and-raised Iowan, Sara received both her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees (in Spanish Literature) from the University of Iowa. She's still teaching Spanish wherever and whenever she can, but her true passion is owning Iowa City Moms and building this community alongside her amazing team. Sara is also the Community Engagement Coordinator for City Mom Collective, and the owner of Cowork Collective downtown Iowa City. Common denominator in all of these jobs: community, community, community.

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