In French, “ma belle vie” means “my beautiful life.” Being a mom of two young boys isn’t always beautiful but it is always crazy, loud and fun. In a word… swell.

All of this started in April of 2011 when I was rocking my little boy to sleep in my arms and I had an impulse to write a mothering manifesto for myself. I sent it to ParentMap magazine in Seattle and they published it online. I began to publish more articles on their site and then started this blog as a way to catalog all of those posts and whatever else I could conjure. 

You may notice that I don’t write each day. I write when I feel like I have something worth sharing. Sometimes it’s sad. Sometimes it’s funny. Sometimes it’s an idea or a thought. Whatever it is, I hope it helps you during your busy day. I hope you feel less alone on this parenting journey. Thanks so much for taking the time to visit.

My name is Stephanie Saumur Olson. I live and write in Seattle, I dream of  Paris and I firmly believe that there is nothing in life that a little tater tot hot dish couldn’t fix.