Hello there! I’m Stephanie, a mom of two, a wife, a travel enthusiast, and a journalist. I work full time. I love my kids and my husband more than anything. But I’m still trying to figure out how to balance all of the above.
I was born in England and moved to Michigan in the 1990s, which means a good amount of my family lives overseas. Long plane rides just come with the territory. I love being able to keep in touch with my family and friends who live all across the globe but it becomes even more difficult as our lives continue to get busier and busier.
As a mother though, I want to make sure I don’t lose sight of who I was before I had children. My husband and I love exploring with our kids and {I have no shame in saying this} we also enjoy exploring without our children.
For us, experiences are more important than material things. We may not drive the fanciest cars. We may not have the biggest house. But every year we focus on exploring a new place or trying something new. My husband and I have done everything from glacier walking in Iceland to dog sledding in the Upper Peninsula to sailing around the famous El Arco in Cabo San Lucas.
This is the life we love. Our son hopped on his first transatlantic flight at 18 months. It wasn’t the easiest trip I’ve ever taken, but we did it and I’d do it all over again. Already we are noticing a shared love through our toddler who continues to ask us when we will take his new baby sister on a plane.
Yes, our family recently grew! We now have a 6-month-old girl who is already making sure we know she runs the house now. She’s incredible. We have not taken her on a trip yet, but plan to as soon as we feel ready. We can’t wait to introduce her to my family.
Our love story takes us back to a small northern Michigan town called Alpena. That’s where my husband and I met while we were both working at the town’s CBS affiliate TV station. Due to our jobs, we have moved several times. But we jumped at a great opportunity to come back to Michigan in 2014 when I was offered a job with NBC25 and FOX66. The job has also given me the chance to explore every corner of mid-Michigan.
I will be sharing with you my tips, tricks, and mistakes of traveling with kiddos. On the flip side, I’m hoping to also inspire parents to push aside the guilt and make time for themselves. My husband and I believe traveling without kids is just as important as traveling with them. Traveling could mean a weekend up north. It could mean a night out in the closest city to you. It could mean hopping on a plane and flying halfway around the world. Or it could mean exploring your own backyard. My goal is for parents to not be intimidated by the thought of booking their escape, as a family or as a couple.
If you want even more travel tips outside of what I share with #MidMiMoms, you can also follow my travel blog Blonde Beyond Borders.
Embrace the life you want • Ignore the people who tell you, you can’t
