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"Mama, where papa's gina go?"

- Margot (2)

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Mamalode Mama Digs

The Diaper Bag

By Nici Holt Cline

I enjoy knowing where stuff is. I don’t think I am an exceptionally organized person but compared to the man I married, I am an overly caffeinated Martha Stewart in your kitchen pantry.

There are reasons people have sock drawers and toothbrush holders. I prefer to wear matching socks that reside in one location and to easily locate my toothbrush. My husband doesn’t use drawers and the toothbrush lives where the toothbrush falls. These small organizational differences have been the subject of many chats over the years. And, after several failed compromises, he uses the guest room as a closet and I find his toothbrush and put it back in the bathroom cabinet every morning.
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Posted in Mama Digs, Stories on Monday, March 8th, 2010 | 6 Comments »

Mama Digs: goose pig

Last week I took my first road trip with my two year-old and three month-old sans an adult companion. It was damn hard to get it all together and in bags and in the car and on the road. But then. Then it was just fantastic.

The three of us headed west over a few mountain passes and through a curvy canyon to the open, lakeside city of Coeur D’Alene, Idaho. We went to meet up with my sister-in-law and seven month-old niece who made the trek from Portland, Oregon. This was the most affordable way we could see each other and that was all we wanted: to lock eyeballs, share stories and hug on each other’s kids. We only had 48 hours.

Mama Digs, Mamalode, Missoula, MT

We’ve known each other and been close friends for more than a decade. It’s just a bonus that she’s also family. I am so fortunate to have her in my life and now she, with the help of her husband, created this perfectly lovable Aida Louise.
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Posted in Mama Digs, Stories on Monday, March 1st, 2010 | 2 Comments »

Mama Digs: Ain’t Nothin’ Gonna Break My Stride

Nici Holt Cline

I have been running with my two kids. Oofta it is hard but I enjoy this challenge that looks a lot like my overarching challenge as a mama of two: it’s all about a sliver of time, an alignment of stars and getting on it, putting one foot in front of another, before it passes. Sometimes the opportunity isn’t convenient but when the opportunity is there, it is only right then.

Mamalode Missoula, Nici Holt Cline, Mama Digs

Get on it. And then soak up the subsequent empowerment that it, whatever it is, can be done.

Going for a run is not organic and whimsical like it used to be. It requires the skilled precision, practice and focus of, say, a sniper or an Olympic athlete.

I have a 9-11:30am window, after breakfast, during Ruby’s nap but before Margot’s nap. It can’t be too close to my toddler’s naptime because if she falls asleep, she won’t stay asleep. It can’t be too early because it’s cold, Ruby’s not tired and I haven’t had enough coffee.
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Posted in Mama Digs, Stories on Monday, February 22nd, 2010 | 10 Comments »

Mama digs: Good Stuff

By Nici Holt Cline

When my husband and I decided to have kids, I was nervous about all the STUFF that seemed to unavoidably come with them. I feared a yard peppered with plastic toys and a living room where exersaucers replaced end tables. I dreaded a diaper bag that necessitated I do the hokey pokey to fit through a doorway.

It’s because I like space between objects in my home and it’s because I didn’t want to quadruple my annual consumption of fossil fuels. It’s also because I didn’t think we needed all that snaz. I am by no means a minimalist but I do like to live simply. I thought to myself and eventually said out loud that my kids would be perfectly happy with yogurt lids, wooden spoons and hand-me-downs.

I never imagined I’d make a special trip to Target to get my two year-old a brand new, shiny pink laptop that talks. But that is exactly what happened last week. And I was so excited to do it.

Mamalode Missoula, Nici Holt Cline, Mama Digs

A shift occurred in me as my kid grew into herself and decided what she liked all on her own. I wanted, with all of my heart, to give her dinosaur bath toys. I stayed up too late to sew her a plush duck. And when I happened upon an Elmo doll at Goodwill I was giddy like I had discovered a hundred dollar bill in my pocket.
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Posted in Mama Digs, Stories on Monday, February 15th, 2010 | 7 Comments »

Mama Digs: 32

By Nici Holt Cline

Today I have been on this planet for 32 years. More than a new year, my birth day pushes me to look at the last year’s accomplishments and struggles, to set resolutions. This last year has been the biggest, fullest, hardest and most satisfying year of my life.

I didn’t know it but I was actually pregnant on my birthday last year. My due date was bumped up an entire month when I was 20 weeks, er, 24 weeks along. It threw us a bit to get pregnant so quickly, as in it only takes once.

Watching my belly grow so fast, an inescapable reminder of imminent big change, pushed our family to make some major decisions. We decided I’d leave my job of seven years. We decided Andy would have $10,000 in mouth surgeries in an effort to finally fix the damage from an eighth grade bike wreck. I dug a bit deeper into writing and making. Andy is in his final year of his four-year electrical apprentice program, working full-time, studying, taking tests. I threw my entirety into my work at the museum, giving it my best self, wanting to leave a legacy I could be proud of.

Andy had his first major solo art exhibit. I grew a human.
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Posted in Mama Digs, Stories on Monday, February 8th, 2010 | 6 Comments »

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