KellyVollmer
Kelly first moved to New Orleans to attend Tulane University, from which she earned a B.S. in Psychology and English and an M.A. in English. She quickly discovered New Orleans was the place where she had always belonged and her high school sweetheart, Jeff, soon followed her here. They have now been married for 12 year and have two beautiful girls, Emma Jane (7) and Hannah (3). Kelly is a lover of all things nerdy and a proud fangirl. Though she loves to stay busy and involved, she recently left her job as a high school English teacher and sponsor to focus on her family and health. She is now teaching composition part time for a local university, working to revive her love of reading and writing, and focusing on being a more present mom.
On That Memorable Day
A girl’s sweet sixteen is supposed to be amazing. Sixteen is the age of the driver’s license and, with it, a sense of independence and the feeling of being one step closer to adulthood.
Like...
This Ain’t No Hurrication
I want to preface this post by saying that I know I am writing from a place of privilege. We had little damage, we have savings for events such as these, and we are...
On Trend, Off the Mark
After I graduated from college (thanks to the recession), I spent a couple of years working at my favorite retail store. While the job wasn’t great for my career advancement or my finances (it’s...
This Is Why We Can’t DO Nice Things
Taylor Swift has a song that goes, “This is why we can't have nice things, dar-ling/ Because you break them, I had to take them awaaaaaay/ This is why we can't have nice things,...
What Are Your Hobbies?
What are your hobbies?
It’s a question that is often asked on job applications and in social conversations, and lately, it seems to be a question that is tied to “self-care.” Usually, my answer is...
Merry Moosemas in June: Donating My Childhood Collection
When I was just 11 months old, my father attended a college reunion in upstate New York and brought me back a stuffed animal moose. The moose quickly became my constant companion, and like...
Admiring the Differences
Once, while talking to a neighbor about my kids, I mentioned that my oldest looks like my carbon copy but has her dad’s personality, while my youngest looks like her daddy but clearly inherited...
I Survived :: A Teacher’s Thank You to Those Who Got Her Through a...
Let’s all be completely honest: This school year SUCKED.
For all of the positive spins we can place on it, for all of the lessons we can learn from it, it was, in reality, a...
Pavlov’s Children: Training My Kids with a New Dog
I adopted my first fur baby almost 4 years before I brought home a human baby. She had her issues, but she was an incredibly sweet and gentle dog, so though I was extremely...
Cold Waters: Why I Can’t Jump Into Social Interaction
When I was in Elementary School, our entire class went to sleepaway camp as part of the 5th grade curriculum. I have several distinct memories from that experience, but one, in particular, stands out:
The...
Finally Comfortable in My Own Skin – Literally
This is not a feel-good post about how I finally learned to accept my love handles or my stretch marks. This is literally a post about my skin, and how, through trial and error,...
Enough with the Slime!
It was a typical Wednesday evening. My oldest was playing Adventure Academy on her iPad, my husband was on his way home from work, and I was about to make dinner. My 3-year asked...
Dear Fellow Moms :: How Do You Do It?
Dear Fellow Moms,
How do you do it?
I see you posting pictures of fun family activities, annual vacations to Disney, girls’ nights, and sweaty selfies after an independent workout, and I wonder how you do...
Only in NOLA :: Finding a Way to Keep the Magic Alive
“Will we go to the parades in Memphis instead?” my 7-year-old asked me last year when I told her that, for the first time in years, we would not be in town for the...