Howdy. I’m Martha, the mother of five behind LoudounCrazyMom.com. In my past life, post-college but pre-kids, I was a writer and illustrator, a photographer, and a transplanted southern girl on a New York City mission to be somebody. Well, I am somebody, but not necessarily the somebody I had mapped out my 20-something life to be. Today, I’m a 40-something, often-overwhelmed mother of a busy brood of absolutely amazing kids–aren’t all of our kids amazing? I’m married to the same man who I met at a college frat party (he brought me a beer while I danced the night away). Twenty-one years later, we’ve dealt with some heavy stuff: from having a child diagnosed with cystic fibrosis to living through the trials of epic commuting and job loss.

I’m a small town girl who grew up in historic but relatively sleepy Yorktown, Virginia–worlds away from NYC, where I came alive, or Northern Virginia, where I’ve made my home for the past 11 years. At this moment in my history, I’m searching for an expanded role beyond the laundry, dust bunny duels, and my absolutely wonderful job as a kindergarten assistant. So I’m returning to my roots, at the keyboard. It’s where I found the passion to put this naive young woman on a plane to New York City and land a copywriting job at the most-profitable, most-read magazine in the business. Writing and managing a multitude of promotional projects left a permanent smile on my heart. My heart wants to grin again, not just bear it. So from this moment forward, on this very blog, I’m going to write about everything that touches me…like the to-die-for, 48-hour sales that are making me a slave to online shopping or the slightly muddy, utterly addictive art of geocaching, which has opened my eyes to even more of Loudoun County’s countryside gems.

With my five children now aged eight to nearly 18, I’m ready to be me again, dig little ol’ Martha out of the cold storage, and get myself writing stuff again. Good stuff. Silly stuff. Important stuff. Stuff that in the big picture probably won’t be life-altering, but just might put a smile in your heart. Maybe, you’ll see yourself in my experiences, and be comforted to know we’re all on this giant journey together. Maybe you’ll be encouraged to challenge yourself, color outside of the lines, or add something that you found here to your Loudoun County must-see or must-do list. And that, my friend, is all I can hope for in my loud and crazy mom’s world: To be a mom with something to say–with a few folks who don’t mind listening to me ramble a little. Come on in and see yourself, see the local treasures abounding around you, see why words make this woman grin from the inside out.

God bless you for stopping in to check on me.