Blog Swap with a Las Vegas Mama
Today I’m swapping blogs with the lovely Emily from Family & Life in Las Vegas. Yep, that’s right! This baby wearing, lovely lady is raising her family in Las Vegas.
I grilled Em on her life, and as well as being very gracious about my inappropriate culture questions she’s given us a great glimpse into family life in Las Vegas.
Here’s how our little interview went down….
Tell us a bit about your family.
I am a 29 year old, East-coast born (Connecticut), Midwestern (Chicago, Illinois) raised girl living in the Wild West… okay maybe not so wild, but Vegas is way different than Chicago.
In addition to being a wife and mother (which I absolutely adore!), I love cake, reading, being in the water, shopping, and I have a horrible addiction to diet coke. (More recently thanks to Nutrisystem, I have cut back on the cake, and quit diet coke 3 days ago!)
My hubs and I have been together for about 7 years now, and married in 2008. I couldn’t love him more (save the time
he left the toilet seat up, and a pregnant me fell in…) He makes me laugh at myself when I want to cry and puts up with all my crap but still calls me out on it too.
Together we have a toddler I call Squish on my blog. He is sweet, cute, and charming, and he knows it! I am a SAHM, and try to fill our days with family friendly activities all while beating the Vegas heat.
The Hubs is frequently deployed overseas for several months at a time for his job. So about 1/3-1/2 the year I am a single mom (and have mad respect for those who are full time single moms!).
Where do you live?
I live in Las Vegas, Nevada. But contrary to popular belief, not in a hotel! (I can’t tell you how many times people have asked me that.) There is so much more to Las Vegas than “The Strip”. In fact, I once heard that Las Vegas has more parks than any other major urban city in the US.
What’s it like to live in Las Vegas as a young family? Is it really like in the movies? (I have to ask that!)
I wish it was like the movie, where money flowed like water, and no one had a care in the world. No, it isn’t like the movies. But it is a 24/7 town. The grocery stores and many other places are open all night long. That way the people who work on “The Strip” can shop when they are able.
The weather is extremely hot in the summer. Like sticking your head in an oven. And gets pretty cool in the winter. (But nothing like the freezing winters I grew up with.) I would say Las Vegas is sunny 90% of the time.
The one downside to Las Vegas right now, is the housing market crashed big time here. Friends of ours who bought their home right before the market crashed, have lost nearly $200,000 in home value. We just bought our home in late 2009. So we took advantage of the low market. But there are many many foreclosed homes around all of Las Vegas. It is really sad to see someone lose their home.
How long have you been blogging & what do you enjoy most about it?
I started blogging when my son was 1 month old. We live in Las Vegas for the Hubs job, but all of our family is still mainly in the mid-west and FL. Squish is the first grand baby on both sides, so I wanted to make sure they had a place to follow the goings-on. When the Hubs deployed the first time after Squish, I wanted him to be able to know what we were doing on a day-to-day basis. Eventually I started to incorporate bits of me in the blog. I realized I had missed writing, and really enjoyed it. I liked sharing what worked for me, and learning from others. Suddenly my family blog turned into a great mish mash of my crazy life in LV, and how we make it work.
More than that, blogging literally kept me sane during that first deployment. I didn’t have any family here, my friends all had babies of their own, and Squish was still waking up to nurse 3-4 times a night. forget about the time we both got sick. That was an awful 72 hours. I was exhausted, and on the brink of cracking. Writing helped keep me focus.
I even started a breastfeeding blog Simple Gift – Stories from Breastfeeding Mamas, where breastfeeding mamas could share their experiences.
Do you have a blogging or personal goal for this year?
Blogging wise, I want to get to a place with my blog where I am able to balance family and blogging a bit better. I often find myself having to get something up, and wanting to play with my son. Right now I try my best to blog when he is sleeping, but that leaves little “me time” other than blogging.
Personally, I hope to hit my goal weight before we try for baby #2. And I hope to be pregnant with baby #2 before 2012. :)
And edit from Louisa, I you look pretty darn fantastic Em!
What’s it like to eat cheese out of a can?
I personally have not eaten cheese from a can. (Yucko!)
According to my Sister-in-Law who is currently living with us, “Surprisingly satisfying, yet repulsive at the same time.”
As far as other “American” food – all I can think of is Fair Food. Last year I went to the Minnesota State Fair. Everything was served on a stick, I tried fried oreos (sinfully amazing), and my sister tried chocolate covered bacon. She said it was pretty great too.
You can read more of Em’s life in Las Vegas on her blog, and you can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.
Incoming search terms:
- cheese in a can
Mummble
Stitch Baby + Kids
Thanks Emily and Louisa, interesting to hear about someone living in Las Vegas. Wouldnt have thought there were that many parks…and all that sunshine!! I must sy the thought of cheese out of a can sounds pretty gross…as does chocolate covered bacon!
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