A few weeks ago, Ansel came home from co-op preschool with a Styrofoam cup full of dirt.  “Great,” I thought, “just what we need.”  But it turns out that in the dirt there was bean and in that bean there is a lesson.   As part of our routine, we began checking the bean cup, watering it, making sure it got sunlight and before too long, two strong sprouts were pushing up through the dirt.  We’d successfully nurtured a little plant from the tiny bean.  There may be solid science behind that process, but to the boys it was magic.

Read more: Gardening with Urban Kids

I'm not going to lie, the country scares me a little bit. I'm used to tall buildings, crowds and noise. The rolling fields just outside of Seattle are beautiful, but I have no great desire to explore them. At the same time, we try to eat locally as much as possible. Choosing foods grown and produced close to home is an environmentally friendly choice, as well as a tasty one. The fresher the vegetables, the better they taste and they make to market quicker if they are grown nearby.

Read more: Shopping the Farmers Markets

Weekends in our household are filled with out of the house activities.  While my husband slaves away on home repairs on our 1906 fixer upper, I take the boys on urban adventures.  We hit the park, the library, museums, the zoo or whatever else captures our attention, but wherever we go I bring along a trusty mommy bag.

Read more: Packing The Perfect Mommy Bag

I'm a busy mom. On top of work, parenting and general running about, my calendar is full of school tours. Almost every day I have an open house or a tour of a local school to help make the important decision, "where will Django go to kindergarten".  It's harder than I thought. And this is just for public schools, I'm not even looking at private. Yet.

Read more: Urban Mom Angst About Kindergarten Choices

One of the best parts of living in a city is the sheer variety of restaurants all waiting to relieve me of meal making responsibilities.  While we frequently opt for take out, and eat in the comfort of our own home, I also enjoy taking the boys out to eat from time to time.

Read more: Eating Out With Your Urban Kids

I have long joked that my life consists of work and home, and not much else. That isn't entirely true, but at times my social interactions can be pretty minimal. One of the nice things about having kids is that you can use them to meet new people and force yourself out of the house. So how do you do it? How do you go beyond saying "hi" and "bye" at preschool drop off, to creating a mommy friendship that goes beyond the kids?

Read more: How to Connect With Other City Moms

Despite the record setting snow in both Seattle and Portland we managed to make the drive to spend Christmas with my family. It was relaxing, and despite being more or less housebound for the previous week. It was nice to spend more time together as a family. We returned home yesterday, and today I did my first round of errands since the storm. I was stunned, when you are used to having the world at your fingertips it is shocking to see your local stores out of the most basic of supplies.

Read more: Stocking up in Seattle after the snow

For the past few days Seattle has been fighting a battle with winter weather and losing. We've had late starts at school and for the past two day, actual full day closures.Today we had snow. Lots and lots of snow. (Ok, maybe not lots if you live in other parts of the country, but trust me, for Seattle this is LOTS) Because the roads were filled with snow and ice, I refused to drive. I don't drive well on ice, and I certainly don't need to scare myself to death trying to get to the store. It is at times like this, I especially love city living. Even though we had things we needed, I didn't need to drive.

Read more: Benefits of Living Centrally

When we moved to Seattle, we bought a big old house. A beautiful house in it's prime, it is now a first class fixer upper. We've been slowly working on the house, or more accurately, my husband has been working on it. But these things take time, especially if you are trying to balance the house remodel project with both of us working full time jobs. The weekends for Dave end up being largely about the house,and I am left with a choice. We stay home, or I go out into the city with two small boys. Two small, very energetic boys. Despite the obvious reasons I may not,I usually opt for the latter.

Read more: Coffee Breaks with the Kids

While shopping for our Christmas tree, my husband and I split up. I had both kids with me,turned, and then I didn’t. I looked around and saw that my older son, Django had run off. This wasn’t the first time. A few weeks prior his 5-year-old legs got the better of him and we were separated at the zoo. We were reunited later through the help of some very kind strangers, but it was a completely terrifying experience. When I looked down, and saw that he was gone again, I froze. He knows better. We had the talk about stranger safety. And still, here I was with only one kid.

Read more: Talking Stranger Danger with an Urban Kid