It's Anniversary Time!

Happy anniversary to me! A year ago this month I put up my first post on this site. After thinking about it, noodling the idea over with parents, friends and family, I hired a designer, bought the domain, and got to work. I had no idea where I'd end up even a month, let alone a year later, and here we are! 

What an amazing year its been. I've had some incredible experiences thanks to Mama's Guide. One of the most memorable was walking into a restaurant I already loved and encountering the manager—he'd read my reviews and got legitimately excited that I was there to review his restaurant!

With my co-pilot and our precious cargo heading to Alcatraz!

To those folks who think San Francisco isn't for kids, or that believe children shouldn't dine out (or should stick to chain restaurants), I hope this space gives you an alternative look at what life with children is all about if you haven't experienced it for yourself. Cities that are safe and comfortable for children tend to be that way for everyone, and if you say you don't want to hear crying babies (which, trust me, no one does), I'll raise you a public cell phone conversation or drunken chatter as equally annoying.  

Most of all, I've loved spending the last year exploring San Francisco with Mia, who has grown into my favorite dining companion. To all the waitresses and waiters who've played with her, bussers who practiced high fives with her greasy baby hands, and chefs who've come out of the kitchen and talked to us about your kids or sent out something special for us to eat, I thank you. You've made us a truly happy mama and baby!

There are several things you may notice about this site. For one, I don't post negative reviews. Why? Because my goal is to find and highlight places families should visit, or products and services that I actually love and use. There is more than enough negativity on the net, especially where reviews are concerned. I also don't get upset about restaurants that don't welcome children. I agree wholeheartedly that there are plenty of places where kids should not be, for a variety of reasons, and luckily there are plenty of places where they are welcomed with open arms. That's my focus.

And then just in time for my first anniversary, the awesome new parent's social network Parenthoods (created by two mamas in SF) honored me with a feature on their blog. If you're raising kids in the city and not using Parenthoods, come join in the fun! Go download it and then come back and finish reading. 

Where do I go from here? Keep reviewing and growing! I'm always on the hunt for new places to visit around San Francisco, and later this year we're taking Mama's Guide on the road, reviewing the best in stroller friendly restaurants in a city year you. If you have ideas/suggestions/recommendations, please give me a shout here or on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. We use them all :)

To all the parents (and family and friends) who've joined our adventures for the past year, thank you, thank you, thank you, for reading and sharing, and most of all for taking your kids out in San Francisco or wherever you live!

Mama's of SF: 7 Questions for Sarah Quigley

Editor's Note: I met Sarah when I was pregnant almost two years ago, and even though we'd just met I reached out to her when I got a scary diagnosis and hoped to find other moms with similar experience. In her capacity as a leader for La Leche League she instantly found someone else who'd gone through the same thing and connected us, which was a huge help (and relief). I was so grateful for her support and I'm excited to share her story here as the latest entry in Mama's of SF! -Lesly

Name (and age if you choose to share)
Sarah Quigley, 38

Neighborhood you live in and your hometown
I've been in the Richmond District for eight years. I'm originally from Litchfield, Minnesota, a tiny town out in the cornfields.

Tell me about yourself.
I am a language junkie and did my undergraduate degree in Russian at Carleton College and then a master’s in English as a Second Language (ESL) from the University of Minnesota. I have taught at several universities in New York and San Francisco, most recently writing courses at USF.

Sarah with husband Dave and daughters Katherine and Charlotte!

I used to be an avid blogger, and in 2005, my blog caught the attention of an editor at Penguin. She asked me if I was interested in writing a young adult novel (!), and in 2009, my first book, TMI, hit the shelves. I would like to write more novels but have focused on motherhood the past few years. My husband, David, and I have two daughters.

When I'm not picking Mr. Potato Head parts out of my shoes and cleaning yogurt smears off my jeans, I like to do Zumba, go running in Golden Gate Park, experiment with new recipes, and watch Survivor and Downton Abbey. I also still occasionally pick up a book! The last thing I read was Orange is the New Black.

I am passionate about breastfeeding and became a La Leche League Leader in 2010. I offer information and support to local mothers and love being part of such a wonderful community!

I call myself an accidental Californian. My husband and I moved to San Francisco in 2002, looking for a new adventure. We arrived in the city without jobs or a place to live. I thought that our stay here would be a brief pit stop before going back to the Midwest to buy a house and raise a family. Now it would be very difficult to leave. San Francisco is home.

Tell me about your kids—how many, ages, interests and activities.
Charlotte is six and about to enter first grade. She is a lot like me, a total bookworm who also spends hours at her desk drawing and writing. She'd be happy if I took her swimming and let her watch musicals every day. Her special talent is finding snails in Golden Gate Park.

If Charlotte is Beezus, then my younger daughter Katherine is Ramona: messy, loquacious, and completely charming! At three and a half, she is enjoying preschool and becoming a big girl. She also has an artistic bent and is particularly skilled at drawing insects.

What's one tip you have for parents raising kids in San Francisco? 
Seek out free fun! People often talk about how expensive it is to live in the City, but there are so many free and low-cost activities for children. My girls love exploring the trails behind Julius Kahn Playground, making fairy houses in the pine cone forest near Baker Beach, and catching critters in Golden Gate Park. We had a blast this summer with the free programs at the public library. When my girls were toddlers, we frequented the local recreation center’s Tot Gym, which cost just a few dollars.

Please share your favorite stroller friendly restaurant in SF, and your favorite non-food place to take kids!

Bill’s Place on 24th and Clement is our favorite family restaurant. They have great burgers and the chocolatiest milk shakes! The Academy of Sciences is probably my favorite non-food spot for family fun. We have been members since Charlotte was a baby and never get tired of it. (And okay, I do love the café there.)

In one word, how would you describe raising children in San Francisco?
Adventure!

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Know a mama we should feature in a future Mama's of SF interview? Drop us a line!

A Suitcase Full of Fireworks

July 4th is definitely my favorite holiday. My younger brother's birthday is July 3rd, so Independence Day was always a celebration in my house. One of my strongest childhood memories is running down a country road on the 4th in Buttonwillow, California, where we lived when I was a kid. My entire family (which is a lot of people on my mom and dad's sides) gathered at our house to celebrate my brother's birthday AND the massive fireworks show my parents promised.

#148419904 / gettyimages.com

My mom was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and near her family home is a fireworks factory. Back in the 80s (aka before the TSA was on the scene) my mom took an extra suitcase with us to Oklahoma. Turns out that extra bag was stuffed with fireworks of every kind imaginable to bring back home.

I'm not just talking sparklers here-these were fancy bottle rockets in all colors. Roman candles that sounded like cannons when they exploded. Whistling Pete's that pierced your eardrums along with their light shower—my running memory is actually of me trying to get away from a Pete my slightly older cousin had taken the base off of, lit, and threw in the air. I was convinced it was chasing me.

July 4th 2013 at Duboce Park! Chubby cheeks galore.

Thanks to that suitcase full of fireworks we had mega shows for years in the country. We lived across from and next to huge cotton fields, the same ones my parents and grandparents picked when they were young, and later bought themselves when they'd saved enough money. So the danger was, um, minimal?

My mom died last May, a few months after Mia was born. In going through her estate we found we'd inherited some of the farmland that was the site of those fireworks shows. And when my sister and I were cleaning up her house I stumbled across a bag full of—you guessed it—fireworks. I thought that stash from the 80s had to be long gone, but it turned out my mom had saved some. It was a great  reminder of my mom's spirit, especially at a time when I had so many dreams and plans for my family, and so many fears around executing them. Mom wasn't a daredevil by any means, but she did take risks. This was a woman who smuggled rubles out of the USSR in her Afro in the 60s. And then there's the whole flying with fireworks thing.

For the past few years I've missed out on July 4th fireworks. Two years ago I was in my first trimester and fell asleep at a sadly early hour, and last year I had a little baby to nurse to sleep. So this year we're making up for it, hanging with family for a block party BBQ and (legal) fireworks show. Wherever you are today, happy July 4th to you and yours, and may you have great fireworks today and everyday!