I’m quoted in this Commercial Appeal story about large families.

Two notes: my website address is actually http://www.largerfamilies.com. I’m hoping that will be corrected in the online version but just in case…

Also, my family last name is Dodson and that’s how I was quoted in the story. So, if you came here looking for Meagan Dodson, i.e. The Writer Known As Meagan Francis, you’ve found her. And now my deeply-held secret is out and all the stalkers can come get me! Ahhhh!!!

I have an article in the current (September 08) issue of Natural Health magazine–it’s on the back page, called “Learn to Listen”.

I’m also quoted in a story in the September 08 issue of Fit Pregnancy magazine about what to expect during your postpartum hospital stay. It’s their 15th anniversary issue and packed with great content–definitely worth a read!

…about working and raising a large family, over at lotsofkids.com. Check it out.

This Sunday, two fantastic fellow writers (Jennifer Margulis and Toni Klym McLellan) and I will be talking about motherhood and writing (and signing books to boot) at Read Between the Lynes bookstore in beautiful downtown Woodstock, IL. Check out their website for more details. I hope to see you there!

My friend Jennifer Margulis interviewed me for her column on the “compulsive motherhood” topic. While you’re at it, you should really check out her blog for the upcoming Baby Bonding Book For Dads, which Jennifer wrote with her husband James di Properzio. Good stuff!

When Time Out Chicago interviewed me for a piece on “microcelebrity”–a concept so new I couldn’t even find a singularly accepted definition to link to–I had no idea that they were going to name me one of the lucky (?) micro-celebs. Still, it’s probably something I could get a lot of mileage out of in some context, say at family parties, where some relatives are still impressed by the fact that I have a blog.

Here it is. Thanks, Lindsay!

I think it’s so funny that she got a kick out of the fact that I told her I read her blog…because when my publicist forwarded her request for an interview, I was all excited, saying “She’s, like, a blogging CELEBRITY!”

Maybe we all under-rate ourselves, yaknow?

At least that’s how other people seem to see it, according to a great column in the Nashville Scene by Linsday Ferrier, who’s also the brains behind the popular blog Suburban Turmoil. I’m quoted in the column–go check it out!

The suburban Chicago Courier News interviewed me for a recent article on how the recalls may be affecting toy purchases this year. Here is a bit of the article that quotes me:

Francis recommends not buying toys and giving alternative gifts instead. Additionally, she said parents can use the toy recall crisis as a way to reinforce the meaning of Christmas and curb the materialism of the season.

The mother of four — ages 10, 8, 4 and 2 — doesn’t buy a lot of toys anymore because she found her children played with toys for a couple of weeks then leave them alone, causing a mess in the house.

“We so rarely buy toys; the kids don’t even notice,” she said, adding that her children have Legos and train sets, just not Thomas the Tank Engine. “I would have thought Thomas would have been the safe toy, but I would have been wrong.”

Instead of toys, parents should consider giving gifts like sports or music lessons, museum memberships, sports equipment for the family to do together, board games or a family vacation, Francis said. Another option is purchasing gifts from local artists.

This year, parents concerned about toys can focus on the meaning of Christmas and cut back on gift-giving.

“It’s a shift in the entire mind-set of what the holidays are about and how much stuff do kids really need,” Francis said.