over the past week, we’ve spent quite a bit of time here:

(the little guy in the undies is my nephew Jack.)

All this is about a five-minute walk from our new place. Feeling pretty fortunate to be in such a sweet location at the moment (and, as Jon pointed out tonight, the dunes will make a killer sledding hill come January…)

Finally, we’re in our new place. And in some ways, it’s like the beginning of a very long vacation. We weren’t sure exactly what area we wanted to live in long-term, and didn’t have a ton of time to pull this whole move together, so we’re living in a vacation rental through the off-season with the intention of finding something a little (hopefully a lot!) more permanent in May.

So what does that mean for this roving family?

It means that “moving” meant bringing our suitcases into a fully furnished cottage on Lake Michigan complete with towels, appliances, linens, and even a killer view of the water. Much, much nicer than having to dig through fifteen boxes marked “Misc.”, or worse yet, those trash bags filled with last-minute stuff, in order to find the hair dryer or toaster. It’s all right here, and I’ve spent the morning sending silly messages on Twitter, catching up on work, and putting away clothes into the dressers (which were ALREADY HERE) instead of unpacking. Pretty fantastic, if you ask me. We’ve got some cleaning up to do on the other end, but I’m letting my husband take care of as much of that as possible, and we’re selling off any furniture we aren’t in love with (we’ve been hauling much of it around for years, and most of it isn’t that nice…it’s time.)

Of course, 5 or 6 of the 8 months we’ll be here will be cold–and three of those months will be REALLY cold–but the view will still be great, if a bit frosty. I’ll post pics as soon as I find my good camera.

There are some funny things about moving into a vacation rental, too. For instance, the fridge came pre-stocked with condiments. But how do I know which condiments are trustworthy? I mean, sure I can read the expiration date on the mayo or dressing, but how do I know somebody didn’t leave it sitting on the deck in the sun after a backyard barbecue? I don’t want to waste good food…but I don’t want to give my family food poisoning, either.

Also: there’s a brochure rack in the dining room. Since I’m not likely to need reminders of all the stuff to do in the area or menus to local restaurants right at my fingertips every minute of the day, I’m trying to figure out what to put in the rack instead. I’m trying to encourage the kids to use cloth napkins and one way to do that seems to be eliminating obstacles (yes, when you’re 8, apparently opening a drawer counts as an obstacle). So I’d like to put cloth napkins into one of the shelves. But there are two other shelves, and I’d guess the rack is about 3 feet across–so there’s plenty of room to stash…something else. Here’s a pic:

Any ideas?

A few months ago, I received an invitation from a PR person to take my family on a trip to a popular Midwestern family destination. I wasn’t sure how the PR firm had found me; they mentioned liking my blog, but I assumed that they had also seen that I have written about midwestern travel and lifestyle for magazines like Midwest Living, Michigan BLUE and AAA Living and the e-mail was worded similarly to other press trips I’ve been invited on.

When we got to the destination, I picked up my meal vouchers and press pass, and that’s where I saw it: below my name, on the line that would usually read “Freelance Travel Writer” or list the name of the publication I was writing for, it said “MOMMY BLOGGER.”

I cringed, then felt indignant. Mommy blogger? That’s what I am? Not a published writer, not a blogger who happens to cover motherhood in addition to other topics. Just…mommy blogger. For one thing, I don’t even LIKE the word “mommy”…it’s always felt kind of smarmy and whiny to me, and it’s more of an affectionate title used by young children than a descriptive term. Used in conjunction with “blogger”–and written on the line that would usually indicate my credentials–it felt almost like an insult.

I know that Mommy Blogger seems to be the title of choice for many moms who blog. At BlogHer, after all, there was an entire track of MommyBlogging panels; and a lot of women use the title proudly or at least readily. And maybe some use it ironically, sort of like re-claiming the word “bitch” or “queer”…a way to take a title that somebody might try to use to diminish us as a whole, and instead find power in it.

I can understand that, I guess, but I still don’t like it, because no matter how proudly we may use the title, the fact is that, at least to me, MommyBlogger still sounds kind of silly and trivial. While I know not everyone shares my distaste for the word “mommy”–and I definitely don’t stand in judgment of people who like that word–I don’t appreciate how it’s applied across the board to mothers who blog. And as much as I’d like to think they are, I don’t imagine that the non-bloggers people using and hearing the term are doing it as some kind of pro-mom-blogger political statement.

The sound of the title aside, I feel like my writing and blogging stands on its own without having to be linked with my maternal status–yes, I am a mother even when I write, but I come to the page as a complex individual, not just a “mommy”. Also, I spend my whole life being a mom; writing is something I do for myself, even when I am writing about my kids; and even though I don’t completely remove my “mom hat” when I write–I just kinda slide it over and make room for the “writer” hat–I write as a writer, not a mommy.

And what about those of us who blog, and are mothers, but don’t write solely about our kids, primarily about our kids, or at all about our kids? Would you call Guy Kawasaki, who also has four children, a “DaddyBlogger” if he mentioned his kids from time to time? Does the term “daddyblogger” regularly get used to describe men who, just like we mothers, write about their kids in addition to their lives and their jobs and their interests?

I’m not generally one to get my knickers in a knot over terminology. Though I can see why it might bother some, I really don’t care if somebody calls me “hon” or “girl”. But “mommyblogger” gets me fired up, maybe partly because it just seems to be used so unquestioningly. I wonder why we accept this term so readily and why there doesn’t seem to be more debate over it (maybe there already was and I missed it?)

I have yet to refer to myself as a “mommyblogger”, but more and more, other people are referring to me as one. I know it’s done with positive intent, but the fact is, I just don’t like it. I’m a mother who blogs. I’m a writer with children. I write about my husband sometimes, but you don’t call me a “Wifeblogger”, do you? The title of “mommy” is only appropriate in the context of my relationship with my kids. In other words, my sons can call me Mommy. The rest of the world, on the other hand? I’d rather they didn’t.

I’ll be on a road trip to San Francisco with four other lovely lady bloggers–and this time, we’re leaving the kids at home. Check it out!