Author: Mary Brady

Mary Brady was born and raised in the PNW and has been in Oregon since 2006. She currently lives on the west side of the river with her two children and her golden retriever pup; exploring all that PDX Metro has to offer. Mary is the Editor for NW Kids.

October at long last! Having made it through September and the chaos of a new school year starting, this is when we really find fall’s sweet spot.

I grew up in a family that took birthdays pretty seriously. It wasn’t about buying extravagant gifts or throwing over-the-top parties, but if it was your birthday you always got to choose the direction of the day.

Do I smell freshly sharpened #2 pencils? While there is still plenty of summer left to enjoy, Back to School is looming just around the bend.

“You need to sleep when they’re sleeping… Get the baby onto your schedule as soon as possible… No peanuts until after 3… If you introduce peanuts early, there’s less chance of an allergy… Have you tried coconut oil for that?” Nobody receives more unsolicited advice than a tired parent who is slogging their way through the grocery store, fingers crossed that their baby stays content long enough for the essential parts of the shopping list to be checked off.

My first recollection of visiting Portland was a stopover on a high school road trip to San Francisco in the spring of 1991.