Hey! I’m the Malleable Mom! (that means flexible…)
The basics
I live with my husband, our two amazing kids, and our feisty rescue dog near Annapolis, MD. I enjoy spending quality family time together, when I am not teaching people how to pronounce my name (“It’s Few-ks.”). I grew up outside of Boston, MA. I have a BA and a BSN from the University of Pennsylvania, and I spent 10 years as a Pediatric Nurse until my health stopped me from being able to work. In 2012, my children and I were all diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (a genetic connective tissue disorder which causes hyper-flexible joints, among many other super annoying problems, like chronic pain and migraines.) We have needed to be “flexible” ever since, learning new ways to adapt to just about everything.
Now, I freelance write, maintain this award-winning blog, and have been published in the anthology I Just Want to Be Perfect, as well as online at Scary Mommy, Club Mid, The Bangor Daily News, I Just Want to Pee Alone, Mamapedia, and BLUNTmoms. I also performed in the 2015 DC cast of Listen to Your Mother. You can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
The Rubber Ducks
The Durable Daughter is 13, and would fill this page with her talent: classical ballet, piano, archery, ukulele/guitar, fine art, jewelry making…If she is supposed to have limits, well, no one told her. You can learn more about her through her guest post, but make sure you grab a Kleenex first. She is also obsessed with Harry Potter and cats.
The Stretchy Son is 10. The stretchiest of us all, he has gotten strong like a boss by working his core in breakdancing class. He is teaching himself to draw, loves Dungeons & Dragons, and is super close to kicking his Dad’s butt in chess.
MM Trivia
I met my husband singing for his band in college. I am an amateur artist, dabbling in painting and drawing. I am a self taught makeup artist, and I inflict myself on the dancers in my daughter’s ballet studio every year to practice my love of stage and character makeup.
I love to read out loud to my kids, preferring to do character voices and accents (Scottish, Cockney and Irish are my favorite), and I do not believe that said accents belong just in the home. Public spaces are the best places to bust those things out. I am also schooling my children in the fine art of punning and stand-up comedy. I never placate them with a fake laugh: when they earn a real laugh, they know it.
I am a foodie health nut, and I get nuttier every year. Before my brain surgery in 2015 for a benign tumor, I started growing and canning my own food. Because, the zombies are coming…you gotta be prepared…However, I am totally addicted to coffee, and I love my moderate consumption of alcohol.
Obligatory Inspirational BS
I have found that no matter what doors have closed in my life because of my health, other more amazing ones have opened, and I have brought every lesson along with me to make each new adventure even more rewarding. I don’t take myself too seriously, and I hope you don’t either!
