Emily Roark
Emily is a wife and stay-at-home mama of two elementary schoolers and a preschooler. When she's not filling milk cups, helping with homework or sweeping crumbs off of the floor, Emily works from home as an editor and is also a contributor at The Mom Hour. When she can find alone time, she enjoys working out, baking and writing.
Petition to Celebrate New Year’s in the Spring
I don't know who decided to start the new year in January. I know it wasn't a mom or a Midwesterner who made the decision. January is hard. It's cold. It's snowy. It's hard...
I Can’t Let Myself Feel Paralyzed: Post-election Self-Care
In the winter of 2020, I was 30+ weeks pregnant with my third baby. I was anxiously awaiting a bad flu season to end and warmer temperatures to begin. And then the pandemic hit....
What’s the Rush?
What's the rush?
The stores put out the school supplies in May, Halloween decorations in June, and Christmas trees in August. The bathing suits come out the second the Valentine's Day candy is put away,...
On Pursuing Our Passions in Motherhood
It's a question that comes up often while making small talk with friends and family I haven't seen in a while. "Do you still write?" I have been writing for as long as I...
When Did We Become Our Parents?
My youngest sister got married last month. During the anniversary dance—when all the married couples are called to the dance floor, and the longer you've been married, the longer you get to stay—it hit...
5 Effective At-Home Workouts for Busy Moms
Before becoming a mom, I spent almost seven days a week at my local gym. I took classes, used cardio equipment, and bravely entered the mostly male-dominated weightlifting area every once in a while....
I Don’t Have a Baby Anymore
"Hazel, are you mommy's baby?" I playfully ask my three-year-old this question as we cuddle on the couch watching Daniel Tiger. She quickly responds with, "No, I'm your big girl, baby." I've asked her...
How to Take The Trip With Your Spouse
Once a year, my husband and I take a trip together sans kids. We started doing this three summers ago after realizing that the cost of one trip would make up for all the...
On Miscarriage: It’s Okay to Not Feel Okay
I thought that I was okay.
It was one week since my miscarriage, and even though I had spent much of the week lying in bed, I thought it'd be good for me to push...
Why Kids Need Sick Days
When I was in high school, students who had perfect attendance did not have to take finals. Of course, teenagers get sick as everyone else does, and this means that kids were coming to...
Three Years Later: Is the Pandemic Forever a Part of Us?
Three years.
It’s been three years since we hoarded toilet paper, sanitized groceries, made masks from scraps of cloth, and stayed inside to stay safe.
One year ago, things started to feel semi-normal again. My kids...
How I Squeeze in “Adulting” Once the Kids Are in Bed
I look at the clock—8:27 pm. One of my kids is sound asleep, another is reading in her bed, and the third is babbling in her crib. She yells "Mommy" every so often to...
10 Cheap and Easy Dinner Ideas
As moms, there's not much we appreciate more than a cheap and easy dinner. If your kids are anything like mine, they act like they are famished the second they get home from school,...
5 Ways I Combat the Winter Blues
Every October, I begin to dread the changing seasons. The shorter days, the darker nights, and "falling back" are not exactly my favorite things about the fall and winter seasons. It only seems to...