Thanks, Clay. I feel honored to be a Featured Member!

1. Starting with name, location, how many children. 

My name is Isabel and I currently reside in Virginia, USA with my husband, MonkeyDad, and one son, Matthew. Matthew is 17 months old and very much a handful. I say "currently" because we've moved a lot because the industry my husband works in is very fickle and have a lot of ups & downs.

2. How did you find Minti?

Well, I didn't really find Minti, Minti found me!  Minti's own, Matthew, popped in my yahoo page and made a comment about Minti. I came to visit right away and I've been here ever since.

3. What's your favorite thing or feature at Minti?

There are a lot of good things about Minti, but my most favorite thing is the "Latest Activity". It is very conducive to a warm tight-knit community because everyone knows what's going on everywhere and can get as involved as they want right away. I used to try and make a comment on everything that's going on, though I must admit that it's getting harder and harder to keep up. Minti is growing so fast!

4. What's your favorite thing about being a parent?

Being a parent is an amazing job, albeit hard. My favorite thing about it is seeing everyday how my son develops and grow up to be a young person. It is trully amazing. From a blob (my nickname for Matthew after my 10 week ultrasound) to a little person and to be there to see everything is an experience that everyone should go through. I can't wait for what the future holds.

5. What has been your biggest parenting challenge?

This is a loaded question. Everything about being a parent is challenging, but if I were to pick one, I would have to say that the most challenging is the ability to stay patient and not get caught up in the moment of frustration. Sometimes I have my off days and get highly frustrated about something that Matthew is doing and instead of nurturing him, I end up probably stunting some development. Thankfully, times like this are few and far between. There is a lot to be said for even just a 30 minute mommy alone time  in order to recharge!

6. What's the best parenting advice you've ever gotten from someone?

A few people have told me "whatever works for you" and I think this is a great advice. We can offer each other helpful suggestions about coping as parents, but  not all of them will work so just pick and choose and do what works.