My name is Meredith (Wanner) Groenevelt. I began writing this blog in Merida, Mexico where my husband and I, and our three daughters, moved after going belly-up working in the real estate industry for the past 11 years, .

Now we’re back on US soil, staying with my Dad in Wisconsin, while we try to regroup and figure out what comes next. I mean, what do I want to be when I grow-up? A doctor, a firefighter, a teacher, a porn star? Oh the choices!

This is my high school sweet-heart and husband, Ben.

These are our three girls: Whitney (3) Lexi (11) and Heidi (2).

I’m not a real writer, but play one on the Internet. Originally, I was a graphic designer and worked at an apparel company, and then a small ad agency, before getting pregnant with Lexi. I’d planned on staying home with our new baby, but fate had alternate plans and I ended up helping my Mom ease into the life after this one. She’d been diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer a year after Lexi was born and ended up dying a couple months before Y2K. You know, before the almost end of the world?

Before, before all that I grew-up in a small town just outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin where my liberal-artist-parents raised us to question authority and obsessively fret over chemicals and red dye. My childhood went something like this: Maryann (my mother) forgets to buy baked goods to send with me to school for the bake sale because she was busy painting a still life. I mean, there was morning light for god’s sake and you don’t miss morning light when you’re painting a sunny day still life. Maryann promises to drop off some organic, whole-wheat carob cookies next time (circa 1981 and what the fuck is organic?). I decline because I’m worried Maryann’s typical bra-free, haired-legged Birkenstock (circa 1981 also what is a Birkenstock?) look won’t blend with the other suburban, penny-loafer wearing moms.

After my mom’s passing I worked in the mortgage industry and then as a real estate agent. I excelled in the around-the-clock-business of real estate and in general life was clipping along. We had a beautiful home, great friends, successful careers, and happy children. We’d had a second baby (Whitney) and with a third baby on the way, we felt we’d arrived and were basking in all our hard work.

However, following the birth of our third baby (Heidi) I was left with a debilitating bout of post-partum depression; subsequently landing me in a hospital. (Side note here: I owe my life to the medical marvels of anti-depressants, thank you very much Mr. I Don’t Have a Medical Degree or a Vagina Tom Cruise.)

The resulting medical bills, and a worsening real estate market of historical proportions, really sucked the fun out of things. So we sold our house, chucked it all, and moved to Mexico. Where BuenoBaby was born, minus the postpartum drama.