About

I’m Monica. Raised in Switzerland, forged in Chicago, civilized in Japan, tested in Burundi, and now settled in Montreal.

About Mother in Progress:

• Laugh with me about the madness and chaos that is motherhood. It’s the only way to survive this all-encompassing tidal wave of emotions (and its gross moments).
  
  
• Honesty is just as important to me as laughter. What I write about here are my genuine life experiences. Raw. Sometimes outrageous. Often over the top. It’s who I am. But always real.
  
  
• Much of who I am as a person grew out of my multicultural upbringing: the food, the languages (special shoutout to the cuss words), the music, the perspective. I love to share the unique point of view that multiculturalism forged in me and I plan on passing that on to my offspring. And the ability to insult people in languages they don’t understand, who am I kidding.
  
  
• I love my wardrobe and pampering myself, so I want to share that aspect of my life here, too. I’m not, and never will be, a super fashionable, “it-crowd” type of woman, but I refuse to give up my sense of style because of motherhood. It’s one those things that allow for self-expression and, as much as possible, I want to be LOUD about it so I don’t lose who I am. I hope it can motivate you to keep your self-expression alive, too.
  
  
• This is a safe space for me and I want it to be for you, too. I encourage you to reach out, to share your own experiences, and even to challenge (constructively) what you read here. A community should welcome all voices. We’re stronger together. Unless you’re a troll. In that case, prepare for battle.

About Monica:

• I am a mother of two, Spawn (toddler) and Spawnita (baby). Their arrival has thrown my whole life upside down, before transforming it into something that makes a whole lot more sense.
• Montréal is where I have planted my roots. The Husband is my rock and I literally moved across oceans to be with him. He’s kinda cool, but I don’t like to tell him too often.
• I speak 5 languages (Spanish, Italian, English, French and German). I can hold a conversation with a 4-year-old in Japanese and I can read in Arabic. I am both Swiss and Latina, with a few other “cultural enhancements” thrown in there, for good measure. Daughter-of-immigrants-turned-immigrant-mother.
• Post-partum depression ran my show for a while, and shaking it off remains a process. It has, however, taught me many valuable lessons on how to become a better woman. If nothing else, I have evolved, bloomed even, into a more powerful version of myself.

So here we are!