Applicant #19: Danielle Gahl

Danielle Gahl is a mom from Seattle.

My video application:

Find me online:

+ Twitter
+ Facebook Page

A bit about me:

Hi, I’m Danielle. I grew up in rural Idaho and after hopscotching around most of the cowboy-themed states this side of the Mississippi, I was excited to come home to the northwest and live in Seattle. I was in education for a long time and loved working with young people, especially middle schoolers. Before we had our little girl, the Mister and I loved swing dancing, eating at fancy restaurants, and taking our dog on urban hikes.

Nowadays, we dance in the living room, I learned to cook, and we take Roo and Peanut for shorter urban hikes. (Strollers and hills are tricky.)

Being a mom in this city has been an eye opening experience. I never realized what a great place this is to raise a family-- parks around almost every corner, gastropubs that serve amazing food and have high chairs, and events every weekend to get out of the house and into some drizzle.

I look forward to sharing some of those adventures with you in the coming year!

My blog post:

Becoming a mother is always described as a life-altering experience, but when I was child-free, all the advice, wisdom and starry eyed declarations were a source of “Oh-I-am-so-never-going-to-be-like-that” moments for me. Along came Roo, and suddenly, I had a new list of rules to live by and some crow to eat.

Sleep Trumps Shower When given the option of taking a long, luxurious bubble bath and a nap, I pick the nap almost every time. It has led to some decidedly stinky days, but I just pretend I’m being eco-chic (offsetting my carbon footprint of diapers) or French (this is why they invented perfume).

I *love* Social Media I used to believe I was too busy to be on social sites. Really--how hard is it to pick up the phone and call? Or send a printed photo with a handwritten note? Unless you enjoy conversations with something akin to jets launching in the background where my main contribution will be “uh-huh” and don’t mind getting pictures when the baby is 18, a facebook video and a midnight email that looks more like a tweet is my new way of being a friend. (Miss you! Come over--bring food. xox Dani)

The Chihuahua is not a Baby “Why can’t we bring Peanut into the grocery store!? She is potty trained and less germy than a kid and they let them in.” That is an actual Mister quote. And I agreed. Peanut had little outfits and got little steamed milks at the coffee shop and played with little squeaky toys. But the first time that she woke the baby from a nap I would have sold her to the carnival if one was going through town.

I Can Touch (Almost) Anything As long as it comes out of Roo, I can handles some of the nastiest things I have ever seen--slimes, oozes, chunks and all. As part of potty training, we are trying cloth diapering and I stuck my hand in the toilet to rinse off the diaper. In the toilet. Bare hands. I am still shocked. However, I wear gloves when gardening because I get creeped out by bugs.

Carpe Diem Isn’t a Fish I always thought that seizing the day meant doing daring and outlandish things like learning how to throw knives and traveling to places that don’t have toilet paper. But for me, it meant quitting my job. You see, I loved work. I planned on taking three weeks of maternity leave and jumping right back in. Then she came. Luckily, Mister knows me better than I know myself and had been saving up just in case. So instead of throwing knives, I dodge sippy cups. When I end up somewhere without wipes, I beg one off of a fellow mom who, even without knowing me, understands the frantic look before I ask. I get paid in drool monster kisses. Best. Job. Ever.

Danielle