Charleston Moms

Allison escaped the frozen tundra of Minnesota for the sunshine and beaches of Charleston a little over two years ago . She now lives with her husband, toddler, and American Bulldog on James Island and is expecting her second boy in October (she’s totally outnumbered with a house full of boys)! Balancing working from home for the business she owns with her husband and raising two boys under 2 will be Allison’s newest challenge! She loves exploring Charleston with her little family and writes about their day-to-day adventures on her blog, Happy Little Honey.

Amanda is an upstate NY girl who married a TN guy in 2011, moved to Charleston the next day, and after a 3-year pursuit, adopted their 2-year-old son from South Korea in 2017. She loves to share her heart ponderings and humor lent by beginning motherhood with her toddler who spoke another language. She has a background in non-profit work, but currently stays home to catch up on missed time and new milestones with her growing baby boy. She enjoys her awkward floppy hound, aggressively cuddly cat, but can't keep plants alive. In her "spare time," she is creating, dancing, or providing harmonies/drums for her sister's music.

Amber is a native Texan who moved to Summerville with her family in June 2015. The transition from career banker of fifteen years to a stay at home mom and moving halfway across the country where they knew no one was a challenge, but totally worth it.  Now settled, Amber has become a paint brush wielding interior decorator who loves to build new things through her business, Chandler by Design. But her most important job is to be an example to her kiddos, Lily (8) and Luke (5). Amber’s newest hobby is running and now that she has completed her first individual 5k she is headed towards a half marathon.

Amy grew up in Kansas City and graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in Environmental Studies. Her dream was to make the world a better place by improving the environment. After getting her dream job in Texas, she met the love her of her life, Evan; they had a beautiful daughter Maggie, in 2012 and moved to Mount Pleasant in 2013. Amy intended on continuing to work in the field of Sustainability (all things green and ecofriendly) but ended up being a SAHM. In 2014, her family expanded with a son, Maxx. She turned her love of family and the environment into a business that allows her to keep her family first while helping others. Amy also loves being at the beach, having an adventure, connecting with new people and is always looking to learn something new.

Barbara moved to Goose Creek from Chicago, however she's no Yankee! Barbara spent almost every summer in the Lowcountry visiting her very large family and felt it was time to come home. In her previous career life she managed YMCA's as an Executive Director. Currently she's focused on her role as a stay-at-home mom to a talkative 5-year-old boy Brock and an effervescent 1-year-old girl Hope. Her husband Randy, a disabled veteran, suffers from PTSD and Barbara has Epilepsy and Lyme disease. Her chronic illness and family challenges effect her life daily. Her goal is to help her family live their best lives despite obstacles and seek out fun local events where they can grow and learn. Barbara enjoys sci-fi, murder mysteries, photography and started a woodworking business two yeas ago. Ask her about her favorite power tools.  

Brittany was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, before moving south to attend the College of Charleston in 2007. She swam for The College for two years, which is where she met her now-husband Greg. Brittany and her family live in Mt. Pleasant where she stays home with her two young daughters Adeline and Parry. She loves coffee, wine, and rarely goes a day without indulging in dessert. She is active in her church and prioritizes her relationship with God to guide her every day life, most importantly in her roles as wife and mother.

Cameron was born and raised in rural Ravenel, just outside of Charleston. Her hardworking family owns a blueberry farm in Ravenel, which helped put her through rigorous nursing school at Clemson University. She has been a registered nurse for 10 years, working almost 8 years fueling her passion caring for sick babies in the Neonatal Nurseries at MUSC. She recently changed nursing jobs, still exhibiting her passion for the tiniest patients but now providing care for their pregnant mothers in MUSC's Advanced Fetal Care Center. Cameron is happily married to Andy, her handsome high school sweetheart, and together they have one beautiful daughter, who is in 2nd grade, and one rambunctious son, who is in kindergarten.  They LOVE the outdoors, especially in the Lowcountry, and their favorite hobbies are boating in the picturesque waters around Charleston, riding their ATVs, and camping with their friends. She has five dogs, two of which are dachshunds, which she is obsessed with! Cameron loves living in the Lowcountry - he roots run deep in this land, and she couldn't imagine living anywhere else!

As a Certified Brain Health, Life Coach, and Youth Sports Safety Consultant, Carrie specializes in working with executives, entrepreneurs, and student athletes who struggle with focus, anxiety, success, and mental clarity. Having two sports-loving, amazing sons as well as working in pediatric physical therapy for 18 years, her love of children and their families starts in her home and extends into her career and business. Because Carrie loves sports, kids, and the brain, you’ll find her either on the closest sports field, at the beach recharging her brain, or reading brain and success research in her spare time.  

Courtney is a Charleston native who, after graduating Clemson, moved to Chicago to compete a one-year dietetics internship. That one-year program turned into a decade long stint in the Windy City where Courtney worked for a variety of health businesses. While in Chicago, Courtney met her husband and had three kids, living an adventure of having kids in the city. At the end of 2015, she returned home and launched her own private nutrition practice on Daniel Island. Courtney loves to help people find simple ways to heal and thrive through the food they eat. She is a thankful for the beauty – and the food – that the Lowcountry has to offer!

Dede Kennedy is part of a dying breed ... a native of Mt. Pleasant. She is happily married to her husband Sean and the mother of two gorgeous sons ages 8 and 11. When not trying to keep her boys out of harm's way, Dede works at a popular restaurant on Sullivans Island. She is a Christian and an active member of her church.  Dede can be found making corndogs and serving up Kool-Aid for the neighborhood kids who hang out at her home (the one with all the bicycles in the yard). Dede is a blogger and a two-time cast member of the national "Listen to Your Mother" show. Dede has dabbled in stand-up comedy and is writing a fiction book.

Elizabeth O’Conor lives on James Island with her husband, 2 year old daughter and baby girl. A native of South Carolina, (from Hilton Head Island) Elizabeth moved to Charleston about five years ago. She loves to travel (especially with the family) as well as stay as healthy as can be. She is currently in school for Holistic Nutrition and cannot wait to help our community with any health and nutrition needs! Her family is very natural minded family and she loves showing her daughter how to grow her own food in the garden and take care of their chickens.

Emily Guerrero is a happiness-chasing, Lowcountry-loving wife and mom to two wild and wonderful kids. She works as an attorney and director of a bustling non-profit immigration legal services office. Her true joy is writing and musing on life, love, family, and personal growth at www.emily-guerrero.com and www.hellobliss.net. She also enjoys cooking up a storm, reading, and sitting very, very quietly on her porch.  

A South Carolina native, Erica is originally from the Upstate and has moved back to Charleston with her family after a 10 year, traffic-filled hiatus in Atlanta, GA. Having lived in only two states she likes to explore different cultures through travel and food.  Of all the hats Erica wears her most important roles are as a wife, mother, daughter. She has been married to her college sweetheart for 13 years and together they have a six year old daughter and a three year old son.  She prides herself on being honest about motherhood and enjoys learning from other moms who don't sugarcoat reality. When life offers a little down time Erica enjoys wave jumping at the beach, unapologetically watching bad TV and organizing and re-organizing everything from the dishwasher to the sock drawers to help calm her inner OCD. 

Erica is Charleston prenatal yoga teacher on a mission to help pregnant and new mamas find more balance through yoga, mindfulness, self-care, community, and humor. (Please join her free Facebook group!) She's also a trained journalist and editor. You can find more of her writing at SpoiledYogi.com and in several local publications like Lowcountry Parent. Erica lives in Hanahan with her husband, two young daughters, and their sweet dog.

Erin is the mom of a 4 year old boy and 1 and half year old girl. She moved to Charleston a year ago and has been loving every minute. She is originally from the Midwest and grew up in Wisconsin, but has also lived in Illinois, Iowa, and Kansas before settling in South Carolina. She has enjoyed being in warmer weather! Her family loves the beach and being by the water! She also has a passion for the special needs community, and worked for several years in various capacities. Erin loves spending time with her family and running her photography business, Erin Marie Photographie, in her spare time.

Erin and her active duty Army husband have a 3-year-old, a 2-year-old, and are expecting twins in September! Erin is also the proud owner of Fit4Mom Charleston, part of the nation’s leading pre-and postnatal fitness program. A former US diplomat, Erin has lived and worked all over the world. She is a former nationally ranked 100m and 300m hurdler, a certified yoga and prenatal yoga instructor, and holds additional certifications in Barre, TRX Barre, and as an ACE group fitness trainer. On a daily basis, she aims to show her babies that women can be both soft and strong, and that one must never give up, no matter what! 

Jen Iamele Savage is a secondary Montessori educator, Transformational Empowerment coach, and newly self published author. She runs a mastermind program for busy mamas and writes regularly for local and international publications. She also leads virtual and live women’s circles to help her clients work through blocks and connect with their light and their purpose. Check out Inspiration & Bliss Coaching to find out more. 

Jen Robinson is the creative force behind the wellness brand Peaceful Living Wellness which is dedicated to providing a wide-variety of high-quality wellness information. Jen is also the creator of the PLW life coaching division Empowered Through Peace and offers workshops, group coaching and retreats where she guides women in using Mindfulness and Mindset to build their inner strength on a foundation of inner peace. The most important part of Jen’s life are her two very active teenagers, AJ & Layna! Jen’s Mindfulness and Mindset techniques not only inform her parenting, but give her peace-of-mind in facing the challenges of parenting teens!

Jill grew up in the Washington, DC area and migrated south for college. She has a degree in Religious Education from Gardner-Webb University, where she also got her MRS. degree. She and her husband, Heath, have three kids: Will, Micah, and Lydia. Traveler. Homemaker(ish). TV watcher. Crafter. Natural birth advocate. Spanish speaking wannabe. Minivan driver. Organic shopper. Beach lover. Mosquito hater. Jill's resume is littered with randomness. She recently hung up her hat in the preschool world to write and speak, and greet her kids with fresh gluten free cookies and almond milk, as they joyfully skip through the door after school. (Mom of the Year!) Check out her Interrupted Life at jillforbes.com.

LeeAnn moved to vacationland (a.k.a. Charleston) on somewhat of a whim after braving Minnesota winters for 10 years. She and her husband, Marshall, are parents of two rambunctious boys, Alan and Jack, two rambunctious Dalmatians, and are humans of Marlee cat – the household boss. LeeAnn is the owner and photographer behind Chucktown Art, a local business offering photography, graphic design, and social media consulting. She is a strong supporter of lifelong continuing education for the constant development and overall improvement of any craft.

Melissa recently resigned from her career in higher education and was promoted to her new title as Dr. Mom to two-under-two. Her quest to have a family involved a long road of infertility struggles. She has a son named Rowan who is 21 months old and a girl named Ildi who is 6 months old.

A native of New Orleans, who was raised in New Jersey, Pamela has lived in the Lowcountry for the past 15 years. She graduated with a journalism degree from Penn State, and met her husband, Daniel, while working at a newspaper in Beaufort, SC. The two left-handed parents have two adorable right-handed children — Wolfe, 5, and Selah, 4 — and one unruly black Lab, named Lefty. They live in Mount Pleasant and Pamela works from home as a freelance graphic designer, writer and editor while also taking care of aforementioned children. She loves champagne, Bluegrass music and South Park.

Rhonda James was born and raised here in Charleston. She received her Bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from Claflin University where she also met her husband, Leo. Rhonda is a first time mom to a bouncing baby boy. She works full-time as a Museum Program Coordinator and also managers her personal lifestyle blog, Walks of Motherhood. Spending time with her family is her greatest moments. She is also a sucker for Game of Thrones, Grey's Anatomy, Starbucks Tevana Tea, and french fries. 

Stephanie is an only child, married to an only child, raising an only child! Stephanie and her husband (Brian) are Pittsburghers at heart, but made the move to Charleston in ’08 after moving around the country. Stephanie has a background in television, and has a (not so secret) dream to start a talk show and to publish books. She’s currently working on her first book and recently started a blog, called Speaking of Today, with her friend and fellow mom Dawn. Stephanie loves to spend every spare second with her daughter Kennedy. Kennedy was born 12 weeks early and spent the full 12 weeks in the hospital. Thankfully Kennedy is totally healthy, but the experience of being a preemie mom certainly changed Stephanie’s life! She looks forward to sharing stories of mommyhood with the Charleston Moms Blog readers.

Susannah Dellinger is a corporate executive escapee. After over a decade of non-stop travel, never-ending stress and 70-80 work weeks, she quit her job and did nothing but take care of herself for 4 weeks and downsized to a smaller apartment. Surprise, surprise, that is exactly when she found herself knocked up after being married for 15 years and is expecting her first child in December! These days she can be found under a pile of never-ending laundry, cringing at the term “geriatric ob” on her chart, obsessively googling safety ratings for baby gear, and starting her indie beauty brand consulting firm. 

Born in Boston, but raised in Mount Pleasant, Sydney left South Carolina to go to Lenior-Rhyne College (now University) where she met her husband and graduated with a degree in Political Science. She and her husband moved back to Mount Pleasant in 2012 and are currently living in the family house (zoo) with Audrey who is two, two dogs and two cats. Sydney loves re-familiarizing herself with the city through the eyes of a toddler, traveling, and listening to audiobooks.

Charleston native Whitney Williams McDuff has devoted her life to being the best daughter, sister, friend, wife, coworker, leader, and now mother she can be. She graduated from USC with a double degree in Public Relations and Psychology, partially because she’s fascinated by the nature of people, and partially because it set her free from the claws of a monstrous statistics course that she was eager to avoid. (Hey, sometimes the truth isn’t always pretty). Her career spans across the world of sales, marketing, and public relations, thriving in a realm where building relationships was the key to the contentment kingdom. Her passions include writing, reading, painting, her piano and guitar, interesting conversation, film, her pug Bee, and a great glass wine. Ok, glasses. She and her husband Jimmy are expecting their first child, Baby Holbrook, this summer, so wine bottles have been left on the shelf for now. Her blog, No Wine for Nine, began when Whitney became fed up with the pressure to be flawless and knew that laughter and sharing her stories with her girlfriends was essential to making it through this thing called Motherhood.  Her hope is that her blog is a cherished place for any woman who longs for an escape from the stress of perfection, because she believes that true magic lies in the imperfections and hilarity of everyday life. Still trying to navigate Babies R’ Us. Biggest fears include spiders and mis-posting on a mom-swap site.

A born and raised southerner, Windy moved away to pursue a career in technology returning to the Lowcountry to raise a family. She currently lives in Mount Pleasant with her husband, bonus son (9), strong-willed wild man (3), and sassy princess (2). Last July, after 15 years in the corporate world, she decided to leave the role of executive behind and become the CEO of her household. She records her daily adventures on Instagram, while exploring what it means to go from executive to SAHM on her personal blog – Windy in Carolina. You can also find her on Facebook sharing her passion, advocacy, and education for cleaner living.