I’m Rebecca Keenan and Playground Confidential is my space to vent about parenting. It’s a Toronto-based blog (I live in the Junction) that addresses local issues as well as the more universal hardships and joys of motherhood.

I post Daily Snacks that I envision as literary vignettes in which I capture a moment or an emotion or episode of my daily life. Sometimes they are not literary at all and sometimes they include pictures. I try.

And because we all need stuff, I post Reviews of books and toys and gizmos and gear. Sometimes I get stuff for free, lots of times I don’t.

The Happening section of my blog is not an exhaustive listing of family-friendly events in the Toronto area, but if I hear about something that sounds cool, then I’ll throw it up there. And sometimes it’s not even an event. Maybe what’s happening is a weeknight picnic in your local park or a snowball fight or a trip to the race track.

So, more about me.

I started this blog just over two years ago as a way to brush up on my writing and workshop ideas to pitch to parenting magazines. I wanted to be a writer and I was, kind of. I’d published a few articles here and there, but it was never a reliable source of income. After studying Philosophy and Political Science at the University of Toronto I went on to continue waiting tables and bartending (of course) and doing a very little bit of writing on the side. Then I got knocked up. So, goodbye cigarettes and booze and working on my feet for 10 hours until 3am. Goodbye life as I knew it and hello customer service job that pays maternity benefits and hello motherhood.

Your typical knowledge-obsessed new mother, I read and read and read and then read some more about all aspects of pregnancy, child birth and infancy. I had all this knowledge, I thought, so I should try to sell freelance articles to parenting magazines, right? Well, everybody with a baby and an English degree has the same idea and the publishing industry, it is not well.

So I run my own blog and cover my costs (always hoping to find the time to make it bigger, better, more lucrative) and take care of my kids (I had another one, by the way) and work from home doing more tedious, grunt-work-type writing part-time.

And a bit about these guys, too, I guess.

My husband’s name is Ed and he’s been my main sidekick and support and sometime aggravator since we got hitched back in 2002. He doesn’t feature prominently on these virtual pages, but know that I am not doing this alone. And hats off to any parent who does.

My first-born baby and my pride and joy is Colum. He was born in April of 2006 and despite all that reading I used to do, I don’t know what I’m doing with him. But he loves me anyway, so it can’t be all bad. He’s shy and independent and funny and talkative at the same time. He’s scrawny yet strong, a performer but not a joiner. And he loves his little sister.

Irene is my baby girl born on Halloween of 2008. She screamed bloody murder for two months and has not stopped smiling since. She’ll charm the pants off of anyone and walk away with their cookies while they thank her for the privilege. Yep, I’m going to be in trouble.

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