Have you ever had a blog crush? You find a new blog that makes you laugh, cry, think, get inspired... or all the above. You leave a slew of comments, sign up for their RSS feed, follow your crush on Twitter, do some re-tweeting. And then you realize -- you're either a new fan or a crazy cyberstalker. Yikes.

Either way, it's exhilarating to find someone whose creative output takes you to a new place in your mind. At least it is for me.

I'd like to introduce you to BuenoBaby, my new blog crush -- a.k.a. Meredith Groenevelt, or (as I like to call her) the Edgy, Sassy Chick Who Moved Her Family to Mexico (and back again).

Now, Meredith's "output" on BuenoBaby isn't for the faint of heart. She's gutsy, talented and fearless, and she tells it like it is... and if you have an ounce of appreciation for sarcastic, self-deprecating humor (along with gorgeous, creative photography), you're gonna be all over it. Seriously, I think she's one of the funniest mom bloggers I've encountered.

(At some point, you really need to check out her latest post, "Bikini Wars: Kate Gosselin VS ME" -- talk about gutsy. Watch for her fabulous -- though unnecessary -- Photoshopping, as she points out why women need to close their eyes while moving past tabloid covers in the grocery line.)



What was it like, packing up and moving to Mexico?

"We’ve been back [in the Milwaukee area] since last fall. We lived [in Mexico] for half a year, which doesn’t sound as long as it felt! Not that time dragged by, it’s just that living in a place that’s so unfamiliar in every sense can be a bit of a time warp. Really, the whole experience is difficult to put into words; however, I’ve tried sharing the adventure of chucking it all and moving to Mexico with nothing but young children through blogging! Mexico... it’s why I began blogging, and where I started blogging."

"In a nutshell, we rented a house on the beach, packed up our truck and drove to the border. From there Ben, and a friend of ours, drove the remainder of the trip down and through Mexico to Merida which is about four hours west of Cancun. In the meantime, the girls and I flew down with a dozen suitcases."

Some great posts from Meredith's family's time in Mexico:

Where's the Concession Stand?
How We Roll in Centro
They Ride You About Flossing in Mexico Too


Do you take all the photos on your site? I love what you do with them... all that designer-y stuff. They really make your site feel special. I like being there!

"I take most of the photos, although some of the photos I’ve published on the blog have been shot by my husband, Ben, or my 12 year old daughter, Lexi, and I’ll credit them whenever I use their photos. I however do all the ‘darkroom’ work. I worked as a graphic designer back in my twenties, and am now designing web sites. My blog is a sandbox where I can play with photo techniques and design. It’s a good time."

How is your freelance web design going? What kinds of clients do you work with? Do you write for them, too?

"Ben is a web developer so he tosses me a bone now and then when he needs a site design! Haha! I love web design way more than the print work I did so, so long ago after graduating from college. It’s instantaneous, and if you mess something up, you don’t have to make a claim on your errors and omission insurance! Hey, who wants five hundred brochures on George Mucas? I mean George Lucas! Web design is so much more forgiving."

"Currently, I’m designing an online clothing boutique e-commerce site and a not for profit school alumni website. Basically my clients are individuals and small businesses. I do freelance writing, but haven’t written and designed for the same client yet."

And now the usual questions for all my TwitterMom of the Month "victims":

What's your passion?
"Photography, wine, my family, lip gloss, Twitter... not necessarily in that order."

What drives you crazy?
"Socks with sandals, football season, clutter, jeggings."

What fun things do you like doing with your family?
"We like going to water parks. Also, my dad has a boat, and this was the first summer the younger girls went tubing. We also like having movie nights with the kids. Pile up a bunch of blankets and pillows on the floor and spill grape juice on the carpet."

What celebrity would you like to meet? Why?
"This question stumps me. Seriously, I’ve never given celebrities much thought, although I saw Gwen Stefani at The American Girl Place this summer. I was seriously star struck!"



Lea Curtes-Swenson is a happy, Minneapolis-based copywriter and married mom of two little girls. Hire her at Lea Writes.