Shanti
Shanti is the product of recovering hippie parents. She’s a lifelong Texan, born in El Paso, with stops in Lubbock and Austin for college, before settling in San Antonio. She met her husband when she was 18. They both married and divorced other people before they realized it was meant to be. She now owns a firm with her partner in crime and together they practice family law in San Antonio and the surrounding area. Her husband works for a multi-national company making sure the cold stuff stays cold at your local HEB. They are raising twin tornadoes affectionately known as the Aliens, along with a rotating menagerie of dogs and cats. In her free time, she is involved in local nonprofits, runs, and serves proudly on the Broad Board.
Our Not-So-Typical Passover
My father came from a family of Mexican Catholics; my mother, from a family of New York Jews. I grew up Unitarian Universalist with a knowledge that my religious legacy was as muddied as...
Move Along, Tooth Fairy
Dear Tooth Fairy,
I apologize for not writing sooner. Don't worry, teeth are dropping left and right around here. We are all brushing and flossing, too. All is well. But here's the thing: We don't...
You’re Never Too Old for a Birthday Party
The piñata is strung up. Balloons are inflated, and streamers are everywhere. The hot dogs and hamburgers are ready, toppings spread out in ice to keep cool. A giant orange cooler of Kool-aid is...
Here Piggy, Piggy: Finding the Perfect Marranitos
Marranitos. Cochinitos. Puerquitos. They all mean "little piggy," and here in Texas, they generally refer to the gingerbread pig-shaped pan dulce found in nearly every panaderia in town. When I was a kid, my...
Why I Side Hustle
Spoiler alert: I didn't do it to build an empire, quit my day job, or make a better life for my family. I also didn't do it because I found the next greatest miracle...
Plain Language and Non-Partisan Translations for Your Voting Ballot
Voting can be confusing. To help you feel less overwhelmed by the process, I wanted to translate some parts of the voting ballot into plain English. All the way down the ballot—after your Federal,...
Why I Vote
It’s fall, y’all! And you know what that means? No, not cool weather and changing leaves—we still live in South Central Texas, after all. It means election season. You’re probably feeling overwhelmed and maybe...
Kindergarten Is Not Supposed to Be This Hard: Agonizing Over School Choices
They could barely contain their excitement, and the backseat was a raucous party. Bedtime last night was an ordeal. Neither of them wanted to go to sleep, but both wanted the morning to come...
New and Unique Sweets in San Antonio
Life is short. Eat dessert first.
When you’ve grown tired of the standard Oreo cookies, vanilla ice cream, and yellow cake, it’s time to branch out. My kids approve this article, mostly because it involved...
I Am a San Antonio Mom: Designer Meredith Siegel
One evening, when I was super pregnant with my twins, I attended a Moms' Night Out event with the San Antonio Area Mothers of Multiples. It was painting, which I enjoy. I figured I...
Daily Pictures: A Year in the Life of My Aliens
525,600 minutes, 525,600 moments so dear. 525,600 minutes—how do you measure, measure a year?
I measured it in one picture a day. I measured it in dozens of leotards on Dance Tuesday, in a month of...
Raising Readers
My children are pod people. Do I date myself when I use that reference? Body Snatchers was a really bad movie released in 1993. It’s the third remake based on a book called The...
Annual Performance Review: Self-Evaluation
Job Title: Mom II
Start Date: September 18, 2012
Salary: Hugs and kisses
Job Description: Wiper of noses, washer of clothes, maker of beds. Disciplinarian, teacher, bump and scrape kisser. Cook, arbitrator, tucker-inner.
What do you like most...
Valentine’s Day Butterfly Craft with Kids
My daughter has inherited my crafty genes and will "do projects" any chance she gets. We have piles of things cut, glued, glittered, and stuck together everywhere. I try to channel this creative energy...