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Hola! I’m Adriana Predmore. I was born in central Mexico and lived there for part of my childhood. Mexico will always hold a special place in my heart, but Kansas City is my home! I’ve been married to Mr. DIY himself and biggest supporter for five years. We have two high energy dogs, KC and Chief (can you tell I love Kansas City yet?) that require A LOT of attention. The newest addition is Jackson, our adorable rainbow baby. I’m a foreign language teacher and take full advantage of my position to promote the beauty in diversity. In my lack of spare time, you’ll find me running a photography business, chasing a toddler out of the pantry, and cleaning paw prints off my floors! My obsessions are TJ Maxx, romantic comedies, HGTV, and ice cream.
Hi there! I’m Ashley: a mom to an incredibly sweet and active 18-month-old boy, and wife to a kind-hearted Louisville, KY native. My past-life includes 14 years living in Brooklyn, NY, 2 years in Cincinnati, OH, completing a few degrees from art school in NYC (Pratt), and having a full career working with artists, makers and creative entrepreneurs. I recently returned home to KC (Waldo), where I’m excited to plant roots and grow our family. You can currently find me navigating and enjoying my new career caring for my son full-time, and using every chance I can to tap into the great art scene KC has to offer. I'd love to meet you!
Bethany Duber is a foster parent to two incredible toddler boys. Born and raised in Raytown, Bethany graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism in 2012 with the dream of becoming a copywriter for an ad agency. After 7 years of the ad word, she decided to change careers and is now working as the Special Events Coordinator at FosterAdopt Connect. This new career brings an exciting new challenge and allows her continue her dedication to helping kids in foster care. Bethany knows first-hand some of the unique challenges foster parents face. She also knows how incredibly rewarding it is to be given the title mommy and is thankful for every moment she has with her precious kiddos. Bethany’s passions include her family, improving the lives of kids in foster care, and fighting for social justice. Her hobbies include writing poetry and children’s books, podcasting with her husband about movies and supporting local KC businesses.
Brie Hilton lives in the Northland is a stay-at-home mom with multiple side hustles in the Northland. Her oldest son, Charlie, is 7 and has his own pet-sitting business and outsmarts his parents at least three times a week. Her youngest, Patrick, is 5 and has cerebral palsy and autism, so she considers herself an expert on navigating the special needs life on way too little sleep. In her spare time (ha), Brie teaches group fitness classes, has a boutique in her basement, naps too much, and actively ignores the piles of laundry on the floor.
Hi there! I’m Britni and I am a mama to three feisty daughters ages 10, 7 and 3 and wife to my high school sweetheart and king of dad jokes. I live in northwest Olathe where I start my days with coffee and end them with wine after teaching part-time and chauffeuring around our daughters to approximately 1 million activities. Three years ago my husband and I started a small business “on the side” and it has quickly morphed into more of full time gig than we originally thought, but it’s oh so fun! Writing for Kansas City Collective has been such a joy and a fun creative outlet for me. I also enjoy running and wine club dinners.
East Coast snob finds happiness in Midwest. That would be my headline if I was a news story. Here's the real story though: I'm Courtney, mother to 6 year old James. I'm a New England native who moved to KC in 2004 for a TV news job and had no idea what I was in for. Fast forward to now and my son is a Kindergartner, we live in the urban core, and I'm a recovering TV news producer who loves working in the KC civic and non-profit community, currently for the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.
My name is Darin Wisner. No, my parents did not think they were having a boy, they just love unique gender-neutral names. I have been happily married to my Husband Greg for two years now, and we have a smiley, cuddly, and loving seven-month old girl. We also have two doggie daughters, Caroline and Shasta. My sisters and I are also the primary caretaker for our Dad. I am a born and raised Kansas City Metro girl, moved to Lawrence, KS for my first-ever teaching job, and moved back to the Lee’s Summit area once I got married. I am a proud high school teacher coming from a family of educators, as well as a high school softball coach. I love everything Kansas City has to offer!
Hi! I’m Denise; wife to Doug for 36 years, mom to Kate who lives in DC and works at NASA, Caroline who became our angel at four months old and Ryan who is a junior at KState majoring in Mechanical Engineering and Physics and two fantastic felines, Walter and Arthur. I love to take pictures, cook and bake, watch sports, dabble in most any type of crafting and hang out with my family. Mostly out of necessity, I have become fascinated with social media and have a false sense of pride that I am better at it than most people my age. I have a constantly changing bucket list, mostly revolving around things I can do with friends or family and that doesn’t require me to address my solid fear of heights!
I am a mom of two girls, 3 and 6 and a boy arriving in June as well as our furbaby, Walter. I've been married to my southern raised, patient and silly husband for 8 years. Born and raised in Kansas City, I am naturally an avid Chiefs fan. I am the Director of E-Commerce & Retail at J. Rieger & Co. distillery and thoroughly enjoy being a full time-working mom. I am an open book and hope that my real stories of what works for our family and the raw emotions that come with each of life's curve balls helps guide other families along their journey. Being a Mom of two wildly active girls, one whose spirit needs some extra attention, I am currently navigating child advocacy and support for parents who lean on professional resources for children with behavioral disorders. I love getting lost in the kitchen or a book, going on walks and spending time with friends and family.”
Hi! I'm Franchesca! I am originally from Arizona, the Phoenix area, but moved to Missouri in 2015. It was one of the scariest things I have ever done in my life, but I have absolutely fallen in love with Kansas City! I live in Lee's Summit with my husband and four boys and we have no clue what we are doing! We fly by the seat of our pants on any given day, but we are so happy here. I love learning and have a background in cosmetology. I am currently working on completing a degree at UMKC, majoring in psychology, please pray for me. As a stay-at-home mom, I spend most of my day, honestly, cleaning up messes and drinking Dr. Pepper. I love to bake, read non-textbooks, do DIY home projects, think about exercising, and binge watch TV shows. But, my favorite hobby is letting my kids run wild through the neighborhood while the adults socialize on the patio. Also tacos, I love mexican food and tacos!
Hello, I’m Jacque (pronounced Jackie!). I have been married to my high school sweetheart for nearly 23 years (we have 3 years of really bad prom pictures to prove it!). We have 4 children that keep us on our toes; Allie is 17, Caroline 15, Jane 13, and Wade is 9. After 12 years of being away from the full-time workforce, I returned just over a year ago as a small business coach for Mizzou’s Business Development Program. I also teach part-time for the UMKC Bloch School of Management. In the very early mornings, I am finishing up the final stretch of an Organizational Psychology PhD program; my dissertation research is the impact of mentorship on identity and self-efficacy in mothers returning to work after an extended child-rearing leave. I love being involved in this incredible community and especially love volunteering for educational initiatives. I am happy to be here and happy to meet each of you!
Born in Kansas City, Jamie spent age 8-18 in Columbia, Mo., yet always considered KC to be home. After graduating from high school, Jamie quickly made her way back and attended Avila University where she earned her degree in Communication. Now a proud resident of Lenexa, Jamie is wife to her love, Andy, and mom to the dream team; Lucy (10), Quinn (8) and Hazel (4)…she also considers her Dad (66) to be her oldest child.
Jamie is the KCMC Events Director, sits as the Vice President of her children's PTO at their school and is constantly asked by her kids when she wears jeans, “why are so dressed up today?”
Jamie is always in search of a good coffee shop, is a self-diagnosed fall-aholic, loves Jazzercise, is a proud member of “The Read That Society” (a book club full of close friends that just celebrated its 11th anniversary), is an internet ordained minister who has performed two weddings, loves blasting Paul McCartney out of the minivan windows on a beautiful day and anxiously awaits the day that Joanna Gaines finally realizes they should be best friends.
Jen was born and raised in Overland Park. After going to Indiana University for college, then living in Washington, D.C. and Chicago, she grew exhausted of circling for a parking spot and headed back home to be near family. She and her husband Matt are parents to a 10 year-old boy and a 8 year-old girl. Jen teaches kindergarten and her husband teaches high school, so they wonder how they’ll relate to their kids during the middle school years. She spends her free time cheering on the Chiefs, Royals, and Hoosiers, hanging out with family, laughing with her teacher friends, and fostering a love/hate relationship with boxing. She also loves traveling, Target, coffee, wine, sunflowers and all things pop culture.
Hi there! I’m JiaoJiao Shen – wannabe world traveler, amateur chef, expert tiger mom. My little family of four consists of my husband (Jason), son (Henry), and daughter (Lucy). I’m a transplant to the Kansas City area after living in a number of different places including San Francisco, Denver, and Oklahoma City. I graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and spent more than a decade as a morning news anchor before deciding I didn't want to continue waking up at 2 a.m. every day. I am currently a PR director at Hallmark where I get the privilege of sharing stories of caring with the world. I am passionate about sharing all aspects of my Chinese culture with my children and their friends from our language to our holidays to, of course, our food! In what little spare time I have, I love to catch up on the latest popular TV shows (ahem Bridgerton), eating…I mean cooking… (but really eating), “exercising” outdoors (and by exercise, I mean walking at a leisurely pace), and reading (anything and everything but especially cheesy HEA romance novels – see Bridgerton reference above).
Jollene is a SAHM to 2 toddler boys and married to her best friend. They operate in a bilingual household. She is a bi-coastal transplant (CA and NJ), living in east KC since 2008. On the daily, you'll find her driving the Hot Mess Express because of trying to do all the things with not enough hours in a day. She claims to be an Enneagram 1 THROUGH 6 because choices are hard. Food is her love language. Jesus is her jam. Follow along @EdamommyDearest for faith, family, and fashion. MIZ!
I'm Julia and I live in Olathe with my husband of 13 years, my 7 and 2.5 year old daughters, and a sweet old blind pug we call Boopers. I’m a social worker turned SAHM (at least til my youngest starts school). I love Dr. Pepper, thunderstorms, and talking to other adults. I hate coffee, diet culture, and washing dishes. I'll talk your ear off about the best local parks and which restaurants have wronged me by changing their long-standing menu items. I try to walk the line between knowing a lot of stuff and not being a know-it-all. Some days I'm better than others.
Hey! My name is Julie and I use too many exclamation points! My husband Grady and I are attempting to raise two wild women, Mia and Reese. We live in Shawnee where our faux bulldog Marge rules the roost. My hobbies include driveway drinking, going to parks and desperately trying to have date nights. My likes include the Jayhawks, coffee, craft beer and ChapStick. My dislikes include samesiders (people who sit on the same side of the booth when no one is on the other side), jerks and grocery shopping.
Kara is a coffee loving, pregnant, stay at home toddler and dog mom. Kara and her wife have been doing life together for 11 years and married for 6. They are raising their kids in a rural suburb just outside Kansas City and navigating raising kiddos that don’t know life outside of a global pandemic. Home improvement projects, playing in nature, and time with family are what keep them sane. A current focus in her personal life is remembering and relearning the joy in all things she enjoyed before they became her “job” or the “grown up thing” to do, like cooking, cleaning, and exercising; and always working towards growth and balance.
Born and raised in the KC metro, I now live in OP with my husband, 8yo son, goofy Golden mix and grouchy geriatric cat. After graduating from KU & spending over a decade as a buttoned-up corporate person, I quit my job, pierced my nose & hunkered down to raise a kiddo. Here we are, 6 years later, & I love spending my days writing, volunteering & planning our next far-flung adventure.
Kelly is a wife, teacher, and mom of three. She has a very active 5 year old son, Banks, and 3 year old twin girls, Kate and Hayden. Originally a Wichita, KS native, she moved to Kansas City in 2010. After marrying her husband, Shaun, in 2013, they wasted no time starting a family. Having three kids in 2 years takes quite the amount of patience and task mastering. In between picking up toys, chasing monsters, playing in the dirt, potty training, singing songs and fixing meals that her kids don't eat, she loves exercising, coffee dates, wine, and binge watching the latest TV drama series. The busy-ness of life is what keeps her going, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. When life calms down and a date night ensues, Kelly and Shaun enjoy trying new restaurants in the KC area!
Hi! I’m Kelly! I was born in South Korea, grew up in Nebraska, went to college at Kansas State, and spent my 20s in Washington, D.C. I moved to the Kansas City area in 2012 (vowing never to complain about traffic again after commuting on the Beltway), where I met my husband who was then stationed with the Army at Fort Leavenworth. In addition to being busy with my job in digital advertising, I’m running around with our rescue dog and 1.5 year old daughter. I also love volunteering with various organizations in KC, finding new creative outlets, exploring new places and things to do, shopping a good sale, aiming to keep my plants alive, and spending time with friends and family. Someday I also hope to get back into something I did before having a baby – triathlons! My ideal afternoon involves a stop at Family Tree Nursery, listening to podcasts in my car with the windows down, and trying a new restaurant. The real treat of the day would be to actually witness my toddler eating her veggies!
Kelsey was born and raised in Branson, Mo. It was there, in the town that boasts the “World’s Largest Banjo” that she met her husband, Samuel. It was his first day at a new high school and she was the only person to say “Hi” to him that day, so he married her! A decade later and now they take up residence in Raymore, Mo, but tell out-of-state people they are from “Kansas City” because it is way easier. Kelsey taught high school English for 6 years, but now she stays home to hang out with her adorable toddler, Theodore. Her passions include traveling (34 countries and counting!), playing board games, writing murder mystery parties, reading, and talking to as many people as possible.
Kimberly Preston is a proud St. Louis native and a graduate of Mizzou. As a product and marketing professional, she continued her journey along I-70 West and moved to Kansas City in 2001 to work at Hallmark. She celebrated her 20th anniversary there in February 2021. Since moving to KC, she’s attended graduate school, obtaining her MBA from Baker University, built two houses, married the love of her life, Brandon, in 2013, and was blessed with two beautiful children, the charming and always empathetic Mr. Hudson (2014) and the sassy natural-born leader Georgia (2016). Kimberly is a regular volunteer in the KC community with Harvesters, Junior Achievement, local women’s shelters, churches and her children’s schools. She is also a certified Toastmaster Public Speaker and a proud member of several organizations including Black Achievers Society and Suburban Balance. Kimberly loves organizing and all things decorating, event planning, cooking and traveling! One of her biggest passions is using her voice and talent to alleviate issues around diversity, inclusion and equity for people of color. You can find her on Instagram @PrestonPartyof4
Kristin is a Lee’s Summit suburb transplant, after living in the Brookside and Plaza areas for over eight years. Raising three young boys with her husband, Jake, has helped her to embrace the messy, wild side of life where love is expressed in bear hugs and body slams. Professionally, she can be found teaching classes as an adjunct professor in the areas of Business, Marketing and PR. She is able to provide her students with applicable, real-life knowledge as she draws from several years working in the corporate sector. “Free time” (ha!, what's that again?) is spent on an occasional date night to favorite local restaurants, reading blogs on everything from home design to politics, riding her sweet beach cruiser bike and thinking of ways to convince her husband to do yet another home improvement project.
Hi! I'm LaToi-ya, born and raised in Leavenworth KS. Married since 2008 my husband Tony and I are raising three great kids. Branden 16, Knyla'lee 9, and Alaiyah 5. We spent our first years together in Norfolk VA, where my husband was stationed while serving in the Navy. In 2015 we found our way back home to KC buying our first home in the Northland. I have studied photography earning certificates from New York Institute of Photography while honing that craft. I enjoy watching my children figure out life through all their stages, crafting, gardening, music, good coffee, and food. When I'm not trying to organize our house of five, you can find me being creative or at the gym working off all the good food I love to eat! I am so excited to share my family's adventures and lifestyle with you.
A Michigan native, Lauren has lived in the Kansas City area since 2014. She is now settled in Overland Park with her husband Taylor, 2-year-old son Silas, and their three fur babies—and come October, a baby girl will join the madness! Professionally, Lauren is a writer/PR professional for a PR firm in NYC. Always struggling to balance work, life, and motherhood, Lauren’s survival strategy is to look for humor and joy amidst the chaos. Her best advice for relieving stress is to bake a batch of cookies (works every time).
Lindsey grew up in Lawrence and graduated from the University of Kansas. She lives in Eudora with her son Colby (10), daughter Payton (12), and her husband Jason (who is old). Her day job consists of editing scientific articles for a medical journal based out of Leawood. In her free time, she contemplates what it means to be 40 years old and wonders if she needs to stop wearing Old Navy rubber flip flops. She also loves taking long baths, watching trashy Netflix shows, and is passionate about working to improve her community.
Hi, I’m Lizzie and you could say…I’m just a little wild at heart. I’ve tried on a lot of different lives before finding the one that fit. This meant many jobs, 9 different towns, 3 marriages-but now I’m home. I’ve been in Kansas City since my son was 6 weeks old and he’s now 7, so this is a record for me. I absolutely love KC. I’ve been in the nonprofit industry the majority of my career and this is a special sector of KC, unmatched in spirit and connections. I’ve just recently started my own business, Lizzie Scribbles LLC, where I offer a complete range of writing and editing services. My partner, Greg, and I live in North Kansas City with our 3 children – Grayson (8), Kase (7) and Adria (6). We love music more than most things and our kids are allowed to swear if it’s within solid music choices (sometimes the kids get too metal for me, but what can you do). We have family date night every Saturday, love road trips, but also find happiness just staying in the backyard while the kids use the slip n’ slide or having movie night snuggled up with popcorn and chocolates.
I’m Marsha, the devoted wife of a Nebraska Husker fan, mother to a sweet laid back 7-year-old boy named Kellen and a 5-year-old spunky know-it-all named Rowen. I am a Kansas City native, proud Northwest Bearcat Alumni, and enthusiastic 4th grade teacher! I enjoy stolen moments where I can read in peace, indulging in chocolate chip cookies whenever possible, tending to my vegetable garden and finding new ways to annoy my daughter! My goal in life is to be my authentic self, follow the motto of ‘She did what she could,’ and share that with other moms!
Hi! I'm Megan, former Kindergarten teacher turned stay-at-home-but-never-home mom to Peyton, 5, and Gage, 2. I'm married to the most patient person on this earth, Chris, and we live in Overland Park with our kids and rescue pup, Millie. You can find me over committing to everything, reading informational and self-help texts, listening to parenting podcasts, organizing, spending time with friends over margaritas, thrifting, and staying up way too late to have peace and serenity. I love people and hearing their stories and look forward to connecting with KCMC readers!
Pamela de la Fuente is a proud native of Flint, Michigan. She moved to Kansas City in 2003 to work at The Kansas City Star. Since then, she’s bought two houses, gotten married, worked at some other KC companies, and had a couple of kids. She is a La Leche League leader (Ask her about breastfeeding!), a mom of two toddlers, and a professional writer and editor. Pamela loves big and small adventures with her family, sampling craft beer with her husband, David, and eating ice cream all year round.
Approximately 1 day of her life, Rachel hiked on a glacier in Iceland. The other 99.9% of her days her hands are full doing creative strategy at Hallmark Cards, being a mom to Luna who is a five-year-old Queen of Sass, wife to Matt who is a sweet Google-a-holic, and dog mom to Rosie, whose sweetness is matched only by her smelliness. Her favorite ways to avoid cleaning the house are leisurely strolls through Target (pre-pandemic) listening to mostly crime podcasts, spending a small fortune on curly hair products, crafting Barbie schools out of Amazon boxes, making complicated recipes with too many ingredients, playing 1 million games of Zingo, and enjoying her Westside downtown neighborhood with her family.
Hi, I'm Shadai. I was raised in Shawnee/Overland Park but have pretty much lived all over the KC metro area. I now live in Lees Summit with my high school sweetheart Nick, our very sassy and energetic 2.5 year old Olivia, and little old grumpy yorkie Milo. I'm a Clinical Trial Specialist turned SAHM who drinks way too much coffee and is obsessed with crafting/DIY projects. I am also a pop culture aficionado who got sucked into the world of TIK TOK during quarantine and may or may not need a self help group to stop watching/cracking up at them before bedtime. My other interests include but not limited to: true crime series/podcasts (shout out to my fellow murderinos!), reading, binging Netflix/Hulu, good local KC restaurants/coffee shops, pretending like I know what is going on with KC sports since my husband is a HUGE FAN (yay sports - do the thing, win the points), IG scrolling for craft ideas/outfit inspos and shopping for good deals. Although my days are filled with trips to the park and crafts with Olivia, I can't wait to meet all of you KC Mamas!
I'm Sherita! I am married to my BFF Scott and we have 5 awesome kiddos. We are a blended family, and every day is an adventure in our home. I was born in Kansas City and raised in Colorado Springs for part of my childhood. After some moving around and life changes. I decided to come back home, best decision I have made! We call North Kansas City home and we absolutely love it. Its the small-town feel within the big city. When I am not taking my kids somewhere, or knee-deep in laundry I enjoy crafting, bible journaling, being involved in my kids' schools, and thrift store shopping! So basically I am busy crafting, momma who loves God and a good deal! Nice to meet y'all.
Tiffany Wall is a Southern California native, University of Arizona journalism major, and now a stay-at-home mom married with four little kiddos, her oldest being in Kindergarten. With three girls who love everything princesses, mermaids, unicorns, her house always full of glitter and sparkle everywhere! Going from a SoCal beach girl to MidWest mama has been a crazy change for her, but in a good way! Although her days filled with weekly Disneyland trips has now ended, she can’t wait for all the new and exciting adventures here with her family in Kansas!