Family Friendly Blount

Getting to know Shelby Shankland

My family relocated to Tennessee from San Francisco back in June of 2010. It was one of the best decisions of our lives, right up there with the decisions to get married and have babies. This move has allowed us so many things – to both work from home, to afford quality preschool for our daughter, to be close to family members, to let our five year-old traipse around the neighborhood with friends until the street lights come on, and to catch a breath every now and then.

We miss the West Coast, but having grown up in Pennsylvania (me) and Indiana (my husband), Tennessee is a more familiar way of life. I maintain my hippie roots – I cloth diaper, don't let my kids cry it out, have some tie-dyed clothes and went to The Farm to deliver my second child.  In spite of my roots, you will never see me out and about without my 'face' on, and I'm a big fan of bras. I have so enjoyed getting to know my new friends here in the South. 

Click here to read more about Shelby's transition to East Tennessee on her blog New Mom Chronicles.  

Shelby is blessed to be the mother of a very expressive 5 year-old girl and a sweet, handsome 2 month-old baby boy. She is married to an incredibly handsome and talented husband, and carries the part-time professional titles of copy editor, project manager, production manager, classical flutist, postpartum doula, and most recently a Certified Lactation Educator Counselor. She relocated almost two years ago to Maryville from San Francisco, and although her heart still pines for the expansive beauty of the California Coast, her spirit is reveling in the possibilities that a slower life in the South can offer – and is providing – to her and her family.