All About Jill

Hey there! I'm Jill: wife, mom, wanderer, writer, amateur photographer, foodie  freelance writer, humorist, and foodie (whew what a mouthful, right?)  living in the San Antonio area (although I'm usually somewhere else.)  I have three kids through birth and adoption. Ripped Jeans and Bifocals is a play on words to mean the oldest mom with the youngest kid…which I 99.99% always am.

If you're interested in working with me or syndicating any of my content, please check out my Work With Me page for specifics. For my privacy and disclosure policies, please check out this page…which is boring but you know…legal stuff.

 

 

I started this blog in 2014 to share stories of adoption and the general state of chaos we call parenting. I struggled with depression after our second adoption in 2013 and writing some of my thoughts and feelings about that down and sharing them was a kind of lifeline for me. My biggest lesson learned through the rough patches was not to bottle things up…which is pretty much my super power. This blog first served as a place to communicate and connect with other adoptive parents, especially those who struggled but as my after-adoption life evolved, this blog did as well.

Although I still share stories about adoption here, you're more likely to find me writing about travel, family activities and mom hacks (AKA things that save time and recipes my kids will eat without making gagging noises, which is always a win, right?)

I was invited to attend Disney Social Media Moms Celebration in 2017 and that allowed me to meet some people, have some experiences and make some connections that served to be the pivot point for my writing. 2017 and 2018 brought a ton of travel opportunities and those experiences caused me to re-evaluate and restructure my life. While I don't claim the title “minimalist” (because my closet is a horror show) I look for ways to reduce the amount of money and time I spend on “stuff” and instead focus on getting outside, getting out of my comfort zone, and exploring with my family. I believe travel teaches us diversity, humility, problem-solving and it helps our family to be a stronger team.

I'm glad you're here.

 

 

Here are a few of my most popular on my blog:

 

 

 

My writing has also appeared in The Washington Post, Scary Mommy, Babble, Woman's Day, Good Housekeeping, Ravishly, Your Tango, SheKnows, The Huffington Post, Mamalode, What the Flicka, Blunt Moms, The Good Men Project, Mamapedia, xo Jane, Mamamia, Collective Bias, Red Tricycle and Role Reboot.

I have essays in three anthologies: Mothering Through the Darkness, Martinis and Motherhood: Tales of Wonder, Woe and WTF, and Only Trollops Shave Above the Knees: The Crazy, Wonderful Lessons We Learned From Our Mothers.

Locally, my writing has appeared on Alamo City Moms Blog, The Rivard Report and in San Antonio Woman Magazine. I've also been honored as one of Healthline Magazine's Adoption Blog of the Year for 2016, 2017, and 2018, although my blog isn't very focused on adoption anymore.

In spite of that whole awkward at parties thing, I'm an experienced speaker and can talk to groups about parenting, adoption, social media and how much I love a dress with pockets.

I'm a two-time producer of Listen to Your Mother in San Antonio and an alum of the 2015 Austin cast.

I was a BlogHer Voice of the Year in 2015, which goes down as one of THE coolest experiences ever:

 

So there's me. Shoot me an email or connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. I would love to hear from you.

Thanks for reading, friend. I am really glad you are here.

 

 

This blog is managed by Ripped Jeans and Bifocals LLC and all content is copyrighted. If you want to use an image from this site, please ask. I'll usually say yes, but don't be the jerk that steals my content, m'kay?