Who is Chaotic Mom? Why is she putting together these books?

Hi! I’m Karin Markert, aka “Chaotic Mom”. Years ago I started a popular little blog called “Chaotic Home” (now closed). I was documenting my journey from a chaotic home to a more ordered way of life. The blog was receiving so many hits each day that a marketing firm contacted me to write reviews for some of their products. While working on my blog, I also did some graphic work and website design for others, using the design name of Chaotic Mom. The name Chaotic Mom has stuck with me since that time.

I am a tired Army wife of almost 20 years, mother of three very energetic boys, and keeper of a dog, two cats and various other animals. My dad built a darkroom when I was 12. I grew up rolling my own film and developing color and black and white photos. When I was 14 he bought our first Macintosh, and I started working with Mac Draw as soon as it was released. All through my school years I took photos for the newspapers and yearbooks, created fliers, etc. In college I wrote some articles and took photos for their publications, and worked as a graphics intern for the school’s distance learning program.

Jump ahead a few years, and you’ll find me married and still plunking away at the keyboard. When we were in South Carolina I worked with print graphics for a number of people, and did the design and layout for a 16 page, biweekly newspaper. While we were in Texas, I published the Fort Hood Officers’ Spouses’ Club newsletter, 16-24 pages/month, as well as our unit’s newsletter during deployment, 20-24 pages/month. At that time I also edited and self-published our unit cookbook. I am currently editing the Fort Leavenworth Spouses’ Club Newsletter.

A few of my articles have been published in the Fort Hood Sentinel, the Hands & Voices newsletter, the Army Times, a regular column in the Wifeline, the Fort Hood Officers’ Spouses’ Club newsletter and an article or two in the Sunflower, the Fort Leavenworth Spouses’ Club newsletter.  

I’ve taught Army Family Team Building classes in Camp Casey, S. Korea, DLI-Monterey, CA, and at Fort Lewis, WA.  I’m now helping coordinate and teach the Field Grade Spouse Seminar at Fort Leavenworth, KS. 

There are wonderful books on the market which describe the customs and courtesies of military life. You can also find books about proper etiquette for just about every situation you may face. What I can’t find is a good “girlfriends’ guide” about the experiences I’ve lived through during the last 20 years. As we are all limited by our own personal experiences, I thought this kind of book would best be written with through a variety of voices and experiences. My goal is to collect essays from as many spouses as possible, edit and combine them into a book that will share our experiences with others, to help them “walk in our shoes”.

I’m so excited and can’t wait to read what you have to share! And I’m also very eager to start working on these books and share them with other spouses, too! ;)

---Karin Markert, aka “Chaotic Mom”