I am not from the Northwest, but having been in Edmonds for almost 10 years, it’s the only place I’ve lived as a Mom. In my trips back home and my interaction with Mom friends who live in other places, I’ve realized that you can kind of spot different Moms from different places based on what they wear, what their kids wear, and what they are talking about.

Though there seems to be a million ways to spot an Edmonds Mom, I have narrowed this list down to the six characteristics that I believe identify a Mom from Edmonds.

She has “The Hat.”

The type of hat depends on the type of Mom. Some Edmonds Moms wear more of a running hat, this is not me. If I am running there is danger behind me, OR one of my kids in front of me, likely my youngest; HE is a runner, though a different kind. The other is a cute northwest-y type hat; mine is from REI and the Mom’s on my kid’s soccer teams seem to have the same thing. The hats can be used for anything from saving your face from rain at Civic Field (I guess it is sometimes sun), or concealing unwashed hair. Mine is almost always the latter.

She’s at one of the great places to hang out indoors when it’s raining.

She may be at the Playdate Café trying to get a conversation with a friend in while drinking coffee. The Edmonds Library Storytime is full on Edmonds Moms and honestly, The Lynnwood Library Storytime is too. In fact, that is the only one that has ever worked with our schedule. Maybe she’s at one of the places to get a free treat to make shopping easier — a free piece of kid’s fruit at PCC, or free cookie at QFC or Freddy’s. The Friday Playzone at the Frances Anderson Center, which the Edmonds Mom refers to as FAC when texting, is full of local Moms who have reminders set on their phones to sign up for next week’s Playzone by 9 a.m. the Friday before. This Edmonds Mom was often found talking to Teri or her daughter Megan in Teri’s Toybox while my kids played with the trains. I’d pick up a workbook or get their advice on what might keep my kids busy so I could stare at my computer and click on slideshows too embarrassing to share.

She brings a present to your kid’s birthday party in the bag from Teri’s Toy Box.

You’ve seen it. It has balloons on it and looks professionally done but doesn’t cost a dime to have it wrapped. The best part of shopping at Teri’s Toybox, besides the conversation and supporting a local business, is the guidance. You know, not every Edmonds Mom has a daughter and knows what to buy a third-grade girl.

She can be seen chatting up Debbie from Edmonds Parks and Recreation

Edmonds has a ton of stuff to do for kids (and adults too, really); Debbie, who can be found at the front desk at Francis Anderson Center, is really the gatekeeper. She signs you up for Art Class, Kidz Love Soccer (which starts up another session this weekend), Summer Camp, and/or Meadowdale Preschool. She knows “The Craze” inside and out. She also has great personalized suggestions. She is an Edmonds Mom secret weapon. Ask any Edmonds Mom standing at the desk catching up with Debbie and talking about her grandkids.

Her kid is wearing a Sno-King jersey.

Doing a sport through the Sno-King Youth Club seems to be a rite of passage for most Edmonds kids, though not all. We didn’t get a jersey, read t-shirt with Sno-King on the front, ‘til our second kid. We are currently up to two but with some kids doing Fall Soccer, Winter Basketball, and Spring Soccer, that’s three jerseys a year.

She is talking about EMoms

EMoms is short for Moms on The Edmonds Moms Facebook page. An EMom posts about a power outage, an attempted break in, a deal at the Edmonds TJ Maxx for kid’s Seahawks Jerseys, traffic backups, and misspellings at the new 5 corners. She hears, says, and sends and receives texts with the sentence, “Did you see what is happening on EMoms today?” I once asked a question about a Benjamin Franklin costume for my son’s vocabulary parade and within minutes a stranger offered to let me borrow her kid’s costume. We got our copy of Toy Story 3 for 2 bucks from an EMom, we totally met at FAC.

— By Jennifer Marx

Jen Marx, an Edmonds Mom of two young boys, is a traffic reporter by dawn and writer and PBJ maker by day. She is always looking for a fun place to take the kids that makes them tired enough to go to bed on time. You can find her trying to make sense of begging kids to ” just eat the mac n cheese” at SnackMomSyndrome.com. If you have a kid-friendly event you’d like to share, email her at play@myedmondsnews.com.