Red Stick Mom

March 2020 marked one year since I’d started a long and arduous weight loss journey. It’s never been about being skinny so much as feeling good and showing a healthy example for my kids. I’d lost 30 pounds between March and September and maintained that loss through holidays and vacations thereafter. There's No Trick There was no magic pill or colorful drink. There was no special diet where I could only eat four foods at any given time. There was no subscription service or MLM. I researched and read and got help from a nutritionist and at the end of the day it was simple – calories in versus calories out. Tracking, weighing portions, balanced diet. That’s what it all boils...

Up and at em’ – today is going to be a good day. Or at least that’s what I tell myself bright and early on Saturday morning, intending to be productive. I tell Alexa to play my favorite playlist and pour a large cup of coffee, ready to tackle the day and that never-ending to-do list. But somehow, my plan for productivity goes out the window and I am no longer in control of my day. Interruption after interruption. I find myself having to referee my children, get someone a snack, or change a diaper. I sometimes feel completely defeated before 2 PM, and I have little to show for it. The belief that I should have accomplished more can result in...

Welp, here I am, almost 30 weeks pregnant with twins! It’s truly crazy how fast it has flown by. As the months have passed, I’ve talked to my doctors, read a book or two, and scanned plenty of posts from other twin moms. I have openly accepted that this birth will be much different from my last two. I will either deliver the twins via C-section or vaginally with an epidural, and I will deliver them in the OR either way. I am ok with either scenario. It will mostly depend on the position the babies are in. But I thought I’d share my experience with natural birth and impart my advice if there are any moms out there...

Being raised with divorced parents, I never wanted my own child to go through the same thing. No one really wants it for their child, or for themselves. But life happens, and we make decisions that affect our circumstances. So here we are. My daughter, who is now 10 years old, has no memory of her dad and me being together. She sees photos, but he and I living apart is all she has ever really known. Since our divorce nine years ago, my ex and I have done our best to ensure our daughter is taken care of. I separated from the military two years after our divorce and moved six hours away from my ex with our daughter....

I’ve never in my life been without a dog. I grew up rescuing dogs. For a good bit of my childhood, I lived right next to a “puppy drop-off” in Pride, Louisiana. Basically, my house was near a stop sign in the middle of nowhere, so it was a great place for assholes to dump a box of puppies they didn’t want. I rescued a dog on my own to take with me to college before I even graduated high school. In college, I stopped anytime I saw an animal wandering on the side of the road. I loved getting pets back home to their owners. I loved doing my part to open South Louisiana’s eyes to the world of...