Red Stick Mom

February is American Heart Month. According to the American Heart Association, one in three women die of heart disease or stroke. Education and lifestyle changes can prevent 80 percent of cardiac events. These were just statistics to me until I had my own heart scare two years ago. Around 2008, my husband and I decided it was time to stop living and eating like grad students so we made a commitment to start eating healthier and exercising. Even though I’ve always been a healthy weight, I was never physically fit. We both started running and really began to enjoy it. We trained for 5ks, 10ks, and eventually a half marathon together. After having our first child, running became my special...

We have a queen sized bed. Both my husband and I toss and turn a lot at night. These two things have always kept us from trying "co-sleeping." Our bed isn't that big, and I am afraid of squishing our child. Sam and I occasionally took a nap together when he was very small and not mobile yet. But he always did fine in his bassinet and transitioned easily to his crib. So, I never thought much about co-sleeping. Sam just made a year and is walking practially running everywhere all the time. I had a week or so off of work during the holidays, and Sam waited until then to start teething again and get a double ear infection. It...

Why I Encourage Curiosity About My Child With Special Needs After the reality of having a child with very complex medical and developmental needs sank in, I decided that I was going to bring my sweet Connor in his bright blue wheelchair everywhere I could. I wanted to introduce him to everyone and everything that makes this world go round. I knew it'd be tough (like places that are not handicap accessible, which by the way STINKS), but I was prepared. I was going to teach the world about my son. I started noticing the stares from others fairly quick, from adults and children. I know they are curious stares, but what hurts the most for me is when certain parents reprimand their child for staring at mine and...

On January 29, we had 40 moms come together to participate in an educational evening held at the locally-owned Alexander’s Highland Market. It was a great night to meet other, local moms, chat about meal-planning, eat and drink, enter some incredible giveaways, and take home an awesome SWAG bag! Here's a closer look at this great night.  We were so happy to have Courtney Brock, the director of the Metabolic Kitchen at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, and her team of Dieticians ready to lead our moms on an informative tour that focused on making healthy choices and gathering ingredients for a delicious Quinoa Lentil Chili. Courtney began the tour in the produce section of the store where Hanley’s Foods...

I am currently 9 months pregnant with bouncing boy No. 2, and I could not be more excited. Overall, this pregnancy has been a breeze compared to my first. Only one day of morning sickness, so much less worry, and I have confidence that I know what I'm doing and am getting myself into. I'll admit I was a little nervous of the idea of being pregnant with a toddler running around, but instead of it being this terrible thing I was expecting, its been pretty great and even hilarious at times as I've even noticed a few things we have in common now.  And just think, my lucky husband gets to deal with us both! 1.  We can't focus...