Red Stick Mom

My decision to go from work-at-home doula mom to heel wearing, daily hair washing full-time corporate mom was not an easy one.  In fact, it took me about a year to truly commit to going back to work. But after 2.5 years, it was time.  It had become clear that staying home was not bringing out the best in me as a mom, and the desire to have more financial flexibility for our family led me to pursue career opportunities.  I was blessed to find something very quickly (much more quickly than I had planned to be honest), and a new chapter of our lives was underway. In the months leading up to my career change, I had a lot of...

Let’s be honest, we all love the south for its warm temperatures. We don’t love freezing cold weather– we much prefer the days when the sun shines endlessly, and it's warm enough to eat sno-balls in our flip-flops. And, now, spring is starting to peek through, and we are ready! Unfortunately for some of us, the welcome sight of sun shine and blooming flowers means the dreaded allergy season is upon us - the time of year for itchy eyes, runny noses and eighteen sneezes in a row as you approach that blooming ligustrum. As adults, we have it covered. Head to the pharmacy and grab something over the counter or begin taking the allergy medicine your primary care...

Friendships are hard.  At least for me.  Growing up, I was a tomboy--one of the guys--with a fierce independent streak. I never had a lot of girl friends. I also moved around a bit, so I don't have any friends that I've known since elementary school.  College and grad school brought dear friends--kindred spirits--but distance keeps us apart these days. My husband is my absolute best friend, and I'm lucky to be married to him. We've had lots of adventures and have moved across country a few times in our nearly decade-long marriage.  Its easy to be best friends with him, especially because we're both slightly weird. Adult friendships, though, are difficult for me, especially with other women. Wonderful and worth it,...

I've never been "normal" (hi, have you met me?), but I think I'm kind of beginning to border on the "crazy" mom side (ok, most of my friends probably think I'm already there...) But the other day as I looked around at my life I kind of just had to laugh and say, "How the heck did I end up here!" So at the risk of outing myself as the super crazy mom, I'm sharing an example today that may scare you off... I don't brush my teeth.  Ok, before you stop reading 100% altogether (let's be serious no one's going to stop reading because everyone loves when another mom admits things that make her look terrible. Duh.) let me explain! I didn't...

My son is nearly 14 months old. Wow, when did that happen? I’m now far enough into this parenting thing to look back and reflect a little on how we’re evolving as a family, and how William is growing a little more independent all the time. I’ve learned that everything is a process, and our latest adventure has been learning to spend a little more time apart. Of course, when William was a newborn, we were together constantly. I was nursing around the clock and sometimes multiple days would go by when we wouldn’t even leave the house. I remember leaving him at home with my husband when he was about six weeks old, just to make a quick grocery...