Red Stick Mom

Dear William, You are turning one this week and I can scarcely believe it. This year has not exactly flown by – in fact, I have trouble remembering my life before you sometimes. But it is hard to believe I'm now the mom of a toddler. But it has been the best year of my life, and of your daddy’s life, and we are so proud of you. It has been a joy raising you so far. I hope you are as happy as you have made us. You are such a stubborn, scrappy little boy. You want what you want when you want it, but at the same time you are so generous, getting pleasure out of sharing things...

After the traumatic birth of my first daughter, I desired a birth where I was in control of my care, with the support of people who believe that pregnancy and labor are not medical conditions that need to be dealt with. The birth of my second daughter was better and made me see it was possible, but I hadn’t fully achieved it. When I found out I was pregnant with my third daughter, I knew immediately that I wanted to have her at the new Birth Center of Baton Rouge. I went to every informational meeting, open house, and class they offered. Daniel and I met with the midwives and the rest of the staff, and we knew that...

Pregnancy is a truly amazing experience.   From beginning to end, I think all mothers marvel at the wonderful and sometimes inconceivable things that her body can do to form and nourish a human being. Now, being nearly 36 weeks pregnant with my second child, I’ve learned that the true mystery of pregnancy is becoming very apparent…how can 40 weeks go by so quickly leaving SO MUCH to do in the home stretch to prepare for the arrival of our little miracle? As I near the final days of my pregnancy, I am shocked with how differently my preparations, thoughts, and emotions for our second child are as compared to three years ago with the birth of our first baby. When...

The month of January is usually filled with enthusiastic intentions and overwhelming failures. New Year's resolutions, in my mind, just set us up to fail. The emotion and excitement of change and discipline quickly fade into disappointment when we realize that this life thing is hard. And we're tired. So, there are no resolutions for me this year. Instead, though, I am striving towards a goal for 2015. I'm aiming, not for specific results, but a state of being. A mental orientation that (hopefully) translates into some action.  Throughout 2015 I want to focus on balance. My goal being to strike a balance between doing stuff and doing nothing. Most days, I wake up tired, go to work, come home, play with my kid,...

Manners.  Are they a thing of the past?  Some might say so, but I say absolutely, tootly not.  Whether you are a from the North, South, East, West, or heck even the North Pole, everyone should practice good manners.  I totally get that everyone views manners differently, but here in the sweet south 98% of us Southerners were raised to use our "good manners" and it was far more odd to hear a "huh?" rather than a "ma'am?" back then. I won't go into the ole, "When I was growing up, we....." but I want to ponder the idea of truly, WHERE HAVE THE GOOD MANNERS GONE?  Where are the young gentlemen who are taught to hold open doors for ladies...or even the...