Red Stick Mom

True life: I’m not even a stay at home mom yet, and I’m already wrestling with SAHM guilt. Initially when my husband and I found out we were pregnant, the plan was for me to go back to work in a part-time capacity. I have a very flexible job and an amazing boss, so we started looking at how to make two to three days a week work. But the more we crunched numbers and made plans for baby while I would be at work, the more we realized maybe this wasn’t our best option. We just couldn’t get all the factors to line up, and quickly found that what I would be bringing home per month just wasn’t justifiable....

Kids With Special Needs are NOT Given to Special People I have had the pleasure of being a momma to a child with special needs for seven and a half years, my dear Connor. In these amazing seven and a half years, I have done everything possible to give my child who has multiple complex medical needs the best life imaginable. I have fought doctors on what I knew was best for him, marched the front steps at the State Capital rallying for his rights, and even traveled around the world seeking treatment to give him a better quality of life. To say I'm a "momma bear" is an complete understatement. In all these years I have heard from family, friends,...

My husband took our 5-month-old son to the grocery store for the first time. And it went great.  He wrapped Sam up in the Moby wrap with confidence (although it took 3 tries to get it right) and strolled down the aisles with a head full of hair and curious little eyes peeking out of the papoose. All the ladies smiled at the approach of a baby-wearing dad, making comments like, “Looks like you’ve got a helper today.” My husband would respond with chuckle, “Yep, I sure do,” as he placed a can of spaghetti sauce (the Hunt’s cans are $1!) into the cart.  Husband and Sam whirred around the store together and left coming out under budget. I’ll be...

A few years ago, I (as a new mom of one) hosted a little potluck pool party for some mommy friends and their tots. One of my friends showed up to my house, with her three little kids in tow. As she dashed by me, chasing her toddler who was heading straight for the pool, she hands me a plate of beautifully decorated chocolate covered strawberries.  I was in awe. I couldn’t remember if I brushed my teeth that morning (actually, I think I did since company was coming over!) but she was able to make such a fancy dessert…AND SHE HAS THREE KIDS! I resorted to the fact that she must have paid someone to make them or...

Every year as I’m burning the midnight oil to put the finishing touches on one of my sons’ birthday parties, I ask myself “Why do you do this to yourself year after year?!” Well, the answer is quite simple, really…it always boils down to “Why not?” I can’t think of a better reason to get together with friends and family than to celebrate the birth of the two most precious gifts God has ever given to me.  It’s an opportunity to bless and serve those who’ve loved on my kids throughout the year and to celebrate the life of the two littles I love the most.  Why would I not go all out on such an occasion? Some might say...