Red Stick Mom

Late last fall, I got the idea to make a list of all the things I like to cook to make it easier to plan our meals. Seeing as I’m the type to sometimes get wrapped up in a project and take things a bit too far, the next thing I knew I had spent several hours designing and writing a restaurant-style menu. Even the descriptions are flowery. I knew that it was cheesy and over the top and was honestly a little embarrassed, but six months later I’m shocked to say that I still use it. Even my husband has remarked that he really likes referring to it when we're talking about what we'll have to eat. He says...

So you think you want to buy a house? Congrats! Don’t start packing the china just yet.  There are lots of things to consider before you take the plunge into homeownership.  I bought my first home just weeks before my husband and I met (oops), and we are now in the process of buying our first home together.  This series documents my experiences and tips for making this major purchase go as smoothly as possible. The very first thing to do is to determine what you can afford.  I have found that the best way to really know is to do a thorough household budget (you should be doing this monthly anyway.)  There are many online calculators to choose from,...

About 6 months ago, my then 3-year old surprised my husband and I. We had just sat down to dinner and finished our prayer. Out of the blue she looked at Daniel and said, “So Papa, how was your day?” This question seemed so insightful for such a little girl! He began to answer and with each statement she asked more detail. That day he had worked at his part-time job doing modifications to off-road vehicles. She wanted to know the colors of the vehicles, how big the lift kit was, and if the customers were happy. By the end of the conversation, we were so impressed with her interest in the seemingly pointless details of every aspect of his...

As a Speech and Language Pathologist, I am writing this series in hopes to address concerns when it comes to your child’s speech and what to expect if you feel like your child might not be reaching their milestones. If you are just joining us, be sure to start with Part 1 right here. In the previous post, I covered those terrible, I mean, wonderful two's! If you've survived this year, give yourself a pat on the back.  But look out, year three is next and there will be a huge jump in speech and language development for many children.  Your child is now using complete sentences, describing daily events and even telling people those little family secrets (like all they...

Sleeping through the night...Ahh, the holy grail of those first few months with your baby: he’s adorable, she’s the love of your life, you can’t remember life before her, and WHEN WILL HE STOP WAKING YOU UP AT 3 A.M.? When we brought William home, he was a very small baby who desperately needed to gain weight. I was so concerned about him that I was happy to feed him every two hours. I’m pretty sure that pure adrenaline kept me going during those first few weeks. I rarely slept more than about 2 hours at a time. I am breastfeeding and felt like I didn’t have time to pump and let my husband take a turn. Also, for some...