Ages & Stages

Here at Red Stick Mom, we offer dozens of ideas from diverse perspectives in our mom hacks, tips and tricks category. From taking road trips from Baton Rouge to meatless meals to natural cold remedies, we’ve written about it. We are here to help everyone as we navigate through this wild ride through motherhood. When it come to battling the mommy wars. About a year ago, I woke up to a beautiful fall morning and toted my kids to our favorite Baton Rouge outdoor play area, Leeward Park.  While snuggling my then five-month-old Ben, another mommy of a young baby approached me.  We began with small talk, but eventually our conversation moved to our birth stories.  She told me with much enthusiasm...

All it takes is a big milestone to hit you right in the face to make you wonder “am I present enough?” and “am I doing this mom thing right?” “Am I a good mom?” I truly applaud the moms who are stay-at-home moms. That job is not easy and needs to be appreciated more. I just can’t do it because I am the best version of myself when I am working. But am I? I’ve worked multiple jobs and also had a full-time gym life since my oldest was born. My oldest is attending Kindergarten this fall, and that milestone hit me like a ton of bricks. I had an out-of-town event to work on his last day of Pre-K, at...

As my kids have grown, I have always reminded myself and my spouse that independence is the goal. We have taught our kids what they will need to know as they grow so that ideally, they will become more and more independent. There are plenty of things that I have chosen to teach my kids to do themselves instead of them relying on us to do for them. Our son is approaching 17 and recently got his driver's license. Although he does not have his own car yet, he has the ability to drive one of our cars when we are not using it. Suddenly, I feel like I am under a parenting test. How much have I REALLY taught...

Scholastic preparation for college begins at least by a teenager’s junior year in high school. It is pretty intense, to say the least. On top of junior year in and of itself being a very difficult year academically … add on the college prep and we have ourselves a pretty stressed out teenager. There are many necessities when it comes to getting your junior ready for college. Some of these include SAT/ACT prep and test-taking, choosing a (few) college(s), college visits, college applications, and financial aid applications. A well-informed, thoroughly detailed high school counselor is your greatest weapon during this time … seek them out! But this is just the beginning! Once the details of actually choosing and getting into...

I have 3 beautiful children, 2 girls and 1 boy. With my girls, it is all sparkly pink, purple, and dance reviews. My son, on the other hand, is a combination of bathroom humor, stinky sports uniforms, action figures, and all things BASEBALL. I have come to find out that tournament baseball is in a category all its own. I quickly found out how all-consuming baseball season is. Confession…I truly had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. Though I have heard from other Louisiana moms that it will quickly become something we love. Move Over School Supply List The school supply list has nothing on all the things required for baseball. Personalized game and practice uniforms, team hat, helmet, cleats,...