Growing Up

5 Ways to Thank Your Child's Teacher All Year Long {Teacher Appreciation Week} This week is Teacher Appreciation Week at our school and several others around town, and many other local schools will be observing in the coming weeks. In years past, Teacher's Appreciation Week has caught me off-guard as I rushed around frantically to buy and wrap acceptable gifts and get them to school in one piece. I mean, do busy moms really need one more thing to do? I think not. But this school year, it feels different. Maybe it's because my oldest has had some behavioral challenges, but his teachers have been so patient with him. Or maybe it's because my baby is now in preschool and is so comfortable around his...

The Day After the Party   The Minnie Mouse balloons are deflated, dirty serving dishes fill the sink, and a small stack of gifts and gift bags are piled in the corner. The kid begs for her favorite gifts to be opened, and I struggle against that darn toy packaging while she not-so-patiently waits. While I work to free Strawberry Shortcake from her plastic and cardboard bonds, I ask my kid about her favorite part of the party. "Playing with my friends! And the donuts!" Ah, those donuts! This year I decided to reject all the stressful aspects of throwing a child's birthday party and just enjoy my two daughters growing another year older. We originally planned to bring our youngest daughter on...

It was around 11pm and I was hurriedly grabbing a few baby essentials - bottles, blankets, a pacifier... I had just gotten a text from a friend. A girl she went to high school with showed up at her door with a baby and no place else to go. It was a rough situation. I pulled open the drawer and stared at the onesies. Salem was only three months old, having only just outgrown the newborn size. Even in my distraction, I was overcome with emotion. About baby clothes. She no longer fit it them, and it wasn't like I was upset about the actual act of giving them away. They were just HERS. My first baby wore them, once, or...

I get asked all the time, “How do you like your minivan?” and I often respond with, “How much time do you have because I LOVE it?” What’s not to love? Even with only having one child thus far, we aren’t a “travel light” kind of family. During the first four months of our son’s life, we spent a lot of time on the road visiting extended family so that everyone could meet him before we moved to Baton Rouge. Holy cow do babies need a lot of stuff! We packed it all up and hit the road with such little room to spare that I wonder if we could have made it in a car or SUV. Can I...

The average age of first marriage in the United States these days is 28, which is totally insane to me since that is the age I am right now and I've already been married for eight years. I was just 19 years old when I walked down the aisle and committed a lifetime to my partner, Dustin, and while that was undoubtedly one of the best decisions of my life, it's also one I wouldn't necessarily recommend to others. In fact, if our son comes home at 19 and says he's ready to propose to his partner, I'll probably fall out of my chair laughing. Dustin and I had been dating for about a year and a half when he proposed. I knew that I wanted...