Growing Up

As I sit down for the first time today after work, school, gym practice, dance practice, hair washing, dinner and night time routine, I question if I am letting all of the little things get in the way of the big things. Mommin' is not an easy thing for any of us; there is always something to do, something we forgot and something we can’t remember that we forgot. I worry that in all of the struggles of the day to day routines that I am forgetting to teach my children to be strong, proud, kind, opinionated, and most of all, happy with themselves. My daughters are seven and five and polar opposites of each other. My oldest is gentle...

A few weeks ago I was driving home from work and I heard "Love me Less" by Max Schneider on pandora. The song peaked my interest so I hit the replay button and listened to the words. "Would you love me less? If you knew the places that I've been? If you knew the damage that I did?" The song took be back for a second, back to my college days, back to my going out every night drinking seven days a week days. It took me back to my high school days full of drama, long nights, best friends and even a few fights. The first thing I could think was "would my children still love me so much if...

So I’m a crafty mom. One that loves the invention of Pinterest, but if I’m honest, I’d be just as over the top without it. I doodle lunch notes for my school kids. Everyday. Everyday, I’ve only missed one. I Elf on the Shelf with the best of them and I draw pictures with pancakes, make handmade Halloween costumes, and thoroughly enjoy school free days. We’ve all seen those random stories circling the web of the dad that doodles amazing lunch bags, moms that make extravagant lunches, the mom whose Elf legitimately walks around the house. And the comments that follow are how shallow they are. Who has the time?! Surely they don’t work a real job. Here’s the thing,...

There's something about this time of year that always makes me proud to be a Southern Louisiana native. Between Mardi Gras, perfectly crisp weather and crawfish season, it just doesn’t get any better. This year, in particular, it’s reminding me why my husband and I chose to come back to Louisiana to raise a family. I spent most of my teen years telling everyone that I was hitting the road after high school graduation. I knew there was more to this world than my Catholic school bubble, and I wanted to experience it all. But situations have a way of changing your plans, and going to LSU for college seemed to be the best next step for me. I...

One of the most intimidating things about motherhood is preparing these tiny humans to grow up and be self sufficient functioning humans of society. As a product of the “no, because I said so” generation, I feel I was left to learn some lessons in less than desirable ways. We knew we couldn't, but not why we shouldn't. So when the time came that we could, we still weren't really prepared for the consequences that came with such freedoms. Recently, in a discussion among friends the topic of makeup came up. It seems both our daughters (age 6 & 7) have a fascination with makeup. And while I don’t love the stuff in my own life, I know that she...