Holiday

Author’s Note :: To ensure accuracy, I acknowledge that the written song lyrics do not state “black Jesus.” That said, many students including my own daughter were visibly confused by the dialect. The lyrics also do not change my own personal sentiments about the Duck Dynasty brand, which in my view is riddled with racist overtones and other cultural issues. My hope is that my experience and perspective opens a dialog regardless of the literal lyrics on paper. So This Is Christmas?! Today I took off of work for a couple hours and proudly set off to support my daughter (my middle child) in her school Christmas program. I sat with the other parents excitedly watching my mini me interact with...

As soon as December 1st comes around, I immediately turn into a crafty DIY person. I’m normally not that big into arts and crafts; I mean, I can barely draw a stick figure. But nonetheless, I pretend I’m an artist and have at it. This year especially makes me excited because Maverick is at the age to want to get into everything ... especially when it comes to arts and crafts. So I figured why not let him indulge a little. Sure I assisted a little, well a lot, but he still loved every minute of it. We’ve even started painting on brown paper to wrap the Christmas presents with this year! The only things you need for this project...

I have struggled with saving my whole adult life. I like the idea of creating a nest egg, but it goes against all of my procrastinating tendencies. Last Christmas, I was a few weeks into another budget-busting holiday season of last minute gift buying, when I came across a post in my Facebook newsfeed about the 52 week savings plan. It seemed like the best way to ease into saving. I mean, you only have to save $1 the first week, and by the the 52nd week, you have $1378. How bad could that be? I have to admit I felt a little silly moving $1 from checking to savings that first week. The upside though was that it didn’t...

Disclosure :: we had such a blast at our Donuts With Santa playdate to spread the holiday cheer in Baton Rouge, and none of it would have been possible without our amazing community sponsors: Lil Bambinos Playtorium, When You Wish Entertainment, Sherman and Balhoff-Specialists in Orthodontics, Mimosa Handcrafted, St. John's Primary and St. Theresa Middle, The Hive Ceramics, Bayou Balloons, Who Dat Photo Booth, Thee Heavenly Donut, Chef Jeremy Coco, Clean Creations, Zaxby's and McMains Children's Development Center.  Thank You To Our Title Sponsors :: Thank you to Lil Bambinos Playtorium for another wonderful playdate held at their venue. Activities include everything from sliding, jumping, crawling, reading, building blocks, trains, putting on puppet shows, grocery shopping and more! We recommend looking at this playtorium for your next Baton Rouge...

I'll be there first to admit, I love me a good ol' family gathering. I love the holidays. I love all the magical chaos that comes along with it. I LOVE to entertain in my home, to host my family and friends and entertain their faces off ... I really really do. What I loathe? All of the freaking prep that goes along with it. I mean the holidays are crazy ... crazy like my kids after their Paw Paw gave them a super sized Icee for the first time ever. Crazy as in the time I did all my Christmas shopping at midnight two days before Santa was to arrive. Crazy. This year, I'm hosting Christmas day at my house....