Holiday

As a parent around the holidays, the "perfect gift" is on a lot of our minds. What can we give our children that will make their eyes light up and bring them joy? How can we find that gift that will keep on giving? Here's a unique idea that will not only bring joy but will also educate, inspire, and grow with your child: the gift of music. Learning to play an instrument is an incredible gift to give a child. Have you considered it? Baton Rouge Music Lessons is owned by Joel and Amy Willson. You may recognize them from our recent Mom's Night Out, as they entertained us for the evening. Not only are they incredibly talented, but...

Disclaimer: This is a guest post from Dr. Leanne Redman, associate professor of women’s health studies at Pennington Biomedical Research Center. You can get to know her more here and read her first post here. Her facts and opinions are based on her personal research. Red Stick Moms Blog was not paid to promote any specific medical viewpoints or studies. Always consult your physician with any medical questions. The holidays are here yet again! The pots and pans are clinging, jingle bells are ringing, and the aroma of freshly baked desserts fills the air. Research has shown that each year adults gain 5-8 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, but this does not have to be true for you! Why do...

I absolutely LOVE Christmas time. Yes, I am one of those crazy Christmas decorators who have their decorations up before Thanksgiving (gasp ... another elf apparently bites the dust). I love everything that the holiday season brings to my family and having decorations around just makes me HAPPY! Shoot, I'd have that beautiful lit tree up all year long if I wasn't such a clutter freak. Celebrating Christmas with all the wonderful components of it (baking, decorating, gift giving, spending time with family, going to church, etc) is the highlight of my year. My cut back on my children's gifts from "Santa" all began about 7 years ago. Back then, I had a 3 and a 1 year old. Christmas morning of 2007, I...

Brace yourselves... The Elf on the Shelf is coming!!! Or, he's already here for all of the moms who were actually on top of things enough to pull him out of the Christmas decor box on time. I mean, I don't know where in the world I even put my tree, but I'm glad you could find that tiny, creepy little elf in the pile of clutter in time for his arrival (or do your houses not have piles of clutter and that's why I'm so bad at the elf thing? It all makes sense.) But really though, as if I need one more thing to add to my list of ways I can fail as a parent! I don't know...

A few years ago, I decided to jump on the Elf on the Shelf  (in our house Jake) bandwagon, and I have never looked back. The original concept of the Elf watching the kids and reporting to Santa was definitely a draw, but this is a common misconception because the scout elf in the book also encourages good deeds. Regardless of telling good or bad deeds, I was sold on being an Elf family once I saw my kids' reactions to their very own Elf.  I admit that there have been times when I cursed the whole thing as I was walking to bed and remembered that Jake forgot to move that day, but overall I have been pleased with my decision to be pro-Elf. I'll...