Mom Hacks, Tips & Tricks

Summer time is here ... HOORAY! Bring on the beach vacations, picnics, trips to the pool and of course camp lunches. If you're like me and tired of serving up the ole carrots and ranch dip, look no further for a few new, exciting and tasty fruits and veggies to add to your lunch box or cooler to keep things on the healthier side this summer. Each variety of produce listed is easy to find at most larger, local grocery stores. Enjoy these colorful and interesting fruits and veggies at the dinner table, poolside or added to your snack repertoire. Sugar Snap Peas - Delicious raw or cooked, the sugar snap pea has a sweet crunchy exterior with peas inside its...

Blueberries are in season and bountiful in south Louisiana! The Baton Rouge area is blessed to have many orchards around that will allow families to pick their own Louisiana blueberries, which makes for a fun and fruitful outing with the kids. Tips From a Seasoned Louisiana Mom on Picking Blueberries Call the farm ahead of time and/or check their website and social media handles. Most farms have set operating hours but will close if the berries are too picked over. I recommend that you wear socks and closed toe shoes. Don't forget bug spray and sunscreen, but be sure to apply both of those items in the parking lot to prevent chemicals from getting on the berries. Bring plenty of water...

Some moms look forward to summer vacation. They plan trips, activities, play dates and a daily schedule. They see summer as a time to relax and reconnect as a family. I am not one of those moms. As guilty as it makes me feel to write this out, I enjoy my childfree time during the school year. So when school gets out and summer vacation arrives, it kind of hits me like a ton of bricks. Suddenly, summer is here and we have all sorts of free time on our hands. And that extra time seems to pass by sooooo slowly. Not only do our days tend to feel long, but I find that I get bored quite easily, let alone my 4-year-old...

P.S. (and this P.S. totally goes at the beginning) This is a sponsored post. Services from ALG Style and all of the photos are courtesy of Quaint+Whim. Oh, The Perks! {My Three Hours With ALG Style} So, picture this: You get to live in a fairy tale for an evening; two fashion fairy godmothers come to your house and help you go through your closet, shoes and accessories, all the while building you up by pointing out what looks great on you and magically making what doesn't disappear. (Your husband even takes the kids away for the majority of the evening.) The scary part? You have to let them in YOUR HOUSE and in YOUR CLOSET with a PHOTOGRAPHER and put the whole thing...

A long work day concludes. My sons are running around, coloring, and watching a cartoon. I am chopping vegetables in the kitchen. My knife knocks the cutting board rhythmically. Onions, celery, tomatoes, carrots, and potatoes slide into my prep bowl. I find a song to groove to on my iPhone. The butter sizzles in my green Dutch oven. I season the butter and dump the onions in to simmer. I work through the rest of the recipe. The vegetables sauté, filling the house with a lovely aroma, and I stir the mixture. I add other ingredients as I go along, savoring the process. From the living room I hear my husband and my boys talking and laughing with the...