Tri’ing to Mom
by Kelly Carmena on
Whoever said the infant/toddler stage was the hardest stage LIED! Rewind four years, 2015, picture it. I was…well, four years younger (we’ll leave it at that), and a mother to a not yet one-year-old daughter and three-year-old son.... Read full article
Play! Create! Imagine! (and then Clean. It. Up.)
by Ellen Mecholsky on
I walk a very fine line between wanting my children to play and create and imagine...and wanting/NEEDING a tidy house to function at my best. I need order around me to feel relaxed and productive. If I wake up in the morning and I am greeted by a tra... Read full article
Parenting Through Grief
by Kelly G. Carmena on
Like most parents, 2020 presented my family with change beyond measure. In early March, just one week before COVID hit the United States and shut the entire world down, my mother unexpectedly left our physical world... Read full article
Chocolate Milk Burps, Gummy Bears and the Joy of Childhood
by Amy Delaney on
Raise your hand if you LOVE that gummy bear commercial where a group of distinguished looking grown-ups sit around in a boardroom discussing how their gummy bears are “gooder” than others.... Read full article
Rolling with the Good Times: Navigating Baton Rouge’s Mardi Gras with Kids
by Ellen Mecholsky on
When my husband and I moved to Baton Rouge, we had absolutely no idea about Mardi Gras. I mean, sure, we had heard of “Fat Tuesday” and had the vague sense that beads were involved, but the Louisiana Mardi Gras EXPERIENCE was a complete unknown. That... Read full article
Who Needs a Hot Meal?
on
I go to take a bite of my food. Just as the fork reaches my lips, my children ask, “What is for dessert?” They’ve finished their meal, and I’ve hardly had a chance to eat. It is lukewarm at this point which is how I’ve learned to eat my food.... Read full article
Teaching Children Respect
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As a veteran teacher, I’ve been asked many questions about how to teach children over the years, and only once have I been a bit stumped. The mother asked me, “How do you teach respect?” After a moment’s thought, my response was, “Every single day.”... Read full article
Your Kids Are Watching Your Marriage
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Often, one of the most neglected parenting lessons throughout a marriage is, in fact, the marriage itself. As couples become increasingly hyper-focused on schedules and extracurricular activities (travel ball, dance, cheer, festivals, events, etc.), ... Read full article
From Boys to Young Men
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The day will come when they really feel they’ve found their soul mate or more likely, their love of the week. Either way, you have to prepare for mending a broken heart or teaching them how not to break someone’s heart.... Read full article