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Showing posts from 2020

BR Parents Blog: Revisiting Santa - Should We Get An Elf on the Shelf?

  First published on the Baton Rouge Parents magazine website . On December 9, my girls asked me for an Elf on the Shelf. And although I immediately guffawed, rolled my eyes and said “NO WAY,” because it’s 2020 I had second thoughts as soon as the “no” left my mouth and the request had time to settle. If they’d asked in late November or maybe even earlier in December would I have given in, added to cart and clicked “buy now”? My hesitations about introducing an Elf to our holiday tradition are varied; mainly I don’t want the extra work or to confuse my girls further about what’s real and what’s just something fun to pretend and imagine. I’m not sure about the idea of someone (something?) watching the kids and reporting to Santa on their behavior or if that’s developmentally a good thing. The surveillance aspect is a true objection to the Elf idea.  HOWEVER, from the outside, Elf on the Shelf looks like an ideal #ExtraMom activity, and I definitely identify as an extra m

BR Parents: Exceptional Lives - Happy Even on Her Hardest Days: Life with a Rare Genetic Condition

First published in the December 2020 issue of Baton Rouge Parents magazine and its website. Aubrey Martin is a fighter. Living with Rett syndrome and its associated global developmental delays is her everyday life. But in 2020, she faced a more urgent and critical health issue when she developed multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C, the rare condition that impacts some kids with COVID-19. “We were confused, didn’t know what was going on and couldn’t figure out the fever,” says Brit’ne Canezaro, Aubrey’s mom. “She was faced with a new obstacle of severe inflammation. She’s finally progressing enough that she’s not sleeping all day now. She pulls through every time.”  Aubrey had to be in the hospital while recovering from MIS-C but is home again and back in therapy at Pediatric Therapy Solutions and school as a second grader at Oak Grove Primary in Prairieville. Surviving and thriving with a rare condition is something Aubrey knows how to do. Rett syndr

BR Parents: One Amazing Kid - Sophia Lurue Guyton

  First published in the December 2020 issue of Baton Rouge Parents magazine and its website . Sophia Lurue Guyton learned to read when she was three, and by the time she was seven, she had already published her first book, The Adventures of Mia and Jace . “God gave her a message and told her that he wanted other people to know about him,” says Tabitha Lamb, Sophia’s mom. “Her goal was to write a letter to everyone in the whole world.” Once Sophia realized the enormity of finding so many addresses, she decided to write a book instead. Available on Amazon, the 32-chapter book about life lessons on character and integrity was completed in five months, and the stories feature characters based on herself, older brother Jace, and several of her favorite toys.  A third grader at Math Science & Arts Academy West in Plaquemine, Sophia, now eight, hasn’t published anything more since the book was released. “She’ll think about it every now and again,” Tabitha says. “She actu

BR Parents: December 2020

As Education and Community sections editor, I wrote pages 16-23 and page 28 of the December 2020 issue of Baton Rouge Parents magazine. See the web layout on the magazine's website .

BR Parents Blog: A Christmas We Didn’t Expect Might Be the One We Need

Originally posted on Baton Rouge Parents magazine blog. 2020 has been a year we didn’t expect, so a Christmas that looks different will fit right in. In this upside down season in an upside down time, some of the Walker family’s holiday traditions can remain intact. I’m not entirely bah-humbug and am looking forward to making at least some sparkly magic with my girls at the end of this unbelievable year. One thing we love to do each year, which is on-brand with my goal of raising readers , is open a Christmas-themed children’s book each night in December leading up to the big day. 2019 Mari did 2020 Mari a solid by wrapping them–all 48, because although my girls will share, it’s really hard to watch someone else open a gift, even reopening the same book for the fifth or tenth time. To wrap, I used tissue paper sourced from after-Christmas clearance (see you again in 2021, I hope), so all I have to do is get out the wrapped books, put them in a basket and let both girls

BR Parents Blog: Wanna Play? Navigating Playdate Etiquette

First published on Baton Rouge Parents magazine blog . How do you get started in the world of playdates? When babies are small, if you have an established community of your own friends with similarly aged babies, playdates are straightforward. They’re basically mom coffee dates with tag-a-long snuggles. Low-stakes library story times and similar walk-in events can make things easy, too.  But once school starts, the world of playdates seems to shift dramatically. Suddenly, mom is no longer calling the shots, although she is still required to initiate the actual social contact.  Maybe for more extroverted people this comes easily or naturally, but as for me it’s been work, and I’m never quite sure I’m doing it correctly or to the benefit of my daughters. I started thinking about and drafting this post pre-pandemic, but I think my questions still apply in our current weird time and space. As my oldest started second grade, her teacher was very concerned about her socializ

BR Parents Blog - Halfway Thru Her Childhood

Originally posted on Baton Rouge Parents magazine's website .   Nine years ago, my baby girl came bursting into the world, sliced out of me in inelegant fashion. Her first moments included pooping on the doctor, craning her strong neck around the room, and in general, seeming ready to take on the world. This girl I’d been dreaming about my whole life was finally here. Blink a few times, and now she’s turning nine, everything I’d dreamed and more. Nine is halfway to 18, which feels monumental. We are at the halfway point of her childhood, and I know the little kid stage is quickly ending. Perhaps it already has. Because Little Sister is close behind at four, Big Sister is really a big kid by comparison, hurdling toward tween-dom and beyond. Although I love writing and graphic design, motherhood is really the truest calling I’ve ever felt and easily identified . My happiest days were my babies’ first ones. After recovering from that C-section and settling into motherho

BR Parents Exceptional Lives -- Taking a First Step: Learning to Walk Again After Spinal Injury

First published on the Baton Rouge Parents magazine website and its November 2020 print issue. Nearly 2,000 accidental shootings happen in the United States each year, and on April 7, 2019, it happened to 24-year-old Devin Puckett while he and a friend were hanging out after playing basketball. “My friend and I were sitting in the house, and he was cleaning his gun and the gun accidentally went off,” Devin says. “He immediately picked me up and rushed me to the hospital.” The single bullet went through Devin’s right arm, through the right side of his back, came out the left side of his back and hit his left arm. His spine and kidney were injured. After he was stabilized, doctors told Devin’s parents, Cassandra Puckett and Calvin Williams, that the injury to his spine was likely permanent and so severe that his feet could no longer move up and down. The sad news was that Devin would not walk again. “That’s what they told my parents, and my parents told me,” Devin says.

BR Parents - One Amazing Kid: Jay Iyer

First published on the Baton Rouge Parents magazine website and its November 2020 print issue. Jay Iyer’s journey with science started with his grandpa in the garden. “My grandfather was probably the most influential person in my life,” Jay says. His first science fair project was inspired by the time they spent together. That science fair was the first of many that Jay would win. This summer, the Baton Rouge Magnet High School senior participated in the Center for Excellence in Education’s prestigious Research Science Institute and created a top written presentation. Jay’s family was the inspiration for pursuing medicine, as several members, including his beloved grandfather, have suffered from neurological diseases. An experience in summer 2019 solidified those professional goals. Jay traveled to Guatemala with the nonprofit Agape in Action and worked in a medical clinic. “It was one of the best experiences of my life,” he says.  Outreach is important to Jay, who tur

BR Parents - November 2020

As Education and Community sections editor, I wrote pages 16-23 and page 28 of the November 2020 issue of Baton Rouge Parents magazine (except the Mother Son Dance brief on page 16). See the web layout on the magazine's website .

BR Parents Blog - Halloween 2020: No Tricks Just Treats for This Family

  Originally published on the Baton Rouge Parents magazine blog . “What are you doing about Halloween?” has replaced “What are you doing about school?” as the new go-to question within my parent friend groups now that we’re all pretty settled in our learning routines, whether hybrid, virtual or homeschooling. It’s not a super easy or clear cut decision, mostly because we want our kids’ childhoods to be magical, and what’s more magical than a full moon Halloween on a Saturday night when the clocks fall back?! And we’re also all so, so tired of the restrictions even as they’re making a difference in our state . The Center for Disease Control & Prevention has said traditional trick-or-treating and costume parties are “high-risk” activities during the pandemic. EBR Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome has set trick-or-treat hours as 6-8 p.m. in our parish while also recommending safer options as found on the CDC website . Our family is choosing to forgo traditional trick-

BR Parents: Exceptional Lives - Reaching His Goals: Physical Differences Don’t Slow Success for Young Broadcast Journalist

  First published on the Baton Rouge Parents magazine website and its October 2020 print issue. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. Those 12 seconds changed everything for Dylan Domangue, and they were the first seconds of his life. “Basically my brain did not receive oxygen for about 12 seconds,” Domangue says. “It caused neurological damage to my brain that affects the muscles in my legs.” Domangue has lived with a mild form of cerebral palsy due to that brief lack of oxygen. A recent graduate of Southeastern Louisiana University with a degree in communications, Domangue took his personal story of overcoming the odds and created a documentary as his senior thesis. After premiering on the Southeastern Channel in August, “12 Seconds at Birth” is available to watch on YouTube. Domangue gives a lot of credit to his parents, Krista and Josh Domangue, for helping him succeed. “They never treated me as having a disorder,” he says. “They

BR Parents: One Amazing Kid - Colleen Temple

  First published on the Baton Rouge Parents magazine website and its October 2020 print issue. This summer, Baton Rouge area teens spoke out against racial injustice and said Black lives matter, organizing a peaceful protest downtown. Colleen Noelle Temple, a senior at University Lab School, was one organizer. “I was just tired of sitting at home and seeing a new name almost every week, sometimes every day,” she says. “I wanted to get outside and just make my voice heard. I am not OK with this and a lot of people aren’t OK with it. We want the government and everybody to know that something needs to change.” An award-winning, two-sport athlete, Colleen has earned spots on the All-District and All-Metro volleyball teams and honorable mention for the All-District basketball team. This summer, she received an Honorary ESPY award from the local ESPN radio station for her athletic and community service accomplishments.  Colleen’s athletic career started just before middle

BR Parents: October 2020

As Education and Community sections editor, I wrote pages 16-23 and page 28 of the October 2020 issue of Baton Rouge Parents magazine (except the pandemic pods brief on page 18). See the web layout on the magazine's website .  

BR Parents Blog - Pandemic Retail Therapy: Shopping My Feelings One Click at a Time

  First published on the Baton Rouge Parents blog, which you can read here. Filling a shopping cart online is fun, but it’s not as fun as filling up a cart in real life, at least for me. I am sure it has something to do with instant gratification. Online shopping gives that sweet dopamine release, but the payoff is delayed while the items ship. Some of the discount stores have such slow shipping by design (Zulily, I’m looking at you) that by the time the item arrives it’s like a surprise gift for myself! Delayed gratification hasn’t kept me from doing plenty of online shopping while our family (and the world) has been staying closer to home. For the past six-plus months, I have limited my in-person shopping to a weekly grocery run and an occasional Target drive-up. Pre-corona, I would shop at a number of stores during the week–avoiding crowds and filling my child-free time efficiently by hitting up stores while most people were at work. I love clearance shopping, and I ha

BR Parents Blog: Unexpected New Skills While Staying Close to Home

First published on the Baton Rouge Parents blog - read it here. Although stay-at-home orders didn’t turn me into a better homemaker, they did expand my horizons within the domestic sphere, and this old dog learned some new tricks. While my thumb is still black and my house is still…lived in…more time spent at home wasn’t a total loss. In the midst of the stay-at-home orders, I had a produce delivery that included some romaine lettuce. I decided to try a hack I’d seen on Facebook (watching time-waster videos is another hobby I’ve picked up in corona-time). After I cut off the leaves, I put the leftover lettuce end into a glass of water on my kitchen window. I was blown away by the roots it sprouted and new leaves it grew. I kept changing the water and felt just like Ma Ingalls. Eventually, the roots got too large for the glass, and it seemed like dirt was the next best place for it. I planted it in the “garden” area in our backyard and within a day it was dead. Black thumb

BR Parents: Exceptional Lives - Different, Not Less: A Mother’s Advocacy for Her Son with Autism

A diagnosis of autism can turn a family upside down, and that was the case for William Spiller IV when he was diagnosed at age two. Because he didn’t speak or respond, doctors first thought his hearing was the problem, but an auditory brainstem response test proved his hearing was fine. The school system where they lived at the time wanted to label William as having mild mental retardation, which didn’t sit well with his mother Naisha Brignac. Another parent suggested she have him tested for Fragile X, or mutated chromosome. That test was negative as well and helped doctors determine William does not have a mental disability but instead has autism. “After I got the diagnosis, I was devastated,” Naisha says. “I just wanted him to be healed and cured from autism.” As time went on, Naisha has come to embrace William’s differences and celebrate milestones, even if they come later. Now 13, William was potty trained at five and started speaking in full sentences around age s

BR Parents: One Amazing Kid Thomas O'Connor

When Thomas O’Connor participated in Young Entrepreneurs Academy of Baton Rouge, he didn’t know just how useful his business would be during the global pandemic and its disruptions to learning.  As part of the academy, Thomas, a 16-year-old sophomore at Episcopal School of Baton Rouge, launched Face Tutor, an app that connects students with tutors in real time. “It will allow a student to talk to a tutor and see a tutor,” Thomas says. Most other tutoring apps are text-based, which can be harder for students to grasp concepts. Even before Zoom became a household word, Thomas realized its video chat feature could help student understanding. Providing 24/7 access, meaning students can get help at night using tutors in different time zones, is also a goal for Thomas. Face Tutor won the academy’s investor panel competition, and Thomas received $5,000 to invest in developing the app. Thomas’ mentor, Kasra Khalili, helped him develop and perfect his presentation for the panel

BR Parents: September 2020

As Education and Community sections editor, I wrote pages 16-23 and page 28 of the September2020 issue of Baton Rouge Parents magazine (except the Parkview Baptist brief on page 20). See the web layout on the magazine's website .

BR Parents Blog: A Lazy Lament - I Hate Making Dinner

  After months of varying degrees of lockdowns and quarantines, we all have a better idea of what it means to be a stay-at-home parent. And while the time of truly staying home isn’t an accurate picture of normal times when we can actually take our children out, I hope we all have more compassion for parents who stay home with their littles. The idea that it’s an easy or lazy choice has always been untrue. Caring for kids full-time is exhausting. I’ve worked from home in varying capacities and commitment levels for several years, gradually ramping up my work commitments as my children have grown and started in school programs. Being a trapped-at-home mom has been a very different experience for me, but knowing that everyone is in the same storm helped manage the disappointment of canceled plans and lack of ability to take my children here, there and everywhere as I normally would. Something that hasn’t changed in this time has been the continued need to feed my family.

BR Parents Blog: Adventures in Orthodontia Begin

Snaggle tooth was a nickname I was called growing up, and my parents’ investment in braces is one of the monetary gifts for which I’m most grateful. My husband also had braces going up, so we were not at all surprised to learn that our eight year old would need her own. We had been putting aside money to make the investment ourselves, and we expect the same for little sister, although her baby teeth are just as straight as can be. I was in third grade when I had my first round of braces, and my daughter had hers put on this summer, just before she started third grade. But for COVID, her braces would have been put on earlier in the summer. Our consultation with the orthodontist was the very last appointment before the stay-at-home orders took effect in mid-March. I’m still not comfortable going to a dentist or doctor, but part of accepting life as it is now is accepting there are some risks I can’t avoid. Life has to go on somehow. I know my daughter’s teeth need better alignment for

BR Parents: Exceptional Lives - Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: Advocacy Leads to Unique Preschool Launch

Katrina Rivers Labouliere doesn’t feel like her life is particularly exceptional despite her years of advocacy work with the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing community.  “I just feel like I am a catalyst for creating programs and making things happen and pulling together a team,” she says. “Team Blue, my team, they deserve the credit. They work tirelessly and trust every idea I come up with. I have an amazing team of passionate people.” Labouliere’s team is expanding in the Baton Rouge area with the creation of Blue Bridge Academy, a language immersion daycare and preschool for American Sign Language (ASL) and English that is scheduled to open later this year. The idea for the school was planted long ago. The oldest child of two Deaf parents, Labouliere’s first language is ASL, and she studied communication disorders in college.  “Early on in my career, working in education I saw the disparities of children with disabilities, but my main focus was children with hearing loss

BR Parents: One Amazing Kid - Maddie Wilson

Turning 14 this month, Maddie Wilson already has experience as an attorney through Teen Court of Greater Baton Rouge. The diversion program helps teen offenders stay out of the judicial system and lower rates of recidivism. Starting ninth grade at St. Joseph’s Academy, Maddie has been part of Teen Court since fifth grade and was the youngest volunteer attorney. “I prepare a line of questioning, get to know the defendant and work to get them a constructive sentence that will keep them on the right track,” Maddie says. A licensed attorney serves as the judge, and a jury of teens makes each ruling.  Maddie volunteers for other causes, including weekly service at an assisted living facility as well as hair donations, food drives and toy drives. She has also received many academic honors. “She’s never made a B in her life,” says Gina Wilson, Maddie’s mom. Maddie was recognized by the Duke TIP program and has received writing awards. As a St. George eighth grader, Maddie wa

BR Parents: August 2020

As Education and Community sections editor, I wrote pages 16-23 and page 28 of the August 2020 issue of Baton Rouge Parents magazine. See the web layout on the magazine's website .

BR Parents Blog: Have You Had a COVID Test Yet?

The meme about Schrodinger’s virus speaks to me. We don’t know if we have COVID-19 at any given time, but we have to act as if we do while interacting with others to keep them safe. And we have to act as if we don’t have COVID-19 to remember to take steps to mitigate our own risk of becoming infected.  Without robust testing, it doesn’t seem like we can ever get the virus under control. Our area has seen such spikes that Baton Rouge was chosen as a site for federal surge testing for a couple weeks. And I took advantage of the site nearest to me and was tested last week. My reasoning for getting tested was partly that it felt like the right thing to do. (And I’m a sucker for free stuff, let me tell you!) But the more pressing desire to be tested was a possible exposure. Read the rest on Baton Rouge Parents Magazine's website .

BR Parents: Exceptional Lives - Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: The Long Road to COVID-19 Recovery

After the birth of her second daughter, Gracie, on April 2, Stephanie Melancon had two days at home with her family of four before their lives turned upside down. “Stephanie started feeling bad, and by that evening, she could hardly walk. She had a 104.8 fever,” says Mike Melancon, Stephanie’s husband. At the direction of her doctor, Mike rushed Stephanie back to Woman’s Hospital. Stephanie was initially diagnosed with viral pneumonia and a few days later tested positive for COVID-19. She ended up spending 52 days at Woman’s, experiencing a number of setbacks during her recovery, including a cardiac arrest and about six weeks on a ventilator. A tracheostomy was performed to help wean her off the ventilator, and Stephanie received a passy muir valve to allow her to speak. She was kept in a medically induced coma for much of her stay at Woman’s and experiences short-term memory loss from the sedation. “It was pretty bad for a while,” Mike says. “Every day she would poi

BR Parents: One Amazing Kid - Rylan Carruth

Everyone needs clean water, but not all of us think about what it takes to have that access. Rylan Carruth, 12, does, and he’s active in sharing ways to get involved and ensure Baton Rouge’s drinking water stays as great as it is. When he first learned about the Louisiana Environmental Action Network and the Save Our Water campaign, he took action and got involved. His advocacy has led him to speak with Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome and her Youth Advisory Council, present at a meeting of the Metro Council, and meet with Robert Kennedy as part of Riverkeepers Alliance. “I don’t consider myself an activist,” Rylan says. “I think we should have clean air and water, and I think corporations should be good neighbors.” Along with older brothers Liam and Adam, Rylan says their environmentally conscious family has always reduced, reused and recycled as much as possible. A seventh grader at University Laboratory School, Rylan is applying his mindset to improving his sc

BR Parents: July 2020

As Education and Community sections editor, I wrote pages 16-23 and page 26 of the July 2020 issue of Baton Rouge Parents magazine. See the web layout on the magazine's website .

BR Parents Blog: A Summer Without Bug Bites or Sunburn? Adventures in Virtual Camping

We may be “over” coronavirus, but it’s clear this pandemic is not over for us. Summer has looked a lot different for our family, and we’re certainly living a smaller life. I wouldn’t have called us an on-the-go, big-life family necessarily, but in hindsight, we definitely were! Last summer, my now-eight-year-old attended her first sleepaway camp with the Girl Scouts . We took a trip to the beach with my in-laws . Other day camps and church events were consistently on our calendar last year. Regular trips to the library for summer reading activities and overflowing bags of checked-out books have been features of every summer of my girls’ childhoods. Until now. Read the rest on Baton Rouge Parents magazine's website.

BR Parents Blog: Does Anyone Else Feel Extremely Not OK?

I haven’t been able to write a post for this blog in more than a month . I could blame being busy–I have taken on a temporarily bigger volunteer role with my church (ask me about video editing or live streaming!)–but that’s not it, or at least not entirely. Writing is normally my oxygen.  For blogging, I typically turn to my life and my daughters’ lives, but there’s much less to mine from life right now. Because of the pandemic, my family and I are living a much smaller life. Read the rest on Baton Rouge Parents Magazine's website .

BR Parents - Exceptional Lives: Thriving Theater Passion Follows Hearing Loss Recovery Journey

For 21-year-old Grace Graugnard, hearing limitations never registered when she was a child, even though she wore hearing aids and eventually received cochlear implants. “I knew I was different and had to do some things differently,” she says. One of those things was taking speech therapy instead of P.E. “As a kid, I wanted to play dodgeball and not go sit in the classroom.” The time spent in speech therapy paid off for Grace, who majors in theater and international relations at Tulane University and applies those lessons to learning new accents for roles. Grace remembers noticing her hearing limitations when she was listening to the High School Musical soundtrack as her mom tried to explain the difference between harmony and melody. Grace just couldn’t hear the notes. “I think that’s where I was like, OK, something’s up.” Read the rest on Baton Rouge Parents magazine's website.

BR Parents: One Amazing Kid - A.B. Perk

A.B. Perk knows how to make a garden grow and prepare delicious food from its produce. A.B., which is short for Annabella, is a sixth grader at St. Jude the Apostle School. Dyslexia and dysgraphia make reading and speech difficult for A.B., but she has always been able to use cooking utensils with ease. “She started cooking when she was young as a way to practice those fine motor skills without her realizing she was practicing,” says Michelle Perk, A.B.’s mom. Read the rest on Baton Rouge Parents magazine website.

BR Parents: June 2020

As Education and Community sections editor, I wrote pages 16-23 and page 26 of the June 2020 issue of Baton Rouge Parents magazine. See the web layout on the magazine's website.

BR Parents Blog: My Dream Role: Being the “Yes” Mom

Once upon a time, in a life not so long ago, I got a chance to play the role of a lifetime: the “yes” Mom. In my normal life, I find myself saying “no” or some variation to my girls a lot. “Not right now,” or “We can talk about it later,” or “Let me finish this email (or blog post!)” or my favorite, “Ask your grandparents for that giant, expensive present you want.” Basically, there are many ways to say no even though I would certainly prefer to give them everything their hearts desire exactly when they want it! Read the rest on Baton Rouge Parents magazine's website .

BR Parents Blog: Pandemic Perfect on Paper But a Mess in Real Life

“Does your house always look like this? Like, so messy?” My daughter’s friend asked innocently enough. I’ve pondered this question in the months since it was asked during that one-and-only sleepover we hosted. I was knee-jerk offended in the moment, of course, especially because the mess at hand was from the girls pulling out loads of toys to play with.  But the more I sat with the question, I realized part of what she meant was: “Do you always keep toys out and easily accessible?” And the answer is yes, we do, and our house does always look like this: messy and overflowing with kid ephemera! That isn’t to say I don’t make an effort to corral the mess; I just know my family’s limitations and lifestyle. Read the rest on Baton Rouge Parents magazine's website .

BR Parents - Exceptional Lives: Finding Strength in Family and Fundraising to Help Others

Looking at Maddee Helaire, you wouldn’t know anything is wrong. Although her struggle isn’t apparent, the 12 year old has been through a lot, starting in infancy. The Helaire family didn’t have any time to prepare for the medical issues Maddee would face. Her mom, Tongé Helaire, had a normal, full-term pregnancy, but once Maddee was born, no one was sure what was going on. Read the rest on the Baton Rouge Parents magazine website .

BR Parents - One Amazing Kid: Matthew Bui

Matthew Bui can solve a Rubik’s Cube in 40 seconds, although his best time ever is 17 seconds. His older cousin taught him just last year, so Matthew’s progress on solving the 3-D puzzle is dazzling. “It took me awhile, like two hours sitting with him to learn,” Matthew says. “I still solve it today because I find it to be a good hobby and a good way to pass the time.” Read the rest on the Baton Rouge Parents magazine website .

BR Parents: May 2020

As Education and Community sections editor, I wrote pages 16-23 and page 26 of the May 2020 issue of Baton Rouge Parents magazine. See the web layout on the magazine's website.

BR Parents Blog - A Love Letter to Baton Rouge: All the Things We Miss

As my family begins its seventh week of isolation, home-centeredness, physical distancing, lockdown or whatever you want to call it, we’re all feeling itchy, missing the things we love most. Beyond missing physically seeing our family and friends, of course we miss going to school and regular activities like birthday parties, gymnastics, swim lessons and soccer, and generally having a routine that includes other people. (Also: Target, oh Target.) Many things we miss most are only available here in the greater Baton Rouge area. I’m not a native, but my husband and I are coming up on a decade living here. My kids, who are native Louisianans, helped me compile this list, and I’m sure you can think of many, many more. We’d love to read them in the comments and miss them together! Read the rest on the Baton Rouge Parents magazine website .

BR Parents Blog - Into The Fire: Social Media at Eight?!

I never thought I'd see the day when I'd let my eight year old have access to any form of social media. But I never thought I'd see a global pandemic that keeps us away from our normal lives, so my parenting priorities have understandably shifted. I'm sure yours have, too. We dipped our toes in with Google Classroom with her school, the Meet video chats extended after the actual lesson for general socialization. Zoom meetings for church small groups and Google Hangouts with her good church friend she misses so much quickly followed. (We learned to try Mad Libs as an undercover learning opportunity!) We used the Google Chrome extension Netflix Party to watch a movie with her Girl Scout troop, and the girls chatted with text on the same screen. Read the rest on the Baton Rouge Parents magazine website .

BR Parents Blog - A Home-Centered Birthday: A Fourth Trip Around the Sun

 A year ago, I was writing about our play date style birthday party for our younger daughter. This year, she turned four without a party, but as a family of four, we did celebrate her with everything we could muster. We are not alone celebrating a birthday during this time of physical distancing to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Amy wrote about how their family celebrated 12-year-old Kylee’s birthday . I’m hoping my four-year-old’s concept of time is pliable enough that this delay in a “real” celebration for her birthday won’t cause lasting memories or at least no trauma. Read the rest on Baton Rouge Parents magazine's website .

BR Parents: Exceptional Lives - Perfect Match Kidney Transplant Makes Dream Come True

The summer before going to college, Ali Hooks began noticing something was wrong. After her move from Opelousas to Lubbock to attend Texas Tech, she sought medical help for the first time in her young, healthy life. “I saw a couple doctors and none of them could really diagnose me with what was happening,” says Ali, now 20. As a first-generation college student, Ali was told she was experiencing anxiety and nerves, and later, doctors thought she had a stomach ulcer. But she continued to feel worse, and on October 5, 2018, she walked into the emergency room unable to breathe. Further testing revealed end-stage renal disease, and Ali was immediately rushed into an emergency surgery. Read the rest on the Baton Rouge Parents magazine website .

BR Parents: Pathways to Parenting - Allergic Asthma

Runny nose and red eyes that come on every time the pollen blows are typical allergy symptoms many of us deal with this time of year. But when the lungs are involved, an allergic response can include asthma. “In general, an allergy is where the immune system is over-reacting to something in the environment,” says Joseph N. Redhead, Jr., MD, physician at the Baton Rouge Clinic specializing in allergy, asthma and immunology. Typical triggers include pollen, dust mites, mold, cockroaches and pet dander. Read the rest on the Baton Rouge Parents magazine website .

BR Parents: One Amazing Kid - Sophia Macias

Sophia Macias uses her golf talents to make a difference. The seventh grader at Episcopal School of Baton Rouge has created her own nonprofit, No Worries Just Birdies, to raise money for community needs and encourage other girls to get involved in golf. Read the rest on the Baton Rouge Parents magazine website .

BR Parents: April 2020

As Education and Community sections editor, I wrote pages 16-24 and page 30 of the April 2020 issue of Baton Rouge Parents magazine. See the web layout on the magazine's website .