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
Born with Angel Wings
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About four years ago, Anne McCoy felt the pain and sorrow of losing a great grandbaby. She was traveling with her fiance, Cliff, and needed a way to deal with the grief she was feeling over her family’s loss. She began crocheting, and it turned into ... Read full article
Different, Not Less: A Mother’s Advocacy for Her Son with Autism
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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 respo... Read full article
Pandemic Parenting, Amirite?
by Ellen Mecholsky on
I’m sitting here in front of my computer trying to think of something to write to all of you–something to lift up and inspire during this time of uncharted territory and endless new decision-making.... Read full article
Moms on Campus
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When LSU graduate student Wendy Hansing gave birth to her son, she realized that support and spaces for mothers on campus were limited. Not only were there no centralized resources from which mothers could receive information and help, but there was ... Read full article
Bipolar Disorder
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Regardless of outside circumstances, being a parent can be difficult, but when you do factor in those outside circumstances, things can be even more tricky. These outside circumstances can include an unexpected mental health diagnosis. For around thr... Read full article
Finished, But Not Done (Making the Decision to Complete Our Family)
by Ellen Mecholsky on
As parents, we all ask each other similar questions about parenthood: “How is your baby sleeping? How do you handle tantrums? Are you getting your kid a cell phone?” But the question I get most often these days, as a mother of three children who are ... Read full article
Defined by Faith
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During the 22nd week of pregnancy, Beau and Sara Dantin discovered that their baby girl, Isabel, had a brain abnormality.... Read full article
The Remembering: Reflections on My Pregnancy Loss
by Ellen Mecholsky on
It starts the first week of December, the remembering. I had felt her move for the first time in the car driving home from a Thanksgiving trip to Florida, which is why I suspect my anniversary grief stress begins so early. I subsequently gave birth t... 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