Portrait in Linen

Mom’s Best-Kept Beauty Secret, AcadianaMoms magazine, April 2010.

She’s drop-dead gorgeous. Rich, chestnut hair, tiger-green eyes and curves in all the right places. My best friend, “Josie,” is 35 years old, but you wouldn’t believe it unless you checked her driver’s license. Daily, someone mistakes her for her teenaged daughter’s sister. “You’re her mom? No way!” She doesn’t always correct them. We should all be so lucky…

…Secretly, I wish I were gorgeous like Josie. If I were youthful and stylish, my kids would be proud to go places with their pretty mother, and they’d never be embarrassed she was wearing the same ol’ sweats and no makeup … again.

Read full article here.

The Strength of a Mother’s Choice: Pursuing your preferences in pregnancy and childbirth, AcadianaMoms magazine, March 2010.

Since discovering last month that I’m pregnant, I’ve read countless articles and birth stories. I’ve followed online discussions covering everything from what foods I should eat to the best laboring positions. Though advice is abundant, it’s often contradictory and sometimes downright controversial. “Breast is best.” “Formula’s fine.” “This hospital can’t be beat.” “When having a baby, there’s no place like home.” In the end, I often feel less informed and more confused than ever. Is there anything I can know for sure?