The Best of Rocket City Mom 2015

From day one, the mission of this site was to be useful to area parents. Every decision we make about content, events, new devices (like our mobile app), and area partnerships is informed by this mission. So when it came time to look at what we published this year and pick our “best” the criteria was simple – did this article make parenting easier for local parents? We believe these 11 articles did that especially well but of course, we hope that everything we published accomplished that goal. These just did it with a little more panache.

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Make Ahead Fresh Freezer Meals

By Brandi Burgess | Published January 10, 2015

Modern families are busy but they also know the importance of eating healthy. This post from our resident mom-chef/food blogger was a huge hit all year long. After reading her ideas and recipes you’ll see why –  we guarantee you’ll be heading to Target to pick up some large freezer bags ASAP.

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Birthday Wishes

By Jennifer Kelly | Published February 18, 2015

Here at RCM we’d been kicking around the idea of how to better serve families with special needs children for a couple of years but we weren’t quite sure how to do it well. Then, Jennifer Kelly fell into our laps and wrote this beautiful story of her journey into special needs parenting and we knew we had a series on our hands. Check out the whole series, “A New Normal”, and share with anyone you know who might benefit from the information and insights contained within.

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Want Your Children to Survive the Future? Send Them to Art School

By Dustin Timbrook | Published February 10, 2015

We were honored when local artist Dustin Timbrook asked about publishing this piece on our site. He felt strongly that this subject (an argument for art education as an integral part of preparing students for whatever the future brings) would resonate with our readers, and as soon as we read it we wholeheartedly agreed. In its simplest form, this piece does what all our best stories do –  transforms a personal journey into something that reveals a greater truth and resonates with every reader.

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Our Favorite Beaches

By Rocket City Mom Contributors | Published March 30, 2015

The beach is a popular destination for most Rocket City families and on a pretty regular basis we get questions from readers about recommendations for places to stay. The problem is that we each have our own personal favorites and usually for very particular reasons which may or may not be in line with someone else’s. Rather than write a post about one spot, we decided to ask all the writers to give us a brief rundown of why their favorite is their favorite. If you’re looking for ideas for your next beach trip, we highly recommend checking out this post first. 

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To My Wise Little Girl

By Russell Winn | Published April 6, 2015

Russ was one of the first contributors to RCM and early on his articles were mostly education related. He now has his own blog that keeps him quite busy, but occasionally he agrees to come back and write more personal pieces, like this letter to his daughter regarding her autistic little brother. It’s a moving post and clearly we’re glad he agrees to favor us with his writing when it’s as beautiful as this.

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How to Adopt a Pet

By Heather Phillips | Published April 11, 2015 

Heather is a long-time writer on our site and she’s an editor’s dream when it comes to turning out quick, relevant, well-written reviews. She’s also a big pet-lover and knowing this, I turned to her to ask questions when my own family decided to get a new dog. She was so knowledgable with so many great tips that I knew immediately we needed an article on the site. I couldn’t be the only person thinking about a new family pet. Sure enough, this post has gone on to help several area families in making an important decision about their own new addition.

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5 Garden Secrets

By Jennifer Breuer | Published April 28, 2015

I might have written this article but the truth is I had A LOT of help. Despite being an vehement lover of all things HSVBG, I still had to get help from the real experts – Garden employees – to identify these garden “secrets”. Even with a map we had trouble finding the Gnome Dome, but once we did my kids had a blast exploring a new (to them) world. Such a treasure and just one of the #HuntsvilleHiddenGems we helped unearth this year with this new series thanks to a partnership with the Huntsville/Madison Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.

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Reap the Whirlwind

By Sam Chow | Published July 28, 2015

Sure, the site is Rocket City Mom, but it’s really all about Rocket City Families, which is why we’re thrilled to have some awesome dad voices on our site. When Sam joined us, his designated forte was all about Pop Culture Parenthood, a subject that encompasses fandom and geeky parenting found within film, literature, and the like. But his story took a different tone when his son was born over two months premature, and he detailed the experience in this ode to the Huntsville Hospital NICU.

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It’s Time to Talk to Your Kids About Race

By Taralyn Caudle | Published  August 24, 2015

Kids see color, and it’s important that their parents talk with them about race and current events in an age-appropriate way. This personal account from talented RCM columnist Taralyn is scary and poignant, and not only addresses the issue head-on, but offers solutions and great resources to facilitate a discussion with kids of all ages. Hopefully in the future, these discussions can be had in more of a proactive rather than reactive setting of sad and frightening current events.

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Domestic Violence – When It’s a Friend

By Martha Bosworth (Crisis Services of North AL) | Published October 5, 2015

We’re extremely fortunate to be able to work with community partners that provide important services for area families, and this post is a great instance of that at work. When Crisis Services helped us out with a post during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, they did so knowing 1 in 3 women will experience some sort of domestic violence or assault in their lifetime, and that children are particularly vulnerable as both victims and witnesses.

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Huntsville’s Beignet Cafe is a Sweet Experience

By Bo Williams | Published November 23, 2015

When he first came to us as one of our “dad” writers, Bo added some much needed fatherly perspective to our site and his articles on parenthood always found a way to be both funny and helpful. Through happenstance, he has also become our preeminent restaurant reviewer finding a way to weave thoughtful commentary, life lessons, and even dating advice into his reviews of area eateries. Trust us when we say, “Bo knows restaurants.”

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The Night We Lost Santa

By Kim Holmes | Published December 2, 2015

It’s a conversation parents have been having with their kids for many generations, and no matter where you are in that timeline this post is guaranteed to make you weep. Whether your tears come from looking back or looking forward, it’s a three Kleenex piece told poignantly and with the brilliant mix of humor and honesty our readers have come to expect from Ms. Holmes.