Lafayette Mom

Amanda is a native of Kenner, LA and is now an honorary Cajun. She is married to the most interesting man in world (Joe) with one son (Kael-pronounced like the superfood), one dog (Luna), one cat (Loki) and a partridge in a pear tree. She spends her days working as a social worker/yoga teacher/toddler tamer. Amanda graduated from the University of Louisiana of Lafayette in 2003 and earned her Master’s in social work in 2005 from Louisiana State University. She has worked in the fields of inpatient and outpatient mental health and is now immersed in Hospice and End of life care. For fun, she enjoys long walks with her favorite furry companion (Luna the wonder terrier) accompanied by a disturbing amount of true crime podcasts. She has learned that life is too short - do the things, pet the dogs, drink the drinks, and eat the cake!

Amelia is a New Orleans native that moved to the Lafayette area in 2014 along with her husband Gaven, and 2 daughters Amie (4) & Ann Riess (3). She graduated from Our Lady of Holy Cross College in New Orleans with a Bachelors of Science in Business. Amelia was in Banking for 11 years prior to baby #2 and relocating. Currently, Amelia serves as Co-Director of the Mother’s Day Out program at St. Anne’s Catholic Church in Youngsville. In her free time Amelia enjoys spending time with her family and friends as well as getting out and discovering all that Acadiana has to offer. She loves concerts, the beach, reading and relaxing with a glass of wine.

Amy was born and raised in Lafayette.  She attended UL Lafayette and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Health Information Management.  She and her husband of 11 years have a two year old son, Ian.  Amy is the EMR & Scribe Services Manager for a national healthcare company based in Lafayette. When she isn’t dealing with EMRs and scribe contracts, she enjoys food, wine, books, daily Tone It Up workouts and spending time with her family.

Betsy grew up in Lafayette, and has recently moved back “home” after 7 years in Houma. A former middle school teacher, she is now a stay-at-home mom of two girls, Clara (4) and June (2.5). She and her husband, Nicky, purchased a 1960s fixer-upper in the heart of Lafayette, and you can usually find them wielding a paintbrush or caulk gun when they aren’t spending time with their families. Betsy also loves to read, drink lots of coffee, shop for good deals, and find excuses to hang out with her girlfriends as often as possible.

Carlie is a divorced mom of five. She moved to Lafayette 22 years ago from a small town in-between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. She has four young adult children from her first marriage that ended after 19 years, Christopher, Cara, Clay and Cade. She has a one year old daughter, Poppy Mae with her significant other, Joey. She is a work-at-home mother who is a freelance writer and photographer/owner of Carlie Anne Collective. Organized chaos and tons of lists are her style. Carlie loves to workout, travel, visit with her friends, bike with Poppy Mae in their neighborhood, attend outdoor concerts, eat out at local restaurants, walk aimlessly through stores looking for good deals and swing in her hammock while chatting about her BST addiction with her online friends. She keeps an active Instagram account as a photo journal of her days.

Casey Hilty has been married for over 12 years to her beau, Bo, and has three kids ages 11, 9 and 6. She is a published author and just released her first book Her Children Arise - a Bible study for moms.  She is an active member of The Bayou Church and leads a Bible study group for moms called MOMentum.  Casey is also an artist and member of the L’Acadian Art Guild.  Her family shares a passion for the people and culture of Haiti and Casey and her husband lead annual mission trips there.  The Hilty Family lives on a small (itty bitty, teeny tiny) “farm” in New Iberia with their kids, dog, cats, goats, a bunch of chickens and one rooster. You can follow Casey on Instagram @caseyhilty or on her website at www.caseyhilty.com.

Christy is a fun-loving wife and mother of two little ladies Amelia (5) and Gwendolyn (1) currently residing in Broussard. She met her husband, Thomas, through Greek life in college at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the rest, as they say, is history. Christy is a Senior Party Décor Specialist and Product Designer at Confetti Momma. She is obsessed with her job and is currently working on developing the perfect balance between work and home life. Being a little bit corny and a LOT cheesy, she lives for the laugh and appreciates a good pun. Making people smile gives her the warm fuzzies. Christy loves baking with her daughters, Gilmore Girls, game nights with friends, and all things frozen (as in ice cream and snowballs- although Anna and Elsa are her home girls). Oh! And coffee … lets not forget coffee!

Jenny Prevost is an aspiring picture book author, registered nurse and french fry fanatic living in the big town of Rayne. In the kind of story that you’ll only find in a small town, she married Terral, a boy who grew up one street over, and is blessed to be Mom to three lovable kiddos (and one lively lab.) She’s a woman of many hats (her favorite being a ball cap) and, when she’s not writing, she spends her days auditing and educating for a regional hospice company. It’s been said that she ‘missed a good chance to be a 50s housewife’ and has fallen hard for all things domestic. In her down time, she loves to sew, paint and play games with her fantastic and feisty crew. She has a passion for creativity and whole heartedly believes Brene Brown when she says, “The magic is in the mess.”

Kendra, originally from Alabama, has called Lafayette home for more than 20 years. After her time at LSU (Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree in Elementary Education), Kendra moved back to Lafayette to marry her love, Justin. She has been married to Justin for just over 8 years.  They have two daughters, Lillian who was born in October of 2011, and Annie, who was born in January of 2015. Kendra also has a Boston Terrier, named Mister. When she's not busy teaching and planning for her 3rd grade reading classes, Kendra enjoys hanging out with Justin and her girls, family, and friends. She also loves Jesus, coffee, cooking up both healthy and unhealthy meals (it's all about balance y'all), a good workout, and reading.

Lashonda is a passionate, big dreaming, crafty, fashion loving, career oriented, lover of Christ, wife and mother! Currently she and her husband, Brandon, along with their three sons, live in Lafayette.  A graduate of UL Lafayette and a Realtor by profession, Lashonda is committed to being part of the growth of Lafayette through community action and involvement that will help shape the area for years to come. Both personally and professionally, her main goal is not to achieve perfection, but to win in life with grace (for others and herself), gratitude, and love! She believes though life may be hard, messy, and seemingly impossible at times, there is always beauty in the ashes. She finds it awesome and challenging to mother three wild and crazy boys and wouldn't give up being their mom for anything in the world.

Laurel Hess is a mother to 2 young boys, a dachshund, two cats and three hermit crabs. She spends her days as President of a local marketing agency, helping craft integrated digital strategies and leading a team of creative collaborators. Once at home, however, Laurel is just trying to find peace with being the World's Okayest Mom. A Dallas transplant in a Louisiana world, Laurel graduated from Loyola University New Orleans in Broadcast Production. She met her husband while she was evacuated in Lafayette during Hurricane Katrina. They lived 5 wild, kid-free years in New Orleans while Laurel served as the Sales and Marketing Manager for the Superdome, Arena and Champions Square, before finally returning to Lafayette and into the wildest phase of life yet ... Parenthood.  

Lauren is a native New Orleanian that was transplanted to Lafayette in 2008 (kicking and screaming) by her husband Daniel. She has a B.S.N. from Louisiana State University – School of Nursing and a M.S.N. from the University of South Alabama. Her “paying gig” is as a Nurse Practitioner in the Quality Department at Lafayette General Health, with a focus on infection prevention. Her other full-time gig is as keeper of her home and mom to William 4 and Mary Kathryn 3. Most of her days at home are spent picking up toys and socks off the floor so the family Bernese Mountain Dog, Tipper, does not demolish them.  When she has a spare moment, she enjoys reading crime novels, playing board game with her kids, cooking and baking foods that are not on her diet, and finding any reason to celebrate by drinking her beloved champagne. To burn off a few calories and any leftover energy, the family enjoys walking or riding bikes on the shaded boulevard on which they live. Lauren has fallen in love with the people and city of Lafayette and is very proud to raise her family here and to now call it home.

Mandy, originally from Plaquemine, LA, transplanted to Lafayette, LA in 2011. Mandy now lives in Abbeville with her husband, Terrent, step-children Andrea and Jai, and her daughter, Shelby. Mandy studied psychology at Nicholls State University, and has a Masters Degree in Social Work from LSU. Mandy now works as the Case Management Director at Abbeville General Hospital. Mandy believes that while life can be messy and stressful, every day is a gift and every moment should be celebrated (cue champagne pop). Mandy believes the true keys to happiness are food, family and music, and if she were a doctor, that’s what she’d prescribe. In her free time, Mandy loves to cook and write on her personal blog, Everyday Cajun with the Cajun Queen, where she enjoys recipe sharing and storytelling revolving around the beauty in the culture in South Louisiana, particularly the Lafayette area, which she believes is a Cajun wonderland.

Rebecca is an attorney by day and a toddler wrangler by night. She is a product of divorced parents and grew up in both Thibodaux and Franklin, Louisiana. Rebecca attended Loyola University of New Orleans and Southern University Law Center. Rebecca married her high school bestie in 2012. They went through months of infertility before giving birth to Maxwell Lincoln in 2015. In 2016, they were surprised by a baby boy due in June 2017. But, in February, they suffered with incompetent cervix and delivered sweet Theodore too soon. Rebecca, Quinton, and Max have made it their life mission to talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly of being married, of being a professional and a parent, and of suffering with both infertility and loss. They would not survive without their support system holding them up, so those sweet souls will pop up in the narratives, too!

Sara is a proud mother of two daughters. Morgan (13), a product of her first marriage, and Elizabeth (4) with her husband of six years, James. He is a very patient, loving soul who embraces all the ladies in his home, including their 9-year-old Schnauzer, Sadie.  Sara is a native of Lafayette turned Texas transplant who moved back to Cajun Country as fast as she could. An only child, she maintains a strong relationship with her parents and believes having close friends is important. When she’s not cheering on soccer, volleyball or fixing top knots for dance class, you can find Sara at her day job as an insurance agent for a local agency. She loves spending time at the beach with her family, traveling to new places, and indulging in local food and drink - then working it all off at Red’s. Oh, and all things UL. Geaux Cajuns! She’s just living life wildly. One day at a time.

Sarah is a Cecilia native currently living in Lafayette's oil center. She's the mom to a Brady Bunch of 7 children ages 12 to 3. Married to Clint, her 'environmental superhero,' she enjoys traveling often. The self-proclaimed queen of big family travel planning; she's also taken up GLAMPing as she explores the State and National Parks. Sarah started Real Product Talk, a product testing and secret shopper service, with her online bestie of 10+ years in 2014 and continues to grow as a major player in her field. When she's not working from home, she's can be found serving the less fortunate in Lafayette with Cajun Compassion.

Sarah is a 30-something mom of four children under six and wife to her high-school sweetheart. She returned to Acadiana two years ago following her husband’s completion of medical school and residency in Shreveport. After the move, Sarah switched gears from full-time pediatric speech-language pathologist and working mom to full-time stay-at-home mom to her brood. Her current hobbies include “speech-therapizing” her children, re-reading the Outlander series, catching up on her Netflix queue after the kids go to bed, completing XHIT videos at naptime, and taking her medication every morning. She loves and respects the sacredness of motherhood, but sometimes you just have to let go and laugh it out. Motherhood has been the most humbling, and empowering journey she has experienced.

NOLA born and raised, Traci moved to Lafayette in 2005 to pursue a career in corporate marketing. She married her husband Ryan in 2010 and adopted her son, now 6, in 2016. Today, along with being a full time mom, she owns and operates a dog daycare, boarding and grooming facility in Lafayette. She and her husband maintain a part-time residence in NOLA, spending weekends "home" visiting family and friends. Avid sports fan, dog obsessed, wanna be distance runner (finishing just one half-marathon), and adoption enthusiast, she looks forward to adding "blog contributor" to her lists of accomplishments.