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For years, LLH Harms has written books, stories, and poems, and simply placed them on a shelf. With encouragement from one of her children, she has finally decided to share her writing with all of us. She lives in Virginia with her family.
Monday, April 6, 2026
Book Nook - Havenwood
Parenting Pointers - Invisible Load
New survey data is shedding light on the often-overlooked invisible load that mothers across the U.S. carry every day.
The research surveyed mothers living with a partner in more than 30 major cities to examine the behind-the-scenes mental and logistical work required to keep a household running, from tracking family schedules and medical appointments to organizing the home and managing children’s social lives.
The findings reveal how common this hidden labor remains, with 81% of women saying they frequently feel overwhelmed by everything they have to keep track of for their families.
Key findings:
- Women say keeping track of everyone's schedules and medical and dental appointments are their most common parts of the invisible load.
- 52% of women say their partner isn't fully aware of the invisible load they bear.
- 67% of women sacrifice their alone time because of everything they manage for their household.
- 61% of women sacrifice their personal hobbies or interests because of everything they manage for their household.
- 32% of women sacrifice career advancement or focus at work because of everything they manage for their household.
House & Home - Garden Forecast Survey
As temperatures rise, homeowners across America are ready to tap into spring trends like homegrown food, native plants, and sustainable yard care. A new survey from Modern Pest Services finds that 91% plan to garden in 2026.
2026 Garden Trends:
- Top garden types: vegetable (68%), flower/ornamental (68%), and herb (42%)
- 44% plan to plant native species, supporting pollinators and local ecosystems
- 52% will compost food or yard waste as more households embrace low-waste gardening
Eco-friendly gardening is clearly on the rise, and 81% say they prefer eco-friendly pest control methods for protecting their plants. Additionally, 53% plan to use natural fertilizers. However, when it comes to weeds, many still turn to the most convenient solutions: 31% plan to use Roundup or other glyphosate products this year.
Take a look at the full report to see what other eco-friendly methods homeowners and planning and how they will prep their homes for spring pests.
Shopping Savings - Spring Into Learning: WonderWorks Panama City Beach To Offer Special Ticket Giveaways and Discounted Tickets for Students
WonderWorks Panama City Beach values education all year long, but they are putting a special focus on it during April 2026, and they’re inviting everyone to get in on the action. The indoor amusement park for the mind is doing even more to value education on top of their existing STEAM exhibits as local schools approach the end of the year and the start of summer vacation. They will be offering exclusive College Days discounts and celebrating National Library Week with unique opportunities to score discounted and free admission tickets this spring.
“Education meets entertainment here at WonderWorks!” said Darren Grooms, general manager at WonderWorks Panama City Beach. “We always try to wrap the school year up with plenty of fun events for students, teachers, and beyond. Now’s a great time to plan your next visit.”
April 2026 is the time to spring into learning at WonderWorks Panama City Beach. Guests can get in on special admission ticket offers for being college students and first-time library card holders. All month long, college students can celebrate the end of their semester with a discount ticket offer to visit WonderWorks. By showing a student ID at the admissions counter, college students can score All Access tickets for $15 plus tax per person. This annual event gives college students a chance to explore and have fun at an affordable rate, providing them with a great study break.
This year, National Library Week is recognized from April 19-25, 2026, and WonderWorks Panama City Beach will be teaming up with the local library system to celebrate the power of books, reading, and education. Those who sign up for a first-time library card during this week at the Panama City Beach Public Library will receive one free admission ticket to WonderWorks to celebrate. The tickets will be provided by the library when signing up for the new card. When visiting WonderWorks, guests will need to present the free ticket and their new library card at the admission desk to redeem the offer. Start your journey with a story, then bring the learning to life at the upside-down laboratory!
“A big part of our mission is providing educational opportunities for schools throughout the Florida Panhandle, so the spring field trip season is very fulfilling for our team. It’s amazing to see the sense of wonder on students’ faces as they take in the flipped building or conquer an exhibit!” said Amanda Roberts, education sales manager at WonderWorks Panama City Beach.
Spring is officially field trip season at WonderWorks, the indoor amusement park for the mind. They are gearing up for thousands of students and their chaperones to visit, creating the perfect go-to spot for educational fun. Students will have the chance to dive into the wonders of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) in a unique and memorable setting. As students explore the many educational exhibits throughout the facility, they’ll get to experience first-hand just some of the things they have been learning about in the classroom, including light, sound, weather, physics, and more. The fun will be extended to educators during the month of May 2026, for WonderWorks’ annual Teacher Appreciation Days. Teachers are encouraged to watch the social media pages for dates, registration, and more information to be announced.
WonderWorks Panama City Beach features over 100 fun and educational exhibits and events throughout the year. The attraction includes laser tag, an indoor ropes course, the Xtreme 360 Bikes, physical challenges, a virtual reality Grave Digger monster truck ride, the Bubble Lab, extreme weather experiences, space discovery replicas, illusion art, and more. There are also plenty of team-building activities available for groups, including sports teams, clubs, summer camps, and student organizations. To get more information, purchase tickets, or reserve a group rate, visit the site at: https://www.wonderworksonline.
About WonderWorks
WonderWorks, a science-focused indoor amusement park, uniquely and engagingly combines education and entertainment. With over 100 hands-on exhibits, there is something unique and challenging for all ages. Feel the power of 74 mph hurricane-force winds in the Hurricane Shack. Make life-sized bubbles in the Bubble Lab. Experience zero gravity and get the NASA treatment in the Astronaut Training Gyro. Conquer your fear of heights on the indoor Glow-In-The-Dark Ropes Course. Nail it by lying on the death-defying Bed of Nails. WonderWorks has locations in Orlando, Pigeon Forge, Panama City Beach, Myrtle Beach, Syracuse, and Branson. For more information, visit WonderWorksPCB.com, and follow @WonderWorksPCB on Facebook and X (Twitter), @WonderWorks_PCB on Instagram, and @WonderWorksOfficial on TikTok.
Travel Tidbits - Women's Retreat Destinations
Women are traveling differently these days, and more intentionally than ever. They're seeking connection, restoration, and experiences that genuinely move them. Retreats designed just for women are one of the fastest-growing travel trends right now. Here's a little inspo... MALTA • Sunrise yoga on ancient limestone cliffs • Guided walks through Valletta's baroque streets • Focused immersive cooking classes with local Maltese women CROATIA • Sailing the Dalmatian Coast at golden hour • Sea-to-table dining on private island beaches • Sound healing sessions in centuries-old stone villages MOROCCO • Riad stays with rooftop hammam rituals • Spice market sensory tours in Marrakech's medina • Desert stargazing and storytelling in the Sahara INDIA • Immersive Ayurvedic wellness programmes in Kerala • Sari-dyeing workshops with local artisans in Rajasthan • Sunrise meditation at the ghats of Varanasi ARGENTINA • Tango lessons in the cobblestone streets of Buenos Aires • Wine and wellness at a boutique Mendoza vineyard • Patagonian hiking with female-led guide teams BRAZIL • Cacao ceremonies and jungle immersions in the Amazon • Breathwork and capoeira on the beaches of Bahia • Carnival-inspired dance and creativity workshops PORTUGAL • Surf and yoga retreats on the wild Alentejo coast • Fado evenings and soulful storytelling in Lisbon • Quinta farm stays with olive oil and wine tastings ICELAND • Northern lights meditation and hot spring soaks • Glacier walks and wild swimming in geothermal rivers • Creative writing retreats under the midnight sun |
Book Nook - Father Humor: Mastering the Art of the Dad Joke
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Focusing on puns, Father Humor: Mastering the Art of the Dad Joke is appropriate for anyone who loves (or hates) word play. It gives lots of examples that can be adapted to situations, including some classics that still pack a punch, one-liners that are groan-worthy but familiar, and new ideas. It even includes a little bit of history and language! Every example in the book is family-friendly, and appropriate for more than just dads - people of any age and gender can learn the art of the pun, including delivery and response.
BART KING has written more than twenty-eight books, including The Big Book of Boy Stuff, The Big Book of Spy Stuff, and The Pocket Guide to Mischief. His books for Gibbs Smith have sold more than 868,000 copies combined. He is also a 2019 winner of the Bulwer Lytton Writing Contest’s “Vile Pun” award. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
Book Nook - Love Keeps Showing Up: Music, Messes, and Miracles
“We Don’t Talk About Bruno”, but we should be talking about Adassa—the Oscar, Grammy, and Golden Globe recipient, platinum-selling artist, and the voice of Dolores Madrigal in Encanto. Her story—full of messiness and music, challenges and triumphs, health scares and faith affirmed—is a journey many women and mothers will relate to, even if they have never experienced the specifics quite like Adassa has. She shares it in a new book, Love Keeps Showing Up: Music, Messes, and Miracles (Shadow Mountain, April 7, 2026), which both Disney moms and women's memoir readers will appreciate.
Born to immigrant Colombian parents from humble beginnings, Adassa put in years of hard work and persistence before performing to audiences around the world. In her memoir, she shares how she learned that faith, family, and community can carry us through life’s difficult seasons; what do you do when your faith and persistence are challenged, and you feel lost, hurt, and ready to give up?
Balancing a professional career, unexpected health issues, and motherhood, it’s a resounding journey of resilience—with a soundtrack! Inside-the-book QR codes connect to 12 original songs, creating a complete experience.
Given that Adassa has achieved her success while also being a mom to SEVEN, her book and story is also timely for Mother's Day coverage.
More info on Adassa and her book can be found here.
Music MInute - My Little Snap Bean: Zydeco for Children
It’s a rockin’ boogie on the bayou! Multi-award-winning New Orleans children’s musician and author Johnette Downing joins forces with Grammy® nominees Nathan Williams & The Zydeco Cha Chas on one of the most exuberant children’s albums of the year, My Little Snap Bean: Zydeco for Children. The album will be released on April 10, 2026.
A rousing celebration of childhood with an authentic, down-home Louisiana zydeco beat, My Little Snap Bean includes three adaptations from Johnette Downing’s “singable books” (My Parrain is the Loup Garou, The Fifolet, and My Aunt Came Back from Louisiane), an adaptation of an ancient juré song remembered from Nathan Williams’ childhood, the anthemic “Going to the La La” (an old-fashioned term for a zydeco dance), and nods to Louisiana’s rich Creole traditions both in New Orleans and Southwest Louisiana. Several songs feature lyrics in Cajun French and Southwest Louisiana Creole (also known as Kouri-vini).
The overarching themes of My Little Snap Bean are culture, community, and how the shared stories and rituals of our communities inform our identities. Johnette’s original stories, “My Parrain is the Loup Garou” and “The Fifolet” tell of mythical swamp creatures familiar to Louisiana children. “Hitch Up My Pony” and “Going to the La La” are songs about two Southwestern Louisiana Creole traditions (the trail ride and an old-fashioned zydeco dance), while “Loop de Loop” and “Ready or Not” are regional children’s game songs. “Juré” and “My Little Snap Bean” bring child-friendly lyrics and expanded musical arrangements to two ancient Creole motifs. Taken as a whole, the album is about who we are and the joy to be found in ongoing traditions, wherever we might live.
Produced by Johnette Downing and multi-Grammy-winner Scott Billington, My Little Snap Bean is an outgrowth of Scott Billington’s and Nathan Williams’ 40-year friendship. Scott produced Nathan’s 1989 debut album, Steady Rock, for Rounder Records, followed by six more albums that established Nathan as a leading Louisiana zydeco artist. When Nathan performed as a guest artist on Johnette’s 2023 album, Jumpin’ Jitters, It’s Halloween, the synergy among the three was so exciting that the idea for a zydeco album for children arose naturally.
“Musician Ellis Marsalis once said, ‘In other places, culture comes down from on high. In New Orleans, it bubbles up from the streets,’” explains Johnette Downing. “This holds true not only in my hometown of New Orleans, but across the state where music is made by and for the community. I have dedicated my career to sharing Louisiana roots music with children around the world. For this album, I collaborated with Nathan Williams & The Zydeco Cha Chas to combine zydeco with children’s music as a way of introducing the genre to youngsters and helping our musical heritage thrive for generations to come. Zydeco music is for dancing. It brings multi-generational people from all walks of life together in a joyful celebration of community.”
“It’s really for the culture and for the future of the culture,” adds Nathan Williams. “Zydeco music is fun, it’s happy music, it’s good music, and we hope we can share it with kids and grandkids around the world.”
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ABOUT JOHNETTE DOWNING:
The winner of numerous awards for her thirty-two books and twelve previous recordings for children, Johnette Downing is a musician, singer, composer, author, illustrator, and haiku poet.
Johnette developed a love of music at an early age. In childhood, her tuba and violin-playing father and her saxophone and piano-playing mother took Johnette and her siblings to the French Quarter in New Orleans on weekends, where they would stand in the doorways of clubs listening to jazz and ragtime. Her passion for roots music and for sharing music with children the way her parents shared it with her led Johnette to become what the media termed “the Musical Ambassador to Children” and the “Pied Piper of Louisiana Music Traditions.” She has performed her Louisiana roots music for children in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe, Central America, North America, and the Caribbean.
Previous albums by Johnette Downing include Jumpin’ Jitters, It’s Halloween (2023), Swamp Romp, A Louisiana Dance Party (2019), Reading Rocks! (2012), Boogie Woogie Bugs (2010), Dixieland Jazz for Children (2008), Fins & Grins (2007), The Second Line (2003), Silly Sing Along (2001), Wild & Woolly Wiggle Songs (2000), From the Gumbo Pot (1998), Music Time (1992), and New Moon: Tunes for Little Folks (1990).
ABOUT NATHAN WILLIAMS:
Honored with a Grammy® nomination for his recording Lucky Man, Nathan Williams is a zydeco legend who has over three and a half decades under his hat as one of southwest Louisiana’s most beloved Creole musicians and cultural ambassadors. Whether he is performing at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall’s CityWide Concert Series, the Grand Ole Opry, Europe’s top blues festivals, or down home at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival or Lafayette’s Festivals Acadiens, Nathan and his top-shelf Nathan & The Zydeco Cha Chas band never fail to get audiences up and shakin’ a leg to their unrivaled stomp-down zydeco party!
Book Nook - In Fertility
After having their first child without issue, Kathryn and her husband were trying for a second. She suffered one miscarriage after another, and ultimately turned to in vitro fertilization for help. A fertility odyssey ensued: two IVF clinics, many failed embryo transfers, two surrogates, more than 100 transvaginal ultrasounds and an untold number of blood draws. She gave herself hundreds of injections. Had nearly two hundred eggs removed from her body. And spent hundreds of thousands of dollars. But a story told in numbers is far from the whole picture.
Perhaps most importantly, In Fertility asks the difficult questions and uncovers essential truths for anyone embarking on their own fertility journey. The result is a tour de force, with an incredible plot twist, that will leave you feeling shocked, uplifted, informed and hopeful.
KATHRYN BLAZE BAUM is an award-winning investigative reporter with The Globe and Mail. Since joining The Globe in 2013, she has probed systemic failures related to criminal justice, healthcare, immigration and child welfare, raised awareness of Indigenous issues and exposed gaps in government oversight. Kathryn has won two National Newspaper Awards and has been a finalist for the prestigious Michener Award for public-service journalism. Kathryn lives in Toronto with her family
Book Nook - Rules for Mothers
Set in the 1980s, Julie Swendsen Young’s Rules for Mothers
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Young, a North Dakota native, is now living in Portland, OR where she is a clinical social worker and a citizen lobbyist for early childhood investments and maternal health. Her short fiction and creative nonfiction stories have been published in print and online magazines, including Surging Tide and The Timberline Review. Rules for Mothers is her first novel.
Rules for Mothers is a representation of many women across the decades that can resonate deeply with readers from a variety of backgrounds.
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