Get the Sprite & TwitterMoms Back to School Tips & Sweeps widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox!Last spring my daughter’s soon-to-be elementary school hosted a Kindergarten Orientation that mostly amounted to a time to collect health forms and check to see if kids could cut out a teddy bear without help. One…

Last month I had the opportunity to spend time with a small group of bloggers for the Sara Lee Summit at the Kitchens of Sara Lee outside of Chicago. The event kicked off my time in the windy city for the BlogHer Conference and was a unique opportunity to learn about everything from how to…

In less than two weeks, Emma begins kindergarten. Last week I reached out to all of you to ask, “What do you wish you had known?” before you sent your first child to school. While many of the responses made me cry, they were also informative. Here are the highlights! From Nikki at The Guilty…

My children adore Elmo, which is great for me as a parent concerned with what my children view on television and DVD’s. I always feel comfortable allowing them to watch any Sesame Street products, and Bedtime with Elmo doesn’t disappoint. Like most pre-schoolers, Abby Cadabbi and Elmo do not want to stop having fun and…

I’ll never forget the first night terror in our home. First a blood curdling scream. Then our daughter wandering aimlessly around her room, babbling nonsensical phrases, tears streaming down her face. She didn’t wake up. She couldn’t wake up. For twenty minutes we turned on lights, we hugged her, we talked to her…we couldn’t get…

I’m on a mission. When my daughter heads off to kindergarten in just a couple of weeks (I refuse to count and give you an accurate number), my mind will be spinning, my heart will be racing, and the tears will be flowing. The last thing I need is for the clutter surrounding me to…

Today my children and I travelled to our favorite value store to purchase the items on my soon-to-be kindergartner’s school supply list. Thankfully, the list was not a mile long, and every item appeared to be a reasonable request, yet somehow we ended up with a cart full of markers, crayons, and folders! About four…

Ever have one of these days? As a stay-at-home mom who is alone with a three and a five year old for 11.5 hours a day, five days a week, I find it hard to keep up my energy level. We all have days where we allow an extra television show or a 10 extra…

(enjoying marshmallows at the lake…just because) This is not one more post about heading for a quick day at the beach or finally visiting the zoo before summer vacation ends – although I’d love to do both of those things. This is about my five years at home with my daughter coming to an end….

Okay. So they’re actually vegetables. And let me just admit up front that this post is far less about food and far more about life. Two months ago my husband built my gorgeous Oasis garden and we planted chic little seedlings and seeds. We followed the rules about spacing and planted neat little rows of…

Just when you thought that the days of large, plastic toys were the most overwhelming obstacle to your attempt to keep order in your home, the land of the little toy emerges. Little People and Weebles turn into Matchbox cars and Barbie shoes and the next thing you know you’re on crutches because you stepped…

In the event of an emergency, passengers traveling with small children should place their own oxygen mask securely on their face before assisting their children. That warning never bothered me until the first time I flew with my daughter. 10 months old and all smiles, she looked at me trustingly as the plane took off,…

(photo credit: Brymo) While I was in grad school at the University of Pennsylvania, I took a course with a professor from the Wharton School of Business called Managing People. Apparently the folks who designed my master’s program in psychological services felt that being able to manipulate my mental health clients might come in handy,…

Staying close to family members has become more and more difficult. Children no longer grow up and build a home of their own on the family farm or down the street from their parents. Even with the technology available today it can be difficult to find the time necessary to e-mail, text, and call family…

I have always wanted a vegetable garden. This spring when I wrote about the Oasis garden, I was excited to get one for my family and to finally get started growing my own veggies! Around the same time I was able to offer my readers (and myself) a discount on Backyard Leisure cedar playsets, so…

After I gave birth to my son Noah, members of my local MOMS Club brought meals for my family for a couple of weeks. They served delicious homemade pies, yummy casseroles, and healthy salads. But what was most memorable were the little treats that some of the moms thought to bring for my two year…

My first year of teaching, the private school where I worked went bankrupt…mid-year. I was 22 and thought it was a noble cause to continue to work for the $600 stipend they were able to scrape together for each of us from the ginormous tuition the parents paid. Clearly the parents felt bad. They began…

Next weekend Memorial Day will kick off the unofficial beginning of summer. Families will drive to the beach, fly to the mountains, and spend time with friends and family around campfires, restaurant tables, and swimming pools…but not as many families as in other years. For some of us, the best much-needed break will be a…

One of the online places where I write weekly is Type-A Mom, where I am the Child Development editor. I’ve written articles about everything from a hearing checklist to Kindergarten readiness to children’s growth statistics. But here I sit, with my baby boy just turned three & trying so hard to potty train, and my…

Have you heard enough about the Swine Flu yet? You may be worried about this: (photo credit: Mussles) But you should be worried about this: (photo credit: Veganontheedge) We live in a society where items are readily available, almost around the clock. Prescriptions, gas, a gallon of milk, all easily accessible 24 hours a day….

Congratulations to our winner, Heather: My favorite outdoor activity is walking with the kids. The boys carry their light sabers or swords and take out enemy mailboxes, fire hydrants, and light posts along the way. It’s great for their imagination! Many of you are participating in National TV Turn-Off Week this week, but did you…