Bedtime simplified

Bedtime can suck up a lot of emotional energy and can seem to drag on half the evening. I think I’ve hit on a few amazingly simply techniques that make it relatively peaceful and orderly most nights for our 2 small children.  The first bedtime helper is how to get children to...

Push the Button for Mot...

My children were born into a traveling family, since half their family lives overseas.  My daughter is 5 and she has been to Europe 4 times already.  From door to door it takes us about 24 hours.  Motion sickness was something I’d been dealing with for awhile, but my children...

Tips for Keeping Your P...

Playrooms are often paradoxical in nature.  They are the ultimate stress relief one minute and the cause of parental stress the next.  Sure, playrooms provide hours of play, but they also demand hours of cleaning, sorting and organizing, hours many parents simply don’t have to...

Teething, Talking and T...

The tooth-fairy needs a new job because she is about to be fired. I have come to realize that she has got it all backwards. Why pay children for lost teeth when you can be paid to give babies teeth? The thousands of dollars spent on Baby Orajel and Teething Tablets alone could buy enough...

Tips for Encouraging Yo...

Most kids love to read, but often forget that they do. A forward-facing bookshelf is not only very space efficient, it is also a great reminder for kids that reading can be fun. In his book, The Read Aloud Handbook, Jim Trelease compares shopping for cereal with kids “shopping” for...

The Grateful Mom’s Guid...

Moms have a unique perspective on life. From the minute that cute bundle of slimy joy pops out of us our “second lives” begin. Gone are the days of staying up late “just for fun” or catching every minute of your favorite TV show. But in return we are given the opportunity to find...

A Few Tips for Parentin...

Colic should be a four letter word.  Nothing shatters the overwhelming sense of joy that comes with a birth of a newborn baby than the constant and relentless screaming coming from your sweet bundle of joy.  As a parent of two acid-reflux babies, I understand the pain and heartache that...

“It’s Just ...

Today I went gambling.  Not the typical Vegas-style kind, but rather the “common cold” kind.  After a week of non-stop coughing and a runny nose, my yearning for the return of my normally happy two-year-old convinced me that perhaps there was something the doctor can do to help....

Shape Up or Ship Out

This is a magical time of year. Fueled by the seemingly endless onslaught of gifts, prizes and presents throughout the year, toy collections miraculously transform into 10,000-armed octopuses, capable of bringing down unsuspecting parents and kids in a matter of seconds. As the beasts...