Mother’s Day is May 12^th, that is a week from this Sunday.  There are likely to be lots of articles to suggest ways to honor your mom or help your children honor their mom.  I would like to take a different approach and speak to moms directly.  Give yourself permission to pat yourself on the back and to take a break.  Parenting is both the toughest and most rewarding job in the world.  This is a good time to remind moms (fathers too) that you have to fill your own bucket before…

I recently spent an afternoon with a good friend, who has a toddler.  While we were talking about parenting she told me her son has started biting his baby brother.  My friend said nothing she or her husband had tried is working.  Her son bit another child at childcare this week for the first time

Biting is a behavior that many toddlers display at one time or another.  It can be something that makes the adults feel frustrated and helpless.  There is hope! 

Whenever a child is…

Did you know that you could have a stranger in your home right at this moment that you are completely unaware is present?  If you or anyone in your home is communicating online or through texting with someone you do not know personally, then you are opening your home to a stranger.  Technology can be a wonderful tool, but it also can open our families, our children included, to new dangers.

A recent poll indicated that 90 percent of middle and high school student have…

How do we achieve happiness as a family, especially when you consider varying personalities, interests and communication styles? Not to mention different genders and ages, two-adult homes and one-adult homes? I recently read an article based on a book by Bruce Feiler on this very topic. He introduces some interesting facts and concepts I think worthy of sharing. In our incredibly fast paced lives, full of stress and worry how do we find peace at home?

I think most people have heard…

With many families still struggling and even those who are not, this is an appropriate time of year to teach an attitude of gratitude.  It may be easy for kids to focus on what they don’t have or won’t get, especially compared to those of their peers. Regardless of a families’ financial situation it is helpful  to use the holidays as a time to teach family values. Any gift, whether big or small, can come from the heart keeping the recipient in mind. So what values are important to you and…

Ideas for how to connect with your family while you are running from one place to another!

Leaves falling, soccer balls, pumpkins, football jerseys, sweatshirts, crisp air...all indicators of autumn in full swing.While parents are busy driving from activity to activity and kids are getting back into the rhythm of school, we often forget how to connect with each other in the midst of all the busy. Here are some ideas:

1. Get involved! Instead of…

At this point in September most of our children are settled back in school. How about the parents? It is common for kids to experience varying anxieties as school nears. It may be the first day jitters, middle-school transition or new peer pressures in high school. It is also common for parents to experience worries of their own. Today’s parents are faced with a number of school issues regarding their children. Parents may be concerned about the child’s readiness to start school, their…

Blended Families: How We Have Made Ours Work!

June 23,…

Our country continues to be in a strained economy. These past few years have been a humbling experience for me and my children. And while it has been a stressful time, many good things have come of it. We have found ways to do without, redefined our true needs and have a better understanding of what are our priorities. For example, in our family, we value time together now more than ever. And through difficult times we have grown closer and work much better as a team.

It is important,…

"Mommy guilt", I don't want my baby in day care, I don't want anyone else to raise my baby, and finally going back to work just isn't worth it.  Each year more and more new Mothers are leaving the Corporate Life in search of the ever elusive, "Work Life Balance."  Mompreneurs, with our new companies and our new inventions are driven and motivated to change the business World and create the ideal family work structure.  I'm not going to use the word balance, because truly are you never really…

This story takes place a couple of years ago when Jake was in 3rd grade and ranks a magnitude 10 on the Richtor scale of embarrassment. This was when I was working again full time and less hopeless (I joke). Anyway, Craig and I usually spent our weekends…

It's official! Trying to get my kids ready for school is like waging a full fledged war on time-management! Let me break down this morning's routine as we prepare to breach the castle like some sort of crazed screaming barbarians. And yes, someone will be calling to confirm my reservation at the nut…

1) Consignment sales. Selling and buying there. Check out Bargain Watcher to find consignment sales in your area. Also if you can tell your friends and family that you are selling stuff to bring in extra income you would be surprised at how much you will get, trust me. You can even turn yard sale-ing into an Ebay biz. I thoroughly enjoyed …

I wrote this piece for www.theexaminer.com, as am a featured columnist, so it's specific to Los Angeles but most places offer same as below.

As a parent of 9-year-old twin girls, I spend a great deal of time looking for ways to entertain them…

Live on CreateChatter™ TV chat with Sterling of StorkBrokers!

StorkBrokers.com is an online marketplace that allows parents to sell all their no longer needed baby & kid items. Parents are able to recoup some of the thousands of dollars spent year after year on quickly outgrown baby and kid items.

Tonight (January 8) at 8 pm CT (9 pm ET) on CreateChatter…

I've been pretty cranky at work lately. Oh, it's nothing really, just lots of tension in the office - tight deadlines, lots of projects, fraying tempers.

The gray skies, bumper-to-bumper traffic and constant drizzling rain haven't been helping my mood much, either. But when I walk in the door of my house, that all changes. No, I don't have a fancy house - not at all. But I'll come in, crabby and bedraggled, and my husband will greet me like a princess; he'll have dinner…

We are all very familiar with the kids 5 a day fruit and veg. Recently I was introduced to the kids 5 a day encouragement challenge.

So, the concept is very simple. This week, I’ll be getting concious, of how much encouragement I give my children. Fancy joining me ?

It can be all to easy to focus on what we don’t want our children to do. To nag, and to spend your day stressing yourself out:

Don’t do that !

Tidy your room

Because I said so !

I’ve asked…