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    Amy, Using Our Words

    Amy, Using Our Words

  • Parenting Guru: Holiday Spirit Bootcamp

    A fun way to teach your kids a lesson in gratitude and giving this holiday season.

  • Parenting Guru: When a Mom is Also a Grieving Daughter

    While it’s been over a month since my father passed away, it still feels raw. I think people think I should be “back to normal” by now. But I’m guessing those people haven’t lost a parent. They don’t know that there’s no going back.

  • Parenting Guru: The Halloween momster strikes again

    There's no doubt this is the scariest time of the year. But it's not the ghosts, witches and goblins that do me in. It's the ketchup bottles and men in yellow hats. (Ok, not men, one particularly feisty baby, really.)

  • Parenting Guru: The summer it all started

    It's funny, I'm not a fan of change. I like things to be routine, predictable. So the fact that this summer was packed with newness should have me going crazy. And, in a way it does. But the good kind of crazy. The kind of crazy that makes you laugh out loud-just at the thought of it.That's because

  • Parenting Guru: 5 fun after-school activities

    While trips to museums, zoos and parks may have to slow down now that school's back in session, here are five ways to have some fun around home in the afternoons.

  • Parenting Guru: The slacker mom's guide to kindergarten prep

    Yesterday was my son's first day of kindergarten. And, yes, I've known this day was coming for close to five and a half years. But it snuck up on me anyway. I wasn't ready for it. But it turns out my son, Big, was. Which was really surprising given how sensitive and emotional he tends to be. As I lo

  • Parenting Guru: How my kids are bringing new meaning to a long-lost love

    Swimming. Over the years the word has had a lot of different meanings to me.When I was very young, the baby pool was home for the summer. It meant friends, fun and snack bar goodies. By the time I was eight, it meant early mornings, blue ribbons and pool records. Soon came the Olympic dreams (far fe

  • Parenting Guru: A simply suburban summer

    Don't get me wrong, I love the smell of salt water on my skin and the freeze of pina coladas on my brain. And if I didn't have 3 kids ranging from 6 weeks old to 5 years old, I'd be on a plane to Hawaii at this very moment. But I do. So this summer, we'll be making the most of being at home-in the a

  • Parenting Guru: Camp WhereYaWannaGoToday

    Much to my 5-year old's disappointment, I'm not a camper. In fact my friends joked that the reason I had a baby this Spring was so I could avoid their annual summer camping trip. Again. (And they just might have been right.)I have no doubt that one day this will catch up to me. I'll lose the battle-

  • Parenting Guru: What I learned in preschool

    In about a month, my oldest son, Big, will be "graduating" from preschool. And while a ceremony might seem a bit silly, recognizing how very far he's come in two short years is a must. His first day he tackled me crying, begging me not to leave. Now he practically tackles me running in the door to s

  • Parenting Guru: The gift of Mother's Day eve

    When you're the mom of a 3-year old and 6-month old, "sleeping in" isn't in your vocabulary. In my case, "sleeping" wasn't either. A couple years ago as Mother's Day was approaching, I hadn't had more than a 2-hour stretch of sleep in two months thanks to a sick and needy baby. My husband knew I was

  • Parenting Guru: The perfect Spring Break do over: a mommy & me slumber party

    The last few years, Spring Break has not quite lived up to the fantasy it's supposed to be for our family. A couple years ago my youngest, Little, was suffering from severe ear infections that landed him in surgery (at just 7 months old). This year, I'm stuck on bed rest and my oldest son, Big, is f

  • Parenting Guru: The 5-year milestone birthday

    The other day I woke up as the mom of a 5-year old. It shouldn't feel that much different than last week, but it does. Because for some reason to me, 5 is a huge milestone. My little one will go from being a preschooler to a grade schooler. Lights are starting to turn on and the world is becoming a

  • Parenting Guru: A fun way to get your picky eaters to enjoy new foods

    At the beginning of each school year, I read all kinds of inspiring articles about lunchbox creativity. I buy "fun" (and healthy) new items to try, but within a month or so, we've settled into a few easy favorites (and by favorites I mean things that, for the most part, get eaten). This leads to my

  • Parenting Guru: What my kids have learned from their disabled grandfather

    The other day we were driving by my son's soon-to-be elementary school-which happens to be two stories-and he asked me if there was an elevator. I quickly responded, "No, just stairs." He corrected me (of course), first saying that there was probably a cool ladder instead, then by asking, "Well, wha

  • Parenting Guru: Oops, I flubbed again...and again

    You know how most parents have that one story about the time they royally messed up? I cannot, I mean really cannot, think of my biggest parenting flub. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of them. (So many, in fact, that I started a blog to capture them all.)Was it the time I sat there frozen-and

  • Parenting Guru: "How do you juggle it all?" Insult or compliment?

    What's the rudest question you can ask a mother? According to Tina Fey's recent article in The New Yorker, it's "How do you juggle it all?" As a working mom of two young kids, a baby on the way, a blogger and the daughter of an ailing father, I'm someone who gets asked this a lot.

  • Parenting Guru: Simple, creative painting projects for kids

    If you're stuck inside (again!) and looking for some fun ways to turn a quick watercolor activity into an afternoon project, here are some of our favorite spins on the craft (watch out MOMA!):Art in the Driver's SeatGetting my son to paint: difficult. Getting my son to play with Matchbox cars: easy.

  • Parenting Guru: How I love being a mom of boys

    Come May, things around our house will be changing. We'll no longer be a boy-only household. The pink is already starting to seep in. The realization that princesses and dolls will eventually be moving into our house as well has my oldest son exasperated. Don't get me wrong, we're all thrilled to be

  • Parenting Guru: Do You Have Pregnancy Product Musts?

    I've done this whole pregnancy thing a few times now. And sure, each pregnancy is different (like one requiring me to stock up on ranch dressing and another on Frosted Flakes). But some things remain the same. These are the tried and true products I can't live without. I figured I'd share them in th