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    Beth

    Beth

  • Public? Private? Home School? How Do They Compare?

    As a college professor I frequently get asked if I can tell the difference between public school, private school and home school children. The short answer is "yes" but the real answer is far more complex. I teach freshman composition and this gives me a view of students fresh from the arms of their high school or home.

  • User Post: Working Mom

    Three hours into the eight hour flight and I could feel the vomit starting to rise up in my throat. I thought about the fact that the plane was over Nova Scotia, and that seemed comforting to me. We had crossed the ocean and it was literally down hill to Dallas. I cornered the stewardess and in hush

  • User post: 5 Tips For A Successful Mom/Nanny Relationship

    Micki has been our nanny for almost three years. She has worked for us in a part-time capacity and has recently gone full-time as I have transitioned back to full-time work. I frequently get people asking me how I found Micki, and how we've managed to keep the same nanny for so long. After five year

  • User post: Are these costumes for halloween or an adult film?

    With only 27 days until Halloween the conversation in our house has turned to costumes. Max quickly settled on Boba Fett from Star Wars and Lucy has declared that she would like to be a doctor. In an effort to avoid the last minute Halloween push we recently visited our local Halloween superstore an

  • Family Game Night 2.0

    It is quaint how parenting experts are so quick to proclaim the importance of family dinners and quality time. Do these people have jobs? Do they even have kids? Although it is difficult to get my family of five in one place at the same time there is one activity that we seem to always come together

  • Baby #1 vs. Baby #3

    Baby #1: The pregnancy test comes back positive and your emotional reaction is overwhelming. There are tears and squeals of joy. Phone calls are instantly made around the world announcing the glorious news.

  • Open Letter to Oprah

    Dear Oprah,I wanted to be the first to tell you that it is time for you to retire from your daily talk show. I know this may seem shocking but it is best that you do it now before it becomes awkward and embarrassing for everybody. You've had a long run on day-time television, but that run is over.

  • User post: Barbie Versus Motherhood

    I never liked playing with baby dolls as a child. As many of my friends embraced pretending to be a mommy, or even playing dress-up, I was disinterested. My mother stayed home, as did most of my friend's mothers, and she was wonderful and I respected her (and still do). However, these games seemed t

  • Sick Day Policy For Motherhood

    I don't remember my mother EVER having a cold, although I'm sure she did. I have some friends who insist that their husband stay home from work until they are well and then I have others who plow through like they aren't sick at all. I've never really been clear on this issue. Unlike other jobs ther

  • How Do I Stop The Night Time Visits?

    My daughter has NEVER liked sleeping alone. Even as an infant she preferred that I hold her than she lay in her crib. Now as a 5 year old I can't get her to sleep in her bed for more than 2 or 3 hours at night. She will go to sleep in her bed (with appropriate fanfare of bedtime stories, songs, conv

  • Let Me Introduce You To Alice

    When you're pregnant, especially with your first, you dream of all those "first" introductions. Experiences you can't wait to share with this new little person. For my husband, it was "Star Wars" and indeed I think it has more than lived up to his expectations. His son wants to be Darth Vader for Ha

  • Top Ten Best Things About Having Kids

    #10 It's nice to have someone who thinks all your jokes are funny - even when you aren't making one#9 You no longer look like a weirdo when you talk to yourself in the grocery store. Everybody thinks you are just mumbling to your kids

  • The Laws of Motherhood

    The Law of ThreesIf you have children under the age of 7 everything spoken must be said three times. For example; "Max put your shoes on. Get your shoes on. PUT YOUR SHOES ON NOW!" It is also important to note that the intensity of the spoken word increases with each repetition. This is also true of

  • Evolution of Summer

    When you are a child, summer blows into your life like a welcome zephyr. It brings with it the promise of swimming, lemonade, bicycle rides and late nights spent in the humid air. It is endless days of no boundaries. As childhood fades so do those summers. There is no summer for the adult you. You w

  • Empty Nest

    I've spent almost my entire life wanting to talk about everything. I have no verbal filter and will frequently ask the most personal questions, or better yet, share the most personal information without thinking, except now. I suddenly don't want to talk about the miscarriage, with anybody.There are

  • Baby Gifts I Could Do Without

    Shortly after the pregnancy test turns positive and those initial giddy moments fade you begin to make a list of all the things you will need for your new baby. There are hundreds of books telling you about the essential items required to care for a new baby. Let me provide you with a list of things

  • You Shall Pee In The Potty!

    Well, It is that time for me to start potty-training my son. I will freely admit that I was an utter failure at training my daughter and it was only after I sent her to my mother-in-law's house that she finally started using the potty regularly. And now I find myself in the precarious position of te

  • Leave The Ice Cream Alone!

    This particular evening had been pretty typical for my family. I was about 24 at the time, living at home, and attending grad school. I had eaten dinner with my parents and we were sitting down together to watch a movie. As the opening credits warmed up my mother quietly got up and walked into the k

  • The Evils of Teletubbies

    When I was little my mother refused to let us watch "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood". As we got older she explained that she found it patronizing and annoying. At the time I thought she was being a rather large curmudgeon, BUT then I had my own children.Up until this point I have prevented my children fro

  • Childhood: Bumps & Bruises

    This is childhood. Childhood is exploring, examining, learning and a lot of times getting hurt in the process. Lucy has worn her bumps and bruises like a champ and they are a badge of honor. She is enjoying her childhood and if she wasn't her knees wouldn't be looking like that. Too many times as pa