Who among us hasn't sat around thinking, if I ran the world ... Well, I was recently asked and it took me, oh, about a minute to decide what I would do if I assumed the throne. Now of course I'd want to devote billions of dollars or poun…
If this gorgeous spring weather has you itching to get outside with your family, we've got the perfect excuse to head out to one of our national parks this weekend: it's free! This year, the National Park Service turns 100 years old, and…
If your family has been thinking about adopting, I'm here as a BTDT mom to help. This year, my family grew by one more child when my husband and I adopted our daughter, a spunky 2-year-old from South Korea. It feels like we're experts on…
Yes, lunch shaming is a thing , as I just learned from this New York Times article from Bettina Elias Siegel that is so disturbing, I had to stop physically shaking after reading it before I could come here and write this. Evidently in a…
When I look back at some of my biggest parenting fails, most of them have occurred when I haven't taken the time to consider my kids' emotions or help them process their worry, anger, fear, or whatever else it is they are experiencing ri…
Not all of us moms are so genetically blessed as to fit into our skinny jeans two weeks postpartum -- let alone thick-skinned enough to " love ourselves as we are " all the time. #NOnomakeupselfie #sorrynotsorry So bless those awesome ce…
If you're not getting much more than a "yeah," "nope," or "fine" when you ask about your kid's day at school, it might be time for some new conversations starters. (Trust us, we're right there with you.) So we set out to collect dozens o…
My kids are 8 and 10 now, and I tend to think of them as tiny adults. They can mostly keep themselves alive without any assistance from me. But they're still careless when it comes to noise, mess, and responsibility. In other words, they…
With six people living in my house, there are days when I feel like all I do is laundry. And that the baskets of dirty clothes just keep piling up. (Stop the insanity!) But there is one quick laundry tip has changed my life in a good way…
As a single mom of four kids, you can probably imagine how tough it is to give my kids individual time, at least without hiring a babysitter and spending even more money on dinner or a movie. Turns out, you don't have to spend money -- o…
One of the questions parents are always asking each other is, "how much should I be spending on my babysitter or nanny?" The answer is so tough. The last thing I want to do is underpay someone with the important job of taking care of my …
While I am not a fan of the "everyone gets a medal" school of thinking, I do believe in earned accolades. So I was startled to read a story about 7-year-old Canadian student Grayson Powell, a little bowling wunderkind who actually earned…
My kids are wiped when they get home from school. They always seem to need a snack to recharge and a bit of time to zone out before gearing up for the rest of their day, whether it be for basketball practice, homework, or just running ar…
Hi, nice to meet you. I'm one of the many parents who tries desperately to squeeze in a few last-minute Oscar nominated movie screenings just before the actual ceremony each year so I have at least a moderate shot at the family Oscar poo…
I'm a long-time contact wearer here, especially in those glasses break now and then moments (or when a style moment hits hard). And as much as my optometrist has tried to get me to try daily wear contacts because they're waaaay better fo…
We're big fans of supporting quality journalism, especially in this age of where fake news is running rampant. Because, facts matter. (Not that this is a big stake in the ground, mamas. I mean, is any normal person really like, "Whoo! Fa…
Yesterday, Merriam-Webster announced they had added more than 1000 new words to the dictionary , and wow, word nerds like me could lose ourselves in here for ages. Actually, I kind of did. According to the editors the terms come from eve…
I'm all about supporting our nation's National Park Service in any way we can, especially because of the myriad ways they support us right back. So I'm thrilled to share the brilliant initiative to get even more kids to our National Park…
Last week, we introduced you to 3 cool kid inventors who we actually got to meet and chat with on behalf of our sponsor Autodesk . Well, since then, my tween Quinlan, who actually interviewed the inventors on Facebook Live (so fun!), has…
I tried reward charts, treats, and downright begging when it came to potty training, and my daughter was having none of it. So when I heard about Pee-kaboo potty training stickers , created by a stay-at-home mother of two who lives in my…
These memories brought to you on behalf of JCPenney We spend so much time around here thinking about the best gifts to give to those we love, that sometimes we forget about ourselves and our own gifts! (Is that a mom thing?) So we asked …
There's a ton of high-tech baby gear out there these days -- but not all of it is stuff we'd actually use or recommend. I mean, just because you can invent a training potty with an iPad stand that doesn't mean you should. So we put our h…
Please and thank you -- important stuff, right? I've always believe that courteous kids grow into nice adults and we all need more nice in the world these day. But that's not where etiquette begins and ends. So with the holidays here, an…
We love how the Internet can help us when it comes to raising a generation of more curious kids. There are just so many remarkable free educational online tools and resources that help support a child's natural curiosity, and even help p…