Is it really possible to rock New Year’s Eve once you have children?  As long as you are willing to adapt your definition of rock, keep an open mind, and most of all, a spirit of creativity, it’s definitely doable! Here are some fun ideas to try with your little ones: SET THE STAGE Décor Break out last year’s decorations (I know you’re a frugal mama like me and saved them in your attic, too). Don’t have last year’s, no sweat! Just pull together any solid paper goods, streamers, funky necklaces, etc. It doesn’t have to match; New Year’s is all about being festive, especially with kids. Win-Win…

“Depression hurts.” Who does it hurt? Pretty much everyone in its path—a path of destruction. While the severity and duration of depression’s destruction is varied, the wounds inflicted are unavoidable. Sometimes, we think that the wounds have begun to heal and then realize that, in fact, we have merely stopped the bleeding. As someone who suffers from clinical depression I am a firm believer in the “oxygen mask” analogy.  The oxygen mask analogy goes something like this: You must treat your well-being as you are instructed on an airplane prior to take off.  In case you are unfamiliar, the …

If dogs can sense fear, you better believe your seven-year-old can. If you get stressed when you can't find your hotel, your kids will get stressed too. When you think of it as "exploring the neighborhood," everyone will feel better. -Travelwithyourkids.com The statement, “stress free traveling with kids,” may sound like an oxymoron but I am a firm believer that if you plan for the worst you will always be pleasantly surprised! For several years, my husband, two kids and I have driven to Florida to spend Thanksgiving with his brother’s family.  It is the highlight of our year.  Surprisingly, …

Should kids have a playroom? Or, should they only have enough toys to fit in their bedroom? I posed this question to my four and six year old and my four-year-old son said that he would rather just play in his bedroom.  My daughter (of course) wants both!  I approached the subject because I have struggled with the issue of clutter for literally years.  Clutter is very overwhelming and debilitating for me, to the point that I don’t clean anything because I cannot decide on a starting point. As I type this, my kids are playing wonderfully in their rooms, pretending to play flag football with …

Sure, the Patriots just suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Bills, but it’s not too early to start thinking ahead to next Sunday, and start planning your tailgating activities.  Next week’s Pats game is in Oakland, so here’s some ways to enjoy some tailgating fun at home. Even if you’re not a hard-core football fan, “Football Sundays” offer fun for your entire team. So be sure to execute your game plan before your “energy play clock” runs out. Here are some of the things my family has done over the years or are looking forward to adding to our line-up this season: Pre-Game: Depending on your…

Have you scheduled your child’s flu shot?  Or, gasp, even your own? There are many reasons why getting injected with a dead virus may not top your to-do list, but it better not be something as lame as…I forgot! Pharmacies around town seem to be singing the same song, Signs, by the Five Man Electrical Band. You know the one - “signs, signs everywhere a sign” - if you don’t CVS, Walgreen’s and Rite Aid certainly do.  And they are covered in them.    Okay, so perhaps you have somehow avoided the signs.  What about the pediatrician reminder card that came by mail?  Surely, your PCP will be …

In early August it seemed fitting, almost obvious, for my column this week to be about September 11th.  After, objectively pondering “the angle” in which I would present, it seemingly felt appropriate to write about how we, as parents, should discuss this fateful day with our children.  Mother Knows Best is, after all, a parenting column. Imagine the surprise when someone, as wordy as myself, found themselves at a loss for words.  Stricken with the inability to summarize my perspective and research, I stared at my laptop blankly.  I kept wondering…“Who am I?” “Who am I” to offer advice, …

“If you are happy your kids are back in school, you shouldn’t have had them in the first place.” – “Mrs. Cleaver” on momania.com Okay, so I guess I should be childless (please don’t tell my kids this).  But yes, I, like many others I know, have been longing for the return of school since about mid-August! It got to the point of having a recurring daydream…kind of like those old Calgon commercials. But instead of being whist away to a warm bubble bath, I was instead at the school drop-off line, blowing kisses to the kids, then driving off as fast as possible.  The departure speed was always in…

The wedding is off!  Okay, it was never officially “on,” but Lair Scott’s controversial online petition did have much of cyberspace speculating, “Will Bert and Ernie really get hitched?”  Sesame Street Workshop (SSW) says, “No.” The awaited announcement, made on NBC’s Today Show, comes in response to weeks of cyber-hype and Scott’s attainment of 9,693 petition signatures for the two iconic roommates to wed.   “Bert and Ernie are best friends…they were created to teach preschoolers that people can be good friends with those who are very different from themselves,” SSW said in a statement.  “…

Going back to work with a four and six-year-old in tow, who would be out of their mind enough to think that? Me, of course!  Why not cover events with my kids; they are all good learning experiences right?  Since up until now they had all gone pretty smooth, I had a false sense of security in my multi-tasking abilities, which Friday clearly illustrated? Somehow, having my 4 year-old son tag along to a devastating fire, drug bust and interviewing a town employee have all gone well. In fact, he hasn’t stopped talking about last Monday’s drug bust and how cool our police officers are for …

I am just going to come right out and say it…I am a pretty neurotic person, a compulsive over-analyzer constantly searching for reassurance that I am doing right by my kids or by my husband due to my lack of domestic abilities. Now that I have openly admitted my OCD personality traits, I must assert that I am not a neurotic parent. Believe it or not I have, what others consider to be, some pretty laid back points of view.  Long before having children, my gut instinct was to let kids be kids.  Even as a young teacher, I despised the term “play-date” and those “Mommy to _______” business cards…

Most married couples experience a bit of disconnect throughout the duration of their relationship—it is normal.  What is abnormal and detrimental is when the occasional feeling of two ships passing in the night feels more like two ships docked in two entirely different oceans!  Sadly, it appears to be happening more and more in our child-centered culture.  Couples have, somehow, forgotten that we were wives and husbands before we became mothers and fathers! Therefore our attention needs to be allocated as such. To be fair, society’s level of child-focused parenting expectations are much to …

At my daughter’s six-year-old check-up, our pediatrician began inquiring about what milestones she had achieved. Since appointment schedules only allow about 15 minutes per patient, I am familiar with this quick check-off process.  For the most part, I have anticipated the skill sets to be questioned.  That was until her last visit.  I found myself surprised when our pediatrician asked if my daughter was riding a two-wheeler. It just wasn’t on my radar. The pediatrician’s “confidence” that she would learn soon definitely brought it to the forefront. It’s not like my kids have never ridden …

Okay parents of college-bound children, I bet you think that you have a few more weeks to put off acknowledging the certainty that your teenage son or daughter is in fact leaving the comforts (and boundaries) of your home and is beginning life’s next chapter.  This next step, per say, is essentially a new world, where proficient skills of autonomy, self-reliance and organization are paramount to their success. Though most of the college transition will rest on your child’s shoulders alone, you can make the most of the remaining weeks of summer by providing the tools necessary to lay an …

For most of my life, I have been pursuing the illusive key to happiness—that one “thing” that once I identified and attained then the rest of my days would be filled with sustained happiness.  I realize this must sound ludicrous, but to someone who grew up in the environment I did, this doesn’t scratch the surface of crazy.  Due to the lack of strong, positive, role models in my life, I actually looked to television shows for guidance as to how a family, and the world as a whole, was supposed to be.  So it will come as no surprise that I was sucked into the notion that happiness must be …

Whether you missed the registration deadline or are like the millions of families who are re-prioritizing their expenses, you may have decided to make this summer a stay at home one.  With school being out for a little over a week now, are you already tired of hearing: I’m BORED?  While you can continue to hope and pray that the kids will magically start entertaining themselves (without injuring each other), you must keep in mind just how scheduled their days have been for the past 9 months.  Eight hours of instant autonomy is difficult for any school-aged child to handle.  Therefore, a …

Has this ever happened to you?  You bump into friends while watching the fireworks and next thing you know you are hosting an impromptu barbeque for 10!  I have experienced being the impromptu host on more than one occasion. If you are anything like I used to be, your state of mind quickly shifts from festive to forlorn.  Desperate to prioritize the to-do list that is instantaneously running through your head…clean the house, prepare the backyard and, oh yeah, purchasing and preparing all the necessary food and drinks.   Though it may seem that I don’t like having people over, I actually …

When was the last time you were completely mesmerized by a movie on the big screen?  One that not only stimulated your senses but provided a sense of comfort and peace at the same time?   Luckily, the opportunity to see such a captivating show is literally right outside our door (and no, I am not talking about watching the latest release on a pricey projector and inflatable screen).  I am instead referring to the amazing 4-D experience appearing nightly thanks to Mother Nature.  This requires us to actually take the time to view it and unfortunately, more and more of us aren’t making the time…

As you know by now, I am a firm believer that gifts are much more memorable if they are creative and come from the heart. Anyone can toss a check at someone or buy some flashy new “must-have” gadget.  But Dads are pragmatic by nature and therefore they are much more likely to prefer a personal homemade gift versus an overpriced, mass-produced one!  So it is no surprise that I have a few frugal Father’s Day gift ideas to share. Gifts from the Heart: Many of these gifts are geared for dads with young children, but with a little imagination they can be easily tweaked into older kid creations as …

Father's Day is coming up (Sunday, June 19) and here are some quick, easy and tasty ideas to help make the day extra-special.  It has been said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, so if that is the case he will be full of love when he sinks his teeth into these special Father’s Day treats: DAD’s Pancakes Our Sunday breakfast tradition is pancakes (typically chocolate chip). When it comes time for special occasions though we make the batter into shapes, letters and numbers to honor whatever the special day may be. This father’s day, why not make him pancakes that spell out “D…