By Ann Van De Water It’s that time of year again. The time of year when in the process of trying to create a wonderful holiday season for my family, I often blow it. I overextend myself, spending too much time and energy on activities and things for my family. Some activities are wonderful and… Read more
If you’re like me and you’ve already opened the bags of candy (so returning to the store isn’t an option), check out these ideas from the Frugal Living section of MSN
Parents universally want their children to be successful and contented adults. However, the definitions of the words success and content may not always be agreed upon. Not a day goes by that a “celebrity” is not in the news for some unfortunate incident. Often these people are still young and have lived lives of privilege… Read more
By Julie Samrick This weekend my kids wanted to go to the park. They wanted to swim. My husband said, "We need one day to clean up. Every room in the house looks like a hurricane hit it!" He went in the backyard
By Julie Samrick Dear Tracy, I am sorry I can’t make your bachelorette party later this month. I would like nothing better than to kick up my heels with you and dance, to celebrate the next wonderful chapter of
By Julie Samrick Can you tell what this is? It’s a clay gorilla, created in its entirety by my seven-year-old daughter. The school assignment was to create a rain forest animal at home and
By Julie Samrick It’s evident why 16-year-olds throughout America’s classrooms continue to read F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic The Great Gatsby nearly a century after it was written. The slim novel is packed
By Julie Samrick Like many other little boys, when my now 9 and 10 year old sons were little they were obsessed with trucks. They could point out and identify every variety- cement mixers, big rigs, tow trucks, and
By Julie Samrick It’s hard to keep movie spinoffs fresh, and so is the case with Iron Man 3. Robert Downey Jr. reprises his role as Tony Stark, defense contractor turned Iron Man in the third installment of
By Julie Samrick Very recently I’ve begun meal planning because until now I’ve always had the same annoying thing happen. I’d go to the store, stock up, look at my full shelves and refrigerator and then,
By Lowry Manders I recently heard author Bruce Feiler interviewed on NPR about his book The Secrets of Happy Families and as I listened I thought to myself, “I have got to get a book published!” He is echoing so much of the things I preach (and try to live) about how to create happy ... Read more
By Julie Samrick “Christmas will never be as magical until you have children of your own,” my mother told me sadly after I declared there was no such thing as Santa Claus. When another little girl spilled the news to me at school, first putting any doubt in my head, I quickly lumped the ... Read more
By Erin Kurt Throughout the years of being a teacher, mother and parenting coach, I realized that there are some very powerful phrases, that if used consistently, can be extremely effective when parents are trying to get their child to listen or to get them to do something instantly. Here are ... Read more
