 |
Posted by: Silvia on 01/12/2012 As a mother kicking off 2012, I really want to get in shape. So, I started thinking about what I can do to accomplish that. Last week, I went for a run. I took the dog and just went. It was great to clear my head, but then I realized that if I wanted to keep up this new stress relieving fitness activity I was going to need a sports bra.
Once I go...
Read More |
 |
Posted by: CeeKay on 01/26/2012 to anything that we do, what would you do?
We all work (most of the times) within the parameters set by the real or perceived consequences of our actions. When we, intentionally or unintentionally, do things without considering the consequences, we face them. Eventually. That, I believe, also works as an effective parenting technique. What better way to teach your child to heed the consequences of their actions than to let them have a brush with a few unpleasant ones?
S on...
Read More |
 |
Posted by: Penelope on 01/25/2012 Most moms and dads can agree, being a parent is hard work and at the end of a long day, we just want to get a good nights sleep.
There will always be those late night potty breaks, babies crying, feedings, and dogs barking, but our mattress should be the least of our worries when we close our eyes at night.
Your mattress matters; if you’re waking up stiff, or less than refreshed, your aging mattress could be part of the problem. Consumer Reports recommends that if you a...
Read More |
 |
Posted by: oorvimehta on 01/08/2012 Look at her, the ‘leader’
With her nose held up so high
Strutting past these school halls
With her superiority complex, but why?
The crowd she carries along
Like nobles to a king
Be like the tail of the dog, and
Into a higher class she shall bring
Oh yes! This is feudalism
She shall be the permanent queen
Awards status to build an entourage
Is still valid the Old Regime?
Hierarchy still exists
The aristocracy isn’t dead Read More |
|
Posted by: Silvia on 01/06/2012 We've had a few emails from Stage of Life readers recently asking about the benefits of vitamins. Most of the questions boiled down to the question, "Is a multivitamin good for you?"
As an Editor for the site, I was assigned to answer this question. Here's what we do in my family...
Just this last fall, I started buying and giving my two children a daily multi-vitamin. It's a gummy bear vitamin and my kids love it (obviously). The reason I'm doing this is my seven-year...
Read More |
 |
Posted by: mommy9 on 04/14/2011 Yes, I was expelled from kindergarten when I was 5 years old. And sometimes I wonder if I was the only kid that ever happened to. How can someone be expelled from kindergarten when back in the day it was all about playing, coloring, reading stories, singing songs and having a snack with Kool-Aid and a short rest time? It beats me. But it happened to me.
According to my mother, I was the smallest child in the class. And because of my tiny stature, the other kids would pick me up and t...
Read More |
 |
Posted by: mcoly618 on 12/30/2011 It's not what you think, I promise.
I just wanted to share an article I found during my daily reading. The article, If Your Kids Could Make The Rules of Divorce, makes some pretty good points that parents could learn from. It lists ten rules for parents to follow to make divorce easier for kids, including...Read More |
|
Posted by: Silvia on 11/23/2011 With Black Friday and Cyber Monday quickly approaching, I've been making shopping list for family, friends, and co-workers. My list goes on and on, it spans over multiple shops and stores, and the worst part about it is, there is nothing on the list for myself.
As a mom, wife, daughter, co-worker, and friend, I want to buy myself a gift this year. Is that selfish? I hope not, because after my past Black Friday experiences my family are lucky I even shop these days.
I took ...
Read More |
 |
Posted by: LisaGraf on 11/17/2011 Being in a Biggest Loser competition makes it feel like much of my life revolves around formulas. Formulas of how many calories, how many ounces, how many grams, how many miles will combat how many pounds.
Wouldn't it be nice if we could break parenting down into a formula. How easy would parenting be if there were concrete formulas like; practice so many spelling words and get an A, give so many time outs and get a well behaved child, so many hours of sleep and no crabbiness, so man...
Read More |
 |
Posted by: Megan_R on 10/26/2011 I have a weird relationship with food. I want to call it a love/hate relationship, but I feel that those words don’t accurately describe it. There was a period in my youth when I would eat nothing but spaghetti with butter, or cream of wheat. Then, in college, I spent an entire summer eating fast food. I ended up becoming very sick, and my weight fluctuated between 20 and 30 pounds every year. Now that I am a “grown up”, I understand my body better. I know what I can eat, what I can trea...
Read More |
 |
Posted by: ciaobella14 on 10/26/2011 Why- here comes the Lion,
Carrying most spectacular of gifts--
acceptance to the select,
Presenting on the pedestal-
Those that clawed their way in
Baby blue and white,
The façade of Innocence encourages,
Onlookers to advance through the arena
Memory cements such dreams with serenity,
but abrupt slice of strain strikes peaceful skin
pressure sinks the aura-
Stress treading most expertly
Perfection must be eminent,Read More |
 |
Posted by: stephw9288 on 10/26/2011 Just recently, I began practicing for college interviews and I came across the question, “What is your best quality?” I thought about this for awhile, but could not think of a definitive answer. I have several good qualities (including modesty). For the sake of this essay, let’s call my interviewer Suzy. If Suzy is a bit OCD, maybe my best quality is that I am extremely organized and I absolutely relish in my ability to make lists for every occasion, whether they are pro-con lists, to-d...
Read More |
|
Posted by: stephw9288 on 10/26/2011 Alzheimer’s disease infected grandpa’s brain, scooping out chunks of his memory. His usual plaid golf cap, lopsided on his rectangular cranium, conceals his balding head. His almond eyes rest in the hat’s shadow, surrounded by deep wrinkles, droopy lids, and purple bags. They are glossy with inevitable oblivion. A bulbous schnoz supports black frames that span his aged face. Thick lenses magnify his benevolent gaze. Bushy white brows, sprinkled with silver highlights, sprout out of his ...
Read More |
 |
Posted by: DarkStar49 on 10/12/2011 One of the best things that could have ever happened to me was my mom teaching me to cook at a young age. Not only was it fun, and a good bonding experience, it helped me with self preservation and survival after I had moved out on my own! It wasn’t very often that you would find me having less than my own home cooked meal as an independent single living in my apartment. In fact, my pad was the home to my friends and cousin of such weekly rituals as ‘taco feed’ nite with homemade spanish ric...
Read More |
 |
Posted by: SouthMainMuse on 10/07/2011 Does a witch need a hat? I gather modern witches don’t wear them much. Most make do with a garland halo of flowers or something.
For Halloween, I thought sewing a costume would bring hours of mother and daughter bonding.
Bonding moment number one: Flipping through the pattern books, she asked, “Is this all they have? No Skulls and Stars Gothic Fairy?’
Thank goodness there was no gothic fairy. I began the delicate task of steering her toward a costumes wit...
Read More |
|
Posted by: Silvia on 09/27/2011 My family and I take photos all the time, but to me fall is the best season for photos. All the colors and shapes make for some great photos. I recently read an article from Kodak with some tips on how to make your fall photos fresh and fun.
If your a mom like me, who ...
Read More |
|
Posted by: LisaGraf on 09/14/2011 Do you or someone you know need to purchase this shirt?
Put your cash and checks back in your purse, hang on to that credit card & first read this post. Then share it with your late loved ones!
I'd be remiss if I tried to tell you I've never been late. I have been late. I know that maddening, rushed, frustrated, embarrassed feeling of slunki...
Read More |
|
Posted by: CeeKay on 08/27/2011 “But you said…”
“Yes, I know. But things have changed”
“But you promised!”
“I know darling! But, you know, things are different now”
“All I know is that you PROMISED!”
“Listen, I… See. I can’t, anymore…”
“I thought you’d keep your word”
“I always do. It’s just…”
“No you don’t! You aren’t keeping it NOW!”
“You HAVE to understand. Please understand”
“I understand. But still, you promised....
Read More |
|
Posted by: LisaGraf on 08/21/2011 Parenting has opened my eyes to a whole new world. Although, when I married Jacob; I quickly realized not everyone slept, ate, cleaned, thought, talked & acted like I did. Shocker, right?! Humans are some pretty selfish creatures. Last time I checked though, there's just 1 Earth and it indeed does not rotate around any of us, not even any of my 4 children; no matter how loud, stubborn & obnoxious they can be. I really do love my blessings more than life itself & consider them the greatest bless...
Read More |
|
Posted by: LisaGraf on 08/25/2011 I hope I never come across as one of those moms who act like life is full of roses, my kids are wonderful & I am googley eyes in love with motherhood. Yesterday's thoughts on unplugging and plugging into my kids is a topic I am extremely passionate about. If I had to narrow down what I thought was the most important point of parenting - the #1 point would have to be truly connecting with your children. In my experience, I find it difficult to connect with my children if I have my phone in hand ...
Read More |
 |
Posted by: Nadalee on 07/15/2011 MY DAUGHTER BRINGS OUT THE INNER ARTIST IN ME
I never considered myself to be a good artist. Or even a halfway good artist. Okay, put it this way. I can not draw realistically to save my life! For instance, every time I try to draw the human form, it ends up looking like Fred Flintstone.
My lack of artistic ability was apparent to me at an early age. When I was in school, I had a friend who was really into horses. One day, I decided to draw a picture of a horse for ...
Read More |
|
Posted by: Nadalee on 07/16/2011 THE ONE MAGIC INGREDIENT THAT MADE MY DESERT AN INSTANT HIT
Last St. Patrick's Day,my daughter Melissa complained, "We have no special desert for St. Patrick's Day!"
Never mind the fact we aren't even Irish.
"Well...of course we do!" I told her. "Just wait out in the other room. You'll see!"
I rummaged around in the cabinets and came up with some pistachio Jell-O instant pudding and green sugar left over from Christmas cookies. Then I rustled up som...
Read More |
|
Posted by: LisaGraf on 08/02/2011 There are few things that drive me more nuts than being called hun, sweety, dear or any other endearing term by anyone other than my husband or close friends. So as I lay on my back going into hour 15 of labor with my first child I wanted nothing more than to wring the neck of the nurse who kept telling this sweetie she was doing such a great job, and encouraging me to 'go girl' & assuring me 'I could do this'! I'm not an overly emotional, touchy feely kind of person nor do I care for cheerlead...
Read More |
 |
Posted by: shamaker on 07/27/2011 Already this year, 21 children have died as the result of being in a hot car. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration held a roundtable discussion this week to talk about how to prevent these deaths.
Some of the sobering statistics relating to hot-car deaths of children: 51 percent of known deaths since 1998 (when record-keeping on this began) were the result of a child being left accidentally in the car by a parent or caregiver.
On a day with temperatures in th...
Read More |
|
Posted by: Nadalee on 07/24/2011 CATS, CATS, and more CATS!
My daughter Melissa loves cats.
No, wait. That's not quite right.
MY DAUGHTER MELISSA IS ABSOLUTELY 100 PERCENT CRAZY ABOUT CATS!
There. That's more like it.
When Melissa was younger, my husband (a fan of classic cartoons) introduced her to the old cartoon character, Felix the Cat.
For a whole week, Melissa walked around insisting that everyone call her
Felix.
This was a litt...
Read More |