parenting

The other day I was driving my two daughters with me to Cubes & Crayons (www.cubesandcrayons.com), when my older one, a proud 2 1/2 year old, said to me "I love Cubes & Crayons." My heart melted. I built this endeavor, flexible office space in tandem with childcare, with parents like me in mind, but also for my children. While my daughter has been able to spout that the "cubes are for mommies and daddies and the crayons are for the kids," for months now, it has been a tough transition for everyone. Being a mom is the most important thing to me.

On-Ramp Mom

Can’t live with them, can’t fire them, can’t force them out…Step Kids, that is. What’s a Step Mom to do?

Eleven years ago I took on the job of a lifetime – step mom to three fully formed, highly opinionated, bereft teenage kids – I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Neither did my husband. And, neither did the kids. All of us were on shaky ground and it quickly turned to quicksand.

This afternoon, on our way home from the math tutor, my daughter C asked me this question: "Who would you have married if you didn't marry daddy?"

At this point in my parenting career I've learned a few lessons, one of which is that after your kids gets to be about six, it's impossible to pull the wool over their eyes. Maybe it's the tone of your voice or your averted gaze when you're telling that "little white lie"--I'm not sure--but somehow they always know when you're not being straight with them.

I can't tell you how happy I am that the holidays are behind me; that I'm back to my normal routine. It sounds terrible, I know, and I don't mean to suggest that I didn't enjoy the Christmas break because I did--every moment. I loved being with W and the girls. I loved our leisurely drive up the coast to Mendicino and trudging through thigh-high snow drifts in Lake Tahoe. I didn't miss the early morning rush or the frantic race for the school bus or the afternoon carpool madness. It was great to get put all that aside.

The school year is well underway, your children are settled in their classes and have learned quite a bit in the last month...so now's the time when most if not all kids are facing the reality of...TESTS!

Children can be nervous about tests and you can be equally nervous for them! You may want to take the test for them, of course that's not possible.

But there are some ways you can help your kids do the best they can on every test.

PROVIDE THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT:

Young Children Do Not Understand the Concept of Credit Cards
It’s the 21st century, and most of the kids living in the United States are constantly watching their parents put a cute little plastic card into an automated teller machine and seeing the machine instantly spit out a wad of cash. It’s like magic! A machine that gives money whenever anybody wants it!

Let’s face it: if you’re working and raising a family, you probably have very little time to pamper yourself with any of the various mentoring programs and coaching clubs available to working mothers. You know that the skills and lessons you would learn in coaching would benefit you and your family’s lives greatly if you could just figure out how to fit it into an already over-flowing schedule!