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Everything You Need to Know About Norovirus

Flu season typically reaches its peak between late January and March. There is a lot of focus on Influenza which can be prevented by getting vaccinated every year. The “flu” vaccine cannot prevent Norovirus. Here is a quick look at everything a parent needs to know about Norovirus. There is no vaccine for Norovirus. Unfortunately, there is no vaccine to prevent Norovirus. Part of the difficulty involved in making a vaccine is that Norovirus can mutate and that it is a virus that lives in the gut. Some companies are working on a Norovirus vaccine, but it isn’t ready yet. … Continue reading →

Must-Have Travel Accessory for Kids

I’ve spent the last eight years racking up more than 160,000 frequent flyer miles with my daughter during our annual jaunts from Wisconsin to Hawaii.  If all goes according to plan, we can get from our home to my parents’ house in roughly 18 hours. Of course, things rarely go according to plan. Honestly, I’ve lost track of how many hours I’ve spent in various airplanes and airports with a young child who would rather be anywhere other than in an airplane or airport. What I do recall are all of the mistakes I’ve made during those seemingly endless flights. … Continue reading →

Should You Create A Birth Plan?

Should you create a birth plan?  It can be a helpful tool for making your wishes known both to your healthcare provider and the labor & delivery staff, but it also seems a little silly to plan something like one’s labor: after all, if we could control it, we would all have easy births. When I first heard about birth plans, I decided that they weren’t for me.  I’m a very Type A person; I get stressed if even my silliest of plans get messed up, if they’re ones I’m excited about.  Trying to plan my baby’s birth, and everything … Continue reading →

Don’t Make These Garage Sale Mistakes

Will your garage sale be a success or a flop. Sometimes it depends on avoiding the common garage sale mistakes. If you are planning a garage sale, make sure that you don’t get caught up in any of the following. Pricing Too High Sure, you may be able to get $5 a piece for clothing at an outgrown sale or $30 for that great toy on eBay, but garage sale shoppers are looking for a bargain. They won’t pay book prices, ever. Price your items low and make up the difference in volume. Many times we price items high because … Continue reading →

A Solution When Eating Healthy Seems Too Expensive

Consuming healthy food with a tight budget is not impossible, especially if you get creative and shop wisely. Here are some tips that you can use that will help you buy healthy food on the cheap. Avoid Processed “Healthy Food” Processed food, even if it is labeled “whole” or made with organic ingredients isn’t necessarily healthy, and the more processed something is, the more expensive it tends to be. For example, organic fruit snacks cost more per pound than does fresh fruit, and it isn’t as good for you. Baby or pre-cut carrots are more expensive compared to typical large … Continue reading →

Timing Is Everything… Or Is It?

Racing against the clock is a futile exercise most parents endure while raising children. If time kicks your butt getting out the door in the morning, consider the consequences if you choose to ignore it when disciplining your kids. To be effective, discipline must immediately follow a child’s transgression… or so claims numerous childhood experts. Easy enough if you are dealing with a toddler whose actions are fairly simple to monitor.  Not so when your kids hit an age when they would rather you not be a constant presence in their lives. Or present at all. Parents of school age … Continue reading →

Never Buy New if Used Will Do

Repeat after me, “never buy new if used will do.” Go ahead, no matter where you are while you are reading this, repeat that mantra. Whisper it if you must, but get it ingrained in your head. It is an important bit of advice to remind yourself of, if you want to save money. You can apply this idea to practically any purchase, be it baby clothes or a small appliance. Sure there may be some things that you don’t want to buy used, food and underwear come to mind, but for the most part, anything you might buy brand … Continue reading →

When Valentine’s Day Is a Downer

Valentine’s Day can be a real downer for many teens.  It may be nothing more than a reminder that they don’t have a boyfriend or girlfriend, fueling some of the negative beliefs they may already have about themselves. Sometimes schools add insult to injury by drawing greater attention to it.  Although last week was “Spirit Week” at my daughter’s high school, I found the theme for Friday to be a bit unsettling. You were supposed to wear a color to represent your relationship status.  The different colors showed if you were taken, single or in a relationship dubbed “it’s complicated.”  … Continue reading →

Don’t Forget to Take Care of Yourself

As a mother it is natural to put our children’s needs above our own. While there is nothing wrong with this, it is important to remember to take care of your needs as well. Your kids need a healthy mommy to take care of them, which means like it or not, you can’t push your needs aside anymore. You have to take care of yourself, so you are still around to take care of them in the future. As a woman yearly exams are crucial. It doesn’t matter how old you are, how healthy you think you may be, there’s … Continue reading →

Why Cats Do Weird Things: Pawing Around Water

We know why cats play with their water: they paw it and lick it from their paws, to try to make their water ripple and thus seem fresher.  Cats love fresh water.  But I’ve noticed Cole sometimes do something a bit stranger than that: he paws around his water bowl.  He doesn’t actually dip his paws in, but he scratches at the floor around the water bowl.  Why is he doing that? There isn’t a clear answer as to why; a lot of cat behavior is mysterious to us.  But there are a few educated guesses out there.  The first is … Continue reading →