The newspaper is chock-full of ads for what retailers think women need for Mother’s Day.

Silver lockets, bubble bath and pink powdery perfume named after some exotic plant. Diamond rings, pearl studs and handbags worth more than my car.

Seriously.

After spending every minute of every day tending to the needs of everyone else … the kid, the house, the husband, the job, the dog and the cat … there’s only one thing I need this and every Mother’s Day:

Continue reading The perfect Mother’s Day gift »

The other day as I was leaving my daughter’s school there was a little boy playing around with the “emergency box” in the hallway — you know, that red box with the fire extinguisher in it. The box was locked and had a key nearby. The boy was trying to open the box with the key. He was right outside my daughter’s classroom and I’m pretty sure his mom was in a nearby classroom picking up a younger sibling. I told him to stop playing with the box because it’s not a toy. He looked up at me and as if he couldn’t believe I spoke to him. He stopped immediately. But after I took a few steps, I could see at the corner of my eye that he was fiddling around with it again — about 2 seconds after I told him to stop. So I turned around and said to him: “I just told you not to play with that emergency box. It’s not a toy, it’s not something you play with. Now put the key back where it belongs and just wait for your mom.” He looks at me (again, as if in shock) and obeys. However, he gets mad a few seconds later and starts banging on the glass box and staring at me, defiantly. I walk over to him and say to him “DO NOT TOUCH THE BOX. I’VE TOLD YOU TWO TIMES BEFORE. NOW IF YOU DON’T STOP AND BEHAVE I’M GOING TO GET THE PRINCIPAL! I MEAN IT! STOP IT NOW!!!”

I guess I scared him enough because he stopped and and quietly said “Ok.” I stood there a few seconds to make sure he did indeed stop, and he did.

But I wonder what would have happened if his mom had come out of the classroom and caught me yelling at her kid. I’d like to think she’d be OK with it and see it as pure discipline and not as an attack on her precious little son. I know if it were me, I’d be even more peeved at my daughter for A) messing with the box in the first place and B) disobeying a grownup who is telling her something important. I’d actually thank the other parent for taking the time out to care for the school and to care for my child (by helping her realize she’s doing something wrong). But, I’m just not sure if I would have received the same reaction. Too many times I’ve witnessed one parent berating another parent for disciplining their kids.

Tina Fey’s new book, Bossypants, is on my to-be-read list, and I’ve really enjoyed several excerpts I’ve seen from it lately. I can’t wait ’til I get a chance to dig into it.

One of the funniest excerpts I’ve seen is this one, called “A Mother’s Prayer for her Child.” It actually made me laugh out loud, especially since I, um, disappointed my own parents in a couple of these ways (sorry about the tattoos, Mom and Dad!).

Enjoy.

“First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither the Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches.

May she be Beautiful but not Damaged, for it’s the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the Beauty.

When the Crystal Meth is offered, may she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half And stick with Beer.

Guide her, protect her when crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock ‘N Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age.

Continue reading What parents hope for their children, Tina Fey-style »

Mother’s Day falls during a very busy time of the year for me. We celebrate five family birthdays within the same month, and this year there are the added celebrations of Easter in late April (it was ON my daughter’s birthday) and my wedding at the end of May.

I joked the other day that “the holidays” do not fall in Nov/Dec/Jan for our family — they begin in April and last through June. It’s a very blessed time for me, especially since becoming an honoree on Mother’s Day.

Similar to Christmastime, I become very reflective during these weeks and, like New Year’s, I reevaluate my goals. It’s sort of like a spring cleaning of the soul.

So I’ve decided to make a few “mid-year resolutions.” I’d love to hear if anyone else is doing something similar. Here are a few of mine:

- Take all those swirling ideas and words written on receipts in my purse, organize them, and write something already.

- Get outside everyday. Rain, shine, hurricane. Get out there and enjoy nature.

- Be more present for my child, stepchildren and (almost) husband. Prioritize my responsibilities so my family comes first, and the rest of it all comes a distant second.

- Volunteer. If possible, find ways for my children to be involved too.

It’s the time for my yearly lament on summer.

Sure summer sounds all carefree and fun and footloose and all that. But the reality for working parents is that it also takes planning — and lots of it — especially if your kids have moved out of open-all-year childcare but are not yet old enough to leave home alone.

I’ve got both my kids scheduled for some camps (registering early for the ones they really want to attend), and we’ve got a week of family vacation planned so far. But there are still weeks of summer when I know I’ll be working and they will be out of school and…

So now I am looking at more camp options, each of which raises its own questions, about schedules and distance and cost and can both kids go to the same place, and do they still have space available? And also thinking about more time off (because just all this planning is making me tired).

Anyone else still figuring out kids’ summer plans? The Orlando Sentinel’s camp guide might help.

Don’t get me wrong. I love summer. If nothing else, there’s no homework to supervise! 

 No really, I love summer. I’m looking at a photo right now of my kids, with their cousins, at the beach. Summer is good. Summer is fun. Summer is carefree. Once it is planned.

One mom talks about how she was caught off guard — along with her children — by the announcement that bin Laden was killed.  Here is how she explained it to them.

Getty Images

“Mad Men” star January Jones is pregnant, according to reports.

Jones, 33, announced through her rep that she is expecting her first child in the fall. No other details were released at this time.

“She’s really looking forward to this new chapter in her life as a single mom,” a source told People magazine.

Jones, who plays glamorous Betty Draper in the hit TV series, has previously been romantically linked to “Saturday Night Live” star Jason Sudeikis, Adrien Brody and singer Josh Groban.

Friends are always amazed at lack of clutter in my house.

“Where’s all yer stuff?” they ask.

“Well, I hate stuff,” I say. “And what I do have is organized and put away when not in use.”

Yes, I admit that I’m borderline Martha Stewart neurotic about organization — but I have to be in order to survive this busy life.

Want to de-clutter your home, too? Here are 5 tips to help you get started:

1. Purge: Every spring and every fall, sort through your belongings and get rid of the items that you no longer need.

2. Make room for new things: When you buy something new, get rid of something old.  Buy a new shirt? Toss out an old one at the same time.

3. Utilize storage. Even if you have tons of junk, storing it in boxes or crates makes it look neater.

4. Cut the catalogs. Do you need the extra paper lying around? You can look at everything online.

5. Make lists. I’m a former reporter, so I carry a  notebook with me at all times. I’ve found that if I jot everything down — I’m more apt to do it.

I had my first parent-teacher conference last week. The talk went very well. My daughter is doing just fine. But while listening to the teacher discuss overall problems in the class (and explain to me how she had to take a break from my daughter’s class because of several disruptive students — yes, we’re taking about 4 and 5-year-olds), I couldn’t help but see a lot of similarities with my daughter’s pre-K class and my MBA classes! Here are some of the similarities:

• Tardiness

Pre-K: Parents dropping kids off late and disrupting the class

MBA: My class is three hours long — several students show up TWO HOURS late — REGULARLY!!!

• Students not paying attention

Pre-K: Students coloring or writing or talking while the teacher is trying to teach

MBA: About 1/4 of the class have their laptops out and are either playing games or on Facebook; others are wearing earbuds and bee-bopping to music

• Students disrupting class

Pre-K: Several kids get out of their desks and wander around the classroom looking for toys to play with and refuse to sit down in their chairs while the teacher is giving lessons

MBA: Cell phones ringing, bursts of laughter from text messages, students constantly coming into class at all times and leaving class at all times (and yes, we actually do get a break — but I guess some can’t wait a whole hour and a half)

Continue reading I don’t know how teachers do it – I give them the utmost respect »

Add diaper prices to the long list of items costing more these days because of increased prices for fuel.

Procter & Gamble has announced that it is raising prices for Pampers by 7 percent — although the price of a box of Luvs will stay the same.

I didn’t have the patience to deal with cloth diapers when my daughter was born, but as the cost of disposable ones goes up, I feel a twinge of regret about that.

Luckily, she’s showing signs that she might be ready for potty training within the next couple of months. I’ll be thrilled when I can remove diapers permanently from my shopping list and budget.

Have you noticed increased prices lately for other staples you buy regularly for your children?