With four kids under 13, I try to keep the extracurricular activities to one or two per child at any given time. But when you multiply that by the number of kids in my family, it still means we are out during dinner time multiple times a week. On these days, dinner is served in our family's dining room #2, also known as the back seat of the van. Dinner on the go is a regular occurrence for many families, and short of hitting the drive-thru window three nights of seven, busy families need more …
Advice for My Daughter
Would the advice for my daughter be any different than the advice I was given when growing up? When I was about 5 or 6 years old, I remember playing in the waiting room of the doctor's office with my grandmother. We had been talking about "what we want to be when we grow up" at school lately, and I suddenly I announced to my grandma "I want to work in a doctor's office when I grow up!" My grandma, delighted, asked "so you want to be a doctor?" I shook my head and pointed to the …
Holding Her Back…Just a Little
By Candace Derickx Ahhh, my oldest daughter. She is me. I am her. It is for this reason of course that we butt heads frequently. After all, we are both always right. So you understand of course that "No" is not a word that my daughter has ever accepted without question — ever. Which is really just karma giving me a good old kick in the head for being exactly this way with my mother. Bitch. (Karma, not my mother) I tell you all this because last Friday I handed down a no. A no so …
Keeping Kids Warm in Winter
Keeping kids warm in the winter is a major stressor for moms. Let's face it, we're running around after them with sweaters and socks in the fall, so when the snow hits we really start to worry. Who wants to see little frozen tootsies after playing outside? That's no fun. Here are a few things you can do to keep your kids nice and toasty when the barometer is doing the limbo: => Feed them a warm breakfast. Oatmeal is best, but French toast is also a hit. Fill their bellies to give them …
Why I Run For A Cure for Breast Cancer
By Amanda McNally I was 12 years old the first time I heard the words “breast cancer”. I had no idea what breast cancer would mean for my family and although I understood that my mother was sick, I always, always thought she’d get better. I was just 16 when my mother passed away from this disease. After her death one of the most difficult things for me was feeling powerless. I knew I had to do something but since I wasn’t very good in the science department (understatement of the year) I …
