A Touch of Phever
A guest post all about the great American tradition and experiencing it through our children. For the past three weeks, I have been known around the house as “Chase Ug-ley” and my son has been answering to “Jayson Werth.”  We have Phillies Fever – and we have no clue what we will do for bedtime wind-down when the World Series is over. During the regular season, baseball seeps into our lives thanks to Pop-Pop, who brings over souvenirs from time to time – commemorative gear, stuffed mascots, etc.  But watching this postseason has been a true family event night after night, and for that

Unexpected Milestones
Before I became a parent I didn’t know about all the little milestones you reach when you have kids. First there was holding the head up. Then came the first giggle, the first smile, the first pincer grasp…the list went on. After the first year and the big milestones, the first word, first step, etc…things seemed to slow down. So it came as a surprise when we hit another unexpected and admittedly different milestone. My daughter is no longer being weighed (at the doctor’s office) on the baby scale. She’s transitioning to 1% milk and she’s getting measured standing up. She no longer gets shots in her legs - now they do them in her arm, an

The Neverending Debate
As a working Mom I’ve always heard about the Stay at Home vs. Working Mom debate. Thankfully, much like Sarah over at the LA Mom’s Blog, “In all seriousness, I haven’t read or seen anything proving to me the Mommy Wars are still raging on, EXCEPT on Dr. Phil.” Mentally though - I find it exhausting and frustrating. Last week - the debate gained new legs when Dr. Phil did a show he titled “Guilty Moms”. I didn’t see the show, but I’ve watched clips and read all about it since it aired. When I first heard t

Flexibility is key
As most parents learn, flexibility is key when dealing with kids. You have to be flexible enough to understand that while the brown shoes go best with the outfit - sometimes the yellow polka dot shoes feel the best. Sometimes when it’s 100 degrees outside, a long sleeve t-shirt and stockings are going to be preferred by your 4 year old, when other times it’s a frigid 50 degrees and putting a heavy sweatshirt on your 3 year old will get you out of the house faster than insisting on the winter coat. Flexibility is something we have to exhibit on a daily basis. I’m learning that first hand. Our daughter’s birthday party was planned. I’m no

The Birthday Party Conundrum
I love throwing my baby girls birthday parties. We do it at home, invite all of our family and close friends and have fun. We have a small home, so we do it outside on the deck and have lots of activities in the yard. Last year, we had sack races, 3-legged races, a moon bounce (small) and of course our own play ground equipment. If I do say so myself - the kids had so much fun. I look forward to doing it every year, but this year is different and it is causing me anxiety. This year, my daughter has moved up in her class at school and is now in a room with kids aged 3-5. Last year she was in a room with kids all her own age. Last year, we kept the party to close friends and