Stay at Home Mom

Join us Monday May 6 at 9:30pm EST on Twitter to chat about Finding Balance on the Road .  This twitter chat is sponsored by Marriott Residence Inn in conjunction with Travelingmom.com .  Follow hashtag #TMOM to join the conversation. Time and time again we hear from Mom's who have just come back from vacation and they say that they need a vacation from their vacation.  It can be exhausting.  As Mom's we work too hard day in and day out to then go on vacation and have to work even harder. Can you be a "Stay at Home Mom" if you love to travel? Many of my friends used to joke "How can you be a Stay at Home Mom - you're never at Home?".  We do love to travel.  But with four kids it's not always easy finding that family vacation that makes everyone happy.  The other challenge of having four kids is that most motels accommodate up to 5 people in a room but not 6 and so we have to be careful about planning our stays so that we don't end up ha...

For several years my family would pack up the car and we would head north to a lake in Canada to spend a week during the summer.  It was typically very warm there during the summer months but the lake was fed by mountain snow run off and so the water was always very cold no matter how hot it was outside. One particularly hot summer day my mom decided she wanted to waterski back to the cabin.  My dad was in the boat and suggested we could go back to the cabin first so that she could change into her bathing suit.  NOPE (she said) if she went back to the cabin should would talk herself out of it.  She put on a life jacket and jumped into the very cold mountain lake in her mini skirt and teeshirt.  "Hit It!" she yelled from behind the boat and we took off with her in tow, in her mini skirt somehow sticking to her body like a hollywood costume dept. had set her up with a wardrobe for this shot.  We laughed all the way back to the cabin.  She let go of ...

With everything that went on last week in Boston MA and West TX many of us our trying to figure out how we can help. We posted an article here on things we can do.   READ HOW WE CAN HELP  One of the suggestions in How We Can Help that was posted last week was to give to the Red Cross.  There are all kinds of charities that we can give to and many ways that we can help.  But do we always know which charity is the right one? Or if our money is actually going to those who really need our help or just going to the charity organizer. Charity Navigator is my go to site to make sure the charity I want to support is on the up and up. Here are their recommendations for these two tragedies. Boston Marathon Bombing: How to Help West, Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion: How to Help One thing Moms in particular need to remember is that it is super important that we all take care of ourselves first and then help our neighbors.  Whenever you are on an airplane the...

- Mary Heston Today I read the news of the passing of E. L. Konigsburg.  Her book " The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler " was one of the most influential books of my childhood.  It was one of the books that made me fall in love with reading. In honor of E.L. Konisburg we have added this book to our essential summer reading list.  This is actually a sneak peak because our official list is not scheduled to come out until later in May when we meet to discuss Lost in Suburbia. So, pick up your copy today and get an early start.

- Mary Heston Earth Day is celebrated every April 22 (since 1970) and is a great time for us to teach our kids about taking care of the world around us.  Kids can do alot to keep our world a greener place.  It is just like them taking responsibility for keeping their room clean.  When they keep their own space clean it makes the entire house more pleasant.  It is the same when they help clean up after dinner. When everyone pitches in then no one person has to take on the entire work load. Taking care of the world around us doesn't have to mean doing anything drastic but when we all do something little it makes the world a better place for everyone. Listen in to some ideas from kids at KidZania locations around the world . For KidZania activities for Earth Day Visit GreenerWorld.KidZania.com * I was the guest of KidZania in 2012 visiting one of their newest locations in Cuicuilco Mexico.  This is not a paid or sponsored post - all comments, recomme...

So many moms feel the same way.  They get pregnant and get lost (a little bit).  Our friend Tracy Beckerman totally got her cool back - even though she had to do that in the suburbs of New Jersey. Her new book " Lost in Suburbia: a Momoir " was just released this month and it is essential reading for any mom - new mom, old mom, and moms-to-be. We thought it would be fun to celebrate Mother's Day this year by giving away a copy of her new book.  It's a win win - just join the Stay at Home Mom G+ community or tweet out about this giveway and you will be entered.  Be sure to use the rafflecopter here on this page or on our facebook page to enter. Lost in Suburbia is one of the books on the Stay at Home Mom summer reading list and we will be talking more about this book in July so it would be a good idea to get a copy for yourself and then if you win you can give that copy to a friend. a Rafflecopter giveaway *Full FTC disclosure: This is not a sponsored...

How do we explain tragedy to our kids? What do we do? As Moms we always want to DO something. Our hearts go out to all of the families directly affected by the explosions at the Boston Marathon this week.   Here are a few things we can do right now. 1. Talk with our kids in a completely age appropriate way. Very young children don't understand. The important thing is that they feel safe with you and know they are loved. For kids in elementary school we can talk to them a little more about the explosions but these conversations don't need to be graphic.  If your child asks you a question be honest - don't try to sugar coat it and give them information that isn't true.  Yes people died and were hurt.  Some people will never be the same.  But we can help them.   Our kids are counting on us to be honest with them.  They want to know that they can count on us to be truthful with them.  For younger kids asking tough ques...

I find myself immersed in my bubble bath, realizing that my mind was actually preparing me for the 2 weeks holidays that had just arrived. This is the first holidays that involves my kids being teenagers and myself being a Stay at Home Mom who is also a Work at Home Mom. They usually go away to family members and spend their time with activities and getting spoilt. Since we have moved countries and I have taken up working from home a full time occupation, things have changed dramatically. In a good way, we are just getting used to the routines and new habits that we are putting together as a family. So the first few days are full of "Muuuuuum!! I'm booooreed" said in such an enthusiastic teenage way! and remember, there's two of them. Also money is a bit tight at the moment with me off work trying to become some form of success story from my bedroom/office in as little time possible. So I drag myself out of the office with a paper trail behind me. Rig...

The sun is out and its time to start taking the kiddos back to the playground to let them get all of that bundled up energy out of their system and to give you a few minutes to relax and enjoy the sunshine. Too many times though our fun day at the playground can be dampened by some other parent behaving badly.  It's rarely the kids who have any problems sharing or getting along.  The kids seem to somehow work things out for the most part. So, it was with some delight that we found an amazing top 10 list of  Unwritten Playground Rules All Parents Should Follow.  Where did this awesome list come from? A parenting expert? A Mommy Blogger extraordinaire? No. It came from one of our favorite sports writers, Rob Roble. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE What are your rules of the playground? What are your pet peaves?  Leave your comment below or join the discussion on Facebook  and our Google+ Community .

Do you ever just have "one of those days"? Today is "that" day for me. We usually have 3 alarms set for morning and none of them went off today. So we were up an hour late. (Why do I not feel like I got more sleep than usual, either???) Then I got to school with Imogen and realized I'd forgotten her lunch. I tried convincing her to just eat hot lunch for a change to no avail. So I came all the way back home and got it and took it back to school. On top of all that, it's been snowing since last night. Ugh! But I was thinking on my way back from dropping off the lunch box. If I were still working, there would be no way I could run back home and grab her lunch. Which would have ruined her day....and possibly mine too. So once again, here I am being thankful for the fact that I have the freedom to run back home for a forgotten item without worrying about being late for work. Ok, now to get this day turned around..... ~~~~ About Corri Corri was a ...