• Last updated 5/16/13 by momofnatasha

  By Suzanne Leigh   I am standing in line in one of our state’s legal pot clubs, which sells marijuana to anyone with a doctor’s letter of recommendation. The “patients” look similar to the customers in a middle-market liquor store. There are a preponderance of frat boys and surfer dude-types, women with tattooed shoulders and piercings and a few older folks, who might be military vets fallen on hard times. Most of us look like we are shopping for something to put the spark into Saturday night, but I am here in the hope that marijuana will help my 11-year-old... read more

• Last updated 5/13/13 by Brian Leaf

By Brian Leaf     For Mother’s Day this year, my clan went to the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in the beautiful Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts.   It was a glorious sparkling day.   We did all the usual things that we like to do there. We ate lunch. We went to a program room and took out all the giant exercise balls and yoga blocks and made obstacle courses and bowled and shrieked.   And then we walked the labyrinth. Noah and Benji call it “the maze” and think it’s just splendid that the Kripalu Center built us a life-size... read more

• Last updated 5/10/13 by Sarah Clark

    Last week I shared a post here on Mothering called, "There is Not Always A "Fix" For the Difficult Child." It was actually a post I wrote some time ago on my own blog about my then two year old.  That two year old is now three (almost four) and things have changed some.  She is still a firecracker.  She still has a strong personality.  She still likes to boss around me and anybody else near her.  And I still love her and am still trying to figure things out.     There was an interesting comment on the post when I shared it on Mothering though.  She... read more

• Last updated 5/5/13 by SavvyHomeschool

  By Savvy Homeschool Moms   In this episode, the moms welcome their first guest to chat about homeschooling a child with autism.   Some links in this episode: The Alert Program Raising a Sensory Smart Child Autism Symptoms in Children and Adults     To see the full show notes, including a LOT MORE links to all the resources mentioned, please visit our website: The Savvy Homeschool Moms, episode 30. To subscribe to or download our show, check us out on iTunes, or our website. This episode is sponsored by Moving Beyond the Page... read more

• Last updated 5/2/13 by Melanie Mayo

Along with breakfast in bed and maybe some flowers or candy...if you have a young child, you'll invariably be presented with a handmade present -- of course, the best kind. And you won’t care if the colors clash, if the popsicle sticks aren’t straight, if the pasta is coming unglued; your heart will expand, almost painfully, with a gush of love and tenderness unique to the moment. These truly are the most precious gifts! And this is one instance where it is impossible (and unnatural!) not to praise your child. But what about every other day...? When you praise your... read more

• Last updated 5/2/13 by Melanie Mayo

  By Sheryl Paul, M.A.   It’s Sunday afternoon. I’m lying down with my 3 year old to see if he’ll take a much-needed nap and the title of one of Pema Chodron’s books pops into my mind: No Escape. (The full title is The Wisdom of No Escape.) This immediately makes sense, as I’ve been having visions lately of another life, another city, another lifestyle – one that includes all of my family members but is somehow easier. I know that my psyche is trying to escape a challenging stage of parenting, one in which my three year old is falling apart inside as he... read more

• Last updated 4/26/13 by momofnatasha

By Suzanne Leigh   In an undistinguished building set in an area dotted with hotels, many rooms have en-suite bathrooms with walk-in showers. There is a sturdy armchair that can be coaxed into an extra bed and a TV mounted high on pale walls. Missing are the more subtle accouterments favored by hotels: the room-service menu, the boxed slivers of soap, the full-length mirror under a muted light. The “guests” on the sixth floor are not travelers, but pediatric patients and their families. Not so long ago, hospitals were full of healthy kids recovering from broken... read more

• Last updated 4/30/13 by Sheryl Paul

  By Sheryl Paul   Just as I’m about the pour a splash of vanilla into the shake I’m making for my son, I hear two blood-curdling screams followed by the sight of my older son, Everest, tearing around the corner with his 3 1/2 year old brother, who has transformed into the Tazmanian devil, close behind. Everest dashes behind my back to create a blockade between him and Asher. Asher runs full-force toward his brother, but finds himself in my arms instead.   I carry him to the couch and hold him tightly. Contained in my arms and against the warmth of my... read more

• Last updated 4/21/13 by SavvyHomeschool

By Savvy Homeschool Moms   In this episode the moms talk about Biddy Bedtime Stories, more family-friendly game recommendations, and ways of using music to enrich your homeschool.   Some links in this episode: Biddy Bedtime Stories Space Math from NASA Steve Weeks --alphabet cds, alliterations Games with music   To see the full show notes, including a LOT MORE links to all the resources mentioned, please visit our website: The Savvy Homeschool Moms, episode 29. To subscribe to or download our show, check us out on iTunes, or our... read more

• Last updated 4/20/13 by momofnatasha

By Suzanne Leigh   My local newspaper recently ran pictures of participants in the annual Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. Among them was a picture of two sisters walking in honor of their mother who had succumbed to breast cancer. She was 69.   There’s no doubt that breast cancer is a worthy cause. Who hasn’t known someone who has been afflicted with this disease, which is the second leading cause of cancer death among women in the U.S. But for those of us whose children have a pediatric cancer, the Avon Walk is another reminder that when it comes to high-profile... read more