September 2015

Starting and sustaining a business can be challenging for anyone, but what does that look like when its owners are a couple? According to a survey of business owners by the U.S. Census Bureau, more than a quarter (28.2 percent) of business owners who responded said their outfits were family-owned.…

No beach. No mega theme park. No TV or electronics. What kind of vacation is that? Just one of the best our family has ever enjoyed. My suggestion to take our grandchildren, Madeline, age fourteen, and Loren, age thirteen, on a different kind of vacation received mixed reviews. “It sounds…

Stepping out my front door on a sunny afternoon sometimes feels like I’m stepping into Mayberry. Children are riding their bikes back and forth, parking them lawn-side (okay, throwing them down on the grass), and running around with their neighborhood friends. Parents are in the middle of the street, chatting…

  Each year, as September’s school days slip by, few phrases are more pleasing to this parent’s ear than, “I made a new friend!” Even as my oldest, Sam, starts college (which I’m handling pretty well, by the way), I anxiously await a report that she has met someone awesome…

Ask parents when to transition a toddler from a crib to a bed, and you’ll hear the same thing again and again: “Keep him in the crib as long as you possibly can.” My son, Gabriel, didn’t climb out of his crib until a few days before his third birthday. My…

Be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud. – Maya Angelou   During prep for my surgery, one of the nurses asked the routine question, “Do you understand the risks and benefits of this procedure?” What can I say? By this point I had a sense of humor about it all.…

After what I hope was a fantastic summer, the time has come to pack those swimsuits away and put the kiddos on the bus back to school. It’s a bittersweet time for kids and parents alike, and the feelings around our household are no different. As much as I loved…

Wait, Mom did what with her money?” Questions like this are uttered amongst siblings many times over, and will continue to be asked with the aging demographics of our society. The problem is, too often, adult children find out about ill-advised financial decisions made by an elderly parent when it’s…

Whether you have a young puppy or a new rescue dog, following some basic steps for crate training will help ease the transition. There are many benefits of properly crate training a dog. Crating provides sanctuary, offering settle time for a dog and giving families a chance to regroup. This…

  By now, Pixar’s latest animated film, Inside Out, has probably replaced your child’s obsession with Queen Elsa. Okay, that’s a stretch, but adults just loved it, right? Full of creative, but, scientifically accurate information about the workings of the brain, Inside Out has become a go-to teaching tool for therapists…

Have you ever thought about how powerful air can be? Maybe you’ve seen a tornado or hurricane and wondered, Can that really happen? Can wind really pick up a house or a car? The answer is yes! Air has mass, and depending on how much pressure it’s under, air can…

Q: My kids, ages eight and ten, get a weekly allowance. My husband believes this money is theirs to do with what they want. I feel like parents should have the final say on how kids spend their money. Here’s our situation: One of the kids wants an expensive video…

  At age nine, Michael was desperate for a new hope. He was living in atrocious conditions – a home littered with garbage, without reliable electricity or heat, and often without enough food to eat. His father severely abused and sexually molested him. Every day was a nightmare from which…

Each year, ovarian cancer is diagnosed in nearly a quarter of a million women worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death among women. Increasing awareness and recognizing the signs, symptoms, and risk factors of ovarian cancer are important, so women can take the steps to detect it…

Panko Parmesan Chicken Strips Preheat oven to 400° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or use nonstick baking spray. Working on a large cutting board, cut 4 large chicken breasts into long strips, about 5 per breast; sprinkle each piece with a little salt and pepper. In a…