Planning a birthday party for a loved one? Stew Leonard’s in Newington, Connecticut makes the planning process extremely easy, and offers a wide variety of options both in the store and for catering off the premises. We recently held our daughter’s third birthday, and first ever kid-party in the store’s smaller party-room. Since she is only three, the vibrantly decorated room easily accommodated her small number of close friends and her beloved teenage sitter. Cooking parties and other events for children over five and adults are held in a larger room.

Last week I connected with some powerful national presenters and we discussed the concept of self-care. Like many, they see self-care as something you "should do" for your physical health (exercise, eat well, get enough sleep), but that's where it ends. They were curious when I shared that I define self-care as the art of attuning and responding to your needs and desires, moment to moment.

In a few weeks, my oldest child will leave for college.  I remember the tears I shed as he boarded the school bus for kindergarten!

Apparently I blinked. And suddenly, my sixth child will be starting Junior Kindergarten in September.

Six kids in elementary school. There was a time I never thought I’d see the day, and now I feel like I don’t want to see the day.

My other five children attended kindergarten for half days every day. It suited us perfectly. We established a nice daily routine. On the days I worked, Nanny Hazel was there for them, so I never had daycare issues or logistics to juggle.

This morning as I was browsing headlines, I came across one on FoxNews titled Sibling bullying is under-recognized, study finds. Of course I had to read it.

Whether we pay tribute to fathers with an official day once a year, or esteem that special dad all year long, fathers are meant to be honored.  A man who takes care of, spends time with and loves their child is worth celebrating.  It doesn’t matter if they’re a blue collar worker, struggling to make ends meet; or an A-list celebrity, traveling the globe but still keeping family in tow, a dad is a dad at any status level.

It’s easy to notice the mistakes of those around us, especially our kids.  After all, they’re little people, growing into adults so it’s normal that they’ll have a lot of mishaps along the way.  It’s also normal to hold them accountable so they can grow into responsible adults.  Sadly, on the journey to adulthood, oftentimes our fault-finding outweighs the positive aspects of the relationship with our children. 

Is it self-centered to continue to be ourselves after becoming mothers? If a woman continues to pursue her career and personal interests after giving birth to and/or adopting a child, some people consider her to be selfish. Over the past five years my friends Jammy Davies (pronounced Jay-me) and Shari Deluca have been teaching my students about careers in the law, and the implications that our laws have on daily life.

One is the perfect number for our family, and happily for us, one precious girl arrived three years ago this month. As an only myself, I’m prepared to pave the way. Although only children are now ubiquitous, negative stereotypes about them persist. The stereotype that I find the most natural and the least inconsiderate to live up to is that of “immodesty”. My manicure, stylish top, statement necklace and even my eye-makeup are often a joyful shade of lemonade. My only girly-girl child dons her own lemon and white striped dress and matching hair accessories.

My toddler did not take well to having a little brother. She'd never hit before; after he was born, it became a constant struggle. But a month in, I thought we'd made remarkable progress. She was "making nice" more often, kissing him maybe a little too aggressively, but it was better than downright abuse. 

Now it's two months later and I'm wishing I hadn't been so quick to congratulate myself. She's still hitting and my husband and I are at our wits' ends.