Yesterday, I was on the metro going home.  In the aisle next to me sat a couple with a baby boy in a stroller.  The mom seemed quiet and withdrawn from the baby boy.  The dad seemed much occupied in the boy’s interests: reading to him, and comforting him all the way to their destination.  I couldn’t help but wonder if the mom was withdrawn, because the dad paid so much attention to the baby.  He hardly talked to the mom, or paid her any attention.  They sat next to each other like any other two people on the metro, and not like a married couple.

I stood there crying as I fine-chopped onions and bell peppers for the end-of-season baseball team party.  All I could think about was one thing.  The lizard that came in yesterday and hid under the dishwasher running up my leg!  Then my thoughts shifted to that sound.  What was it?  It wasn’t the sound of my chopping –but the coveted silence that rarely graces my home.

At 6:30 AM, I got on the metro.  Summer heat always slows me down, and enduring the taxing commute is very difficult.  I was sitting half asleep thinking about my day.  When I got to the next metro stop, a mom with a stroller entered.  I noticed that she communicated in sign language with her son, and even though he was about three years old, he signed back to her efficiently.  I was amazed to see them communicate so effortlessly together.  T

Yesterday, I was on the metro going home.  In the next aisle sat a family of four:  a couple and their two children. The mom sat with a 6-month-old baby girl that she had strapped to her trunk.  The little girl seemed demanding and kept screaming and crying.  The mom did not show any effort in comforting her.

A cute little safety sticker called Parking Pal was all it took for Denise Whitney to go from being a mom of three to a successful mompreneur.

Sometimes, a family vacation begins at the end of the road.

This summer, how about hitting the road and heading north until the road ends....literally. Right at Voyageur National Park.   

Taking 35 right out of the Twin Cities will take you all the way to MN 33 toward Cloquet.   33 becomes US-53N; keep heading north.  Orr is your last town before International Falls.  The town of Orr is only around 267 people, but offers a last stop to get groceries and staples.

It was a perfect summer evening. The sun was just starting to set behind the trees framing the baseball diamond. All of the players were in their correct positions. All had their shirts tucked in. Hats straight. Red belts matching red socks. For a moment, if you squinted perhaps, you might think you were watching high school players — soon-to-be-men focused on the task at hand. But then the shortstop bends over and begins to draw a circle in the dirt. About the same time, the first baseman takes off his glove and begins tossing it into the air.

So, every year around this time (End of April - Through Mid June) it's our busy season at work. We are in the depths of preparing for our Annual Meeting (which happened to be in Boston this year) and we are BUSY. There isn't a single person at work, who does not participate in some way. So, I always say "I'm going to get plenty or rest, drink lots of water, eat healthy, yadda yadda yadda." What usually ends up happening is that I stay late at work to meet deadlines, I drink ungodly amounts of coffee (doused with sugar and cream) and eat fast, unhealthy foods.

How often does this happen to you?   You come home from work, its 6:30 pm, your hungry, the kids are hungry, and you have no idea what you are going to fix for dinner?   Are Chinese take out and pizza part of your daily routine?

Stop the cycle with these four tips for making healthy food choices even with your busy schedule.

I did it! I am always rushing like a mad woman out of the house. My Middle School Ager has to be in school by 8am and my Kindergartener by 8:30am so in "Gail's time" I have to leave home by 7:45ish - cutting it close (I  know).