Coffee Talk

His kids want to call me 'Mom' but Mom doesn't…

Q: I am a mom of two and a bonusmom of three. Their mother is obsessed with her kids not calling me "Mom," something I don't force them to do. Most families I know that have stepparents the kids just call them "Mom" or "Dad" - not their first name. Do you have a suggestion? A different version of "Mom" maybe? The kids are 8 and older and understand who all their parents are. …

Posted 9 mon. ago.

Five reasons I'm working out at 10:30 p.m. and why…

At 10:30 at night when the house is asleep and the bed is calling, why am I really working out? I'm not proud of some of these answers, but they are the truth. 1. Vanity. I'm not ashamed to admit it: Vanity is a great motivator. I like my old clothes and I like how I looked in them. When asked why she works out, a friend recently echoed what I hear (and think) time and time again, "I'd like to be…

Posted 12 mon. ago.

Eliminating Obstacles to Breast-Feeding

How long a new mom breast-feeds can boil down to hassles at work, whether her doctor ever stressed how super-healthy it is, even whether Grandma approves. The surgeon general is issuing a call Thursday to eliminate obstacles to breast-feeding â and working moms may see the first steps: The new health care law requires that many employers start offering "reasonable" break times to pump milk a…

Posted 1 yr. ago.

Herding Squirrels: Zero-waste Home

I read this amazing article in Sunset Magazine (http://www.sunset.com/home/natural-home/zero-waste-home-0111-00418000069984/)about the Johnson family, aka the zero-waste family. Suffice it to say, this familyâs way of life is stunning. And inspiring. SYNOPSIS: This family of four has figured out how to dramatically reduce the amount of waste and recycling they produce, and have reduced the a…

Posted 1 yr. ago.

Get Moving in 2011

Inspire your child to be more active with goal-setting cards. To start, have her make a list of five to ten activities she wants to try or get better at this year, such as snowshoeing or doing a cartwheel. For a blank version of a chart, go to click here.

Posted 1 yr. ago.

Gateway Sex?

There are gateway drugs. And then there's gateway sex. Researchers at the Universities of California at Merced and San Francisco have found that half of teens who have oral sex during the ninth grade will engage in intercourse by the end of the 11th grade. They also found that most sexually active teenagers will begin oral sex and sexual intercourse within the same six-month period. Those are th…

Posted 1 yr. ago.

How young is too young for Facebook?

I was sitting in the children's section of the library with books about SpongeBob SquarePants and Clifford the Big Red Dog scattered around me when I was approached by a little boy interested in the screen on my laptop. âAre you on Facebook?â he asked. Yes, I was checking in on my page while my kids made their book selections. âI have a Facebook, too,â the little guy said. â…

Posted 1 yr. ago.

I like baseball parents better

It's youth soccer season, and that brings out an unpleasant truth. Don't tell anyone, but I've always liked baseball parents better than soccer parents. I canât really explain it, except maybe that shared misery brings people closer. Seems like I barely have a chance to get to know the other soccer parents, what with only a single short game every Saturday until November.

Posted 1 yr. ago.

Mother of Confusion: It takes a village...

It takes a village to raise a child. Yes, it's a tacky and overused statement and yet, so totally true. I've worked hard to make sure my children have mentors, various family and friends that could dispense advice and provide a strong support network.

Posted 1 yr. ago.

Juggling Kids Activities Can Get Complicated

With the start of the school year, Miami attorney Valerie Greenberg has been settling into her new routine - leaving work promptly at 5:30 p.m. and zooming across town to pick up her daughter from high school volleyball practice by 6 every weeknight. Her son will hang around after school and wait. For now, the physical benefits for her daughter outweigh the stress it puts on the family, Greenberg …