Random

You could say we are Disney freaks. We have three rooms in our house completely dedicated to Disney characters, including one bathroom that is painted red, black, and white in honor of Mickey. Thus it should come as no surprise that we travel to DisneyLand a lot (we have annual passes and we live in Texas). Since our first child was born three years ago, we have made six trips to DisneyLand with children, and therefore consider ourselves experts at navigating the happiest place on earth with now two toddlers. Here are some of the lessons we've learned.

Many moms attack their daily duties with the kind of fervor a college student would attach to a term paper slated to account for more than 50% of their grade. You aren't being graded, and that energy, while admirable, simply cannot be maintained.

It's a little bit too easy to put your family photos and information out on the web these days. It is certainly a great way to keep people informed about your latest updates, but are you thinking about the big picture?

Family vacations are fun and exciting for kids. They get to explore new places, see new things, spend all day with attention from the parents, and usually the rules are a little bit relaxed. For parents, travelling can be a bit of a personal trial if they aren't prepared for all of the hiccups that come up.

Looking back to my own childhood, I have to say that my favorite cartoons for the most part were not cartoons that I would want my own children watching, but those days were different in more ways than one. We take a brief look at the modern cartoon situation.

It's going to last forever, so the pressure is on to come up with the perfect name. You might be tired of hearing the question "Have you picked a name yet?", but this is an issue that you will eventually have to come to terms with. We offer a few tips and resources to help you decide.

Among the many redeeming and adorable qualities shared by all toddlers is their ability to be entertained easily. You can overspend on birthday presents but you may find that a large box that contained one of the presents turns out to be the favorite.

Whether or not Mom earns a paycheck, she's the CEO of the family. She's in charge of house cleaning, grocery shopping, homework assistance, play date management, laundry, child care, and the list goes on and on. When Mom cannot perform at her peak, things start to fall apart and fall apart quickly. We offer some advice to you, Super Mom, to help ensure that you can keep going just like the Energizer Bunny.

Bed time is the time of day when even the most complacent children exhibit their independent streak, displaying all of the different and creative ways that they can potentially delay the inevitable. For Moms and Dads, this time of day can become frustrating. We offer a few ideas for deflating the power struggle and getting the little one's to bed quickly, quietly, and easily.

Heading out to the park is something that every mom gets to do at least once (hopefully more frequently than that). Here is our list of playground rules that every mom should know.

I suppose there is a national foundation for everything - including sleep. The National Sleep Foundation is an independent nonprofit organization tasked with the purpose of improving public health and safety by achieving a greater understanding of sleep and sleep disorders. Most recently, they studied you. The results of their study are not earth shattering, but they do shed light on the fact that you need more rest than you are getting.

What would happen if you took a day off to relax, spend some time in bed, and read a book? Or maybe you decided to go on strike. Would anybody notice? You bet they would. Moms are the last overworked, under appreciated, and unpaid indentured servants.