I had just gotten back on my feet after having my third child, and really, really wanted to get back in shape. When I was handed the flyer for local yoga classes, hosted by the YWCA,  I thought, “Why not?”

I figured I could surely handle some ‘easy yoga’, and maybe I could get toned up in time for the big family reunion we had at the beach every year. I signed up for twice weekly yoga workouts on the spot.

It turns out that you have to have a lot of physical balance to practice yoga. Physical balance doesn’t exactly describe me. It would be kind to merely say I have two left feet; in reality, it’s like I have two left sides.

I don’t remember how many times I picked myself up off the floor, cheeks burning, in that first class. I kept expecting somebody to laugh, but no-one did. By the time class was over, I was sore from head to toe and had a new respect for so called ‘relaxing’ yoga. Stubborn, I vowed to see the month out.

After four weeks of lessons, I was beginning to enjoy myself. I was sorry to see the class end, but the instructor told me they had an advanced class at the fitness health club not far from my home. That clinched it. I was officially a yoga nut!

Now I get up each morning before anyone else is awake, and jog down six blocks for my morning yoga classes. I enjoy the quiet discipline, and the companionship I get from my fellow practitioners! We meet on weekends at the park in nice weather, and practice to the sounds of nature.

At home, I use yoga to center myself when I am about to lose it. It’s my own personal version of counting to ten. As I close my eyes, arms spreading and one leg bending at the knee, my kids know it’s time to shape up.

“Watch out! She’s doing the crane again!”

If you are looking for a day camp for kids, there are so many different choices! You will need to consider how far away they are, how affordable, and what type of camp would be best for each of your children.

Summer art camps are great for a budding painter or sculptor to attend. They will let your child’s imagination soar, and if your child would rather sit and draw than run around outside, this might be the perfect fit!

Science camps are loads of fun for the inquisitive child. They can really learn a lot, and surprise you with their knowledge when the camp is over. This is a good way to get them interested in science for the upcoming school year!

Swimming summer camp can help teach your children water safety, or give them almost unlimited access if they are already accomplished swimmers. You will probably have to sign special waivers for these as well as other camps where there is an element of risk, but these activities are normally very well run and supervised.

Martial arts camps teach self discipline to children who might be a little out of control during the summer. Riding camps teach responsibility, and are perfect for drawing out shy children and giving them confidence. Both are excellent choices for either girls or boys.

Check your local churches for affordable summer camps. Some schools also offer summer programs, and you can check with your local boy and girl scout troops for additional activities. One way or the other, a summer camp could be the experience your child will always remember!

It’s never to early to start looking at preschool centers! Some of the best educational schools have a waiting list of a year or more, so you need to get a head-start if you are looking into center care for your child.

You will need to decide if you want your child enrolled in a formal educational center, where preparation for grade school is the focus, or a more relaxed play oriented preschool. Montessori schools are gaining popularity as they combine creative teaching methods with a fun atmosphere.

There are some free preschools; most of these are church run or state preschools and have limited resources. Others are run on a sliding scale fee basis, or offer heavy discounts if you enroll more than one child. You usually have to meet certain income guidelines to qualify for such preschools.

Co-op preschools are another inexpensive venue, and have the added advantage of parent involvement! This is a very nice option if you can find or found a co-op preschool in your area. Often the focus of these preschools is a relaxed learning environment, and all parents will take turns volunteering and teaching the children.

Catholic preschools are often very highly rated and offer a controlled, formal classroom experience. This might be your best option if you intend for your child to go to Catholic school as the method of teaching and the discipline will be familiar to them.

Good preschools will often have an application process; and require a hefty up front deposit to hold your child’s spot. The top preschools are almost as hard to get into as some colleges! Don’t stress, though; your child is unlikely to be disadvantaged if they don’t get into the swankiest care center in town.

Tour the preschools on your top picks list, and see if you can arrange for your child to stay for a day, just to see how compatible it is to your needs. Finding the right preschool may take time, but knowing your child is in the best environment possible will make it worth it!

Are you a working mom? Do you have all the challenges of trying to combine a career with raising a family?

If so, you may sometimes wish for a friendship with someone who knows exactly what you are going through! Joining a working moms’ group is a great way to meet other women who have the exact same problems and joys as you do.

It really helps to get a fresh perspective, and share tips on how to manage your job and your family life. Just being able to relax and tell how you really feel, how you overcame some obstacle that maybe one of the other moms could learn from!

Or maybe you just need a friendly ear to listen while you share about how stressful your day was. A moms career is harder than anything, especially when there are daycare issues or the kids are sick.

Often you can make wonderful new friends at a mom’s group, and who knows; maybe the working moms club could grow and you could learn to help each other!

Imagine having a network of friends to turn to in an emergency for child care or a ride. You can take turns carpooling, or trade babysitting nights so each of you can have that special date with your spouse.

Most importantly, you could always have a number to call for if you just feel blue, for encouragement and support. Working moms should stick together, and a moms’ club is a great way to meet other career moms in your area and build friendships that will last!

They are out of school for the summer, and running around playing all day long makes the kiddoes hungry! Letting them help out in the kitchen and whipping up some healthy snacks is a fun way to spend time together.

You can make these easy treats in the hot afternoon and they will be ready for the next day when the hunger monster hits!

A terrific treat for hot summer days is a frozen banana popsicle. Buy bananas that are just ripe so they are firm. If you have several children, you can set up an assembly line for this project, going oldest to youngest!

Break the banana in half, and insert the popsicle stick into the flat end. Dip it in sweet strawberry yogurt and roll in crushed vanilla wafer crumbs. Freeze on a waxed paper covered plate overnight. This will keep you cool the next day!

Another no-cook snack that gives a little protein boost is peanut butter cookies. Measure two cups of rice krispies, one cup of peanut butter, a half-cup of sweet molasses, a quarter cup high-grade dry milk powder and two tablespoons of wheat germ. (This can double as a math lesson - see how each ingredient is half as much as the one before? How neat!)

Mix thoroughly, chill for an hour and turn out on wax paper on the table. Let the kids dip their hands in powdered sugar and roll little balls. This treat can be kept in a cool place or in the fridge for an on the run snack!

You can precut fresh veggies and let the children arrange them on a plate, and buy the ingredients for dip instead of ready-made so they can mix it up. For a fun twist, add a few drops of food coloring to the dip! For an exciting beverage, add a little club soda to 100% fruit juice and let them peel orange segments to float in it.

Helping your kids eat healthy all summer can be fun, and they will be more inclined to make good food choices if you let them chip in and make it themselves!

I love my kids, but as a stay-at-home, work-at-home mom I cringe a little when school lets out. Seems like we only get a week into summer vacation before the boredom bug strikes! The number one thing I have learned is : Let your kids be messy!!!

When school is over, I pick over their clothes and decide which ones they won’t be wearing when school starts up again at the end of summer. I shorten shirt sleeves and cut off pants legs to make the ultimate I-don’t-care-if-you-ruin-them play clothes!

The kids love to go outside in the morning before it gets too hot. They don’t need expensive toys - the garden hose set on a trickle and some cheap water guns will keep them busy for hours. I let them have old plastic dishes to make mud-pies. The back yard is declared a mud zone, and I stock a tub by the back door with water bottles and ice.

I spray them down with sunscreen and send them outdoors with a warning; the door gets opened ten times, and then it’s time to come in, rinse off and play indoors for a while! This cuts down on wasted air conditioning and keeps track-in mess to a minimum.

Once inside, the fun continues - I can spread a cheap dollar store tablecloth on the kitchen floor and break out the glue, glitter and finger paint! It’s amazing what a bunch of cheap paper plates and popsicle sticks can become when matched with creative little minds.

I watch for picture books at garage sales and flea markets, and hand them out with scissors so the kids can make collages. Little brown paper bags can become puppets with a cutout of an animal pasted on the front! After craft time is over, a big plastic storage box with a lid can hold all the craft supplies and the tablecloth can be bundled into the trash with the scraps.

The fun can continue in the shower or the tub, depending on your kids’ ages. Toddlers can splash in the tub for an hour to soak off the grime, and big kids can experiment with funny foam soap as they shower off the dirt. If you have a nice fluffy towel for each kid and fuzzy robes waiting, they can be ready for bed in a jiffy.

After a quick dinner and tooth-brushing, my kids finally get a short period of TV or computer game time to wind down before bed. All the exercise of the day finally catches up with them, and sometimes they end up asking to go to bed!

This just goes to show you that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to keep your kids from being bored in the summer, and they don’t have to be couch potatoes either!

Sarah P.

My college years were some of the freest, happiest moments of my life! College years hold no obligations other than those of studying hard and being a good student. I was lucky enough to make great friends at college, and as time has passed we have managed to keep in touch with each other across the years and miles that separate us.

We grew up, got married, had children and started careers. Adult life arrived with all of its obligations and responsibilities, and we each moved forward. All of us are happy now, in our respective lives; we each have our own projects and passions to keep us busy. We live far apart, but we make that extra effort to keep the lines open, and meet every two to four years to catch up on each other’s lives!

When we get together we always have a wonderful time laughing and joking - in a way it is as if no time has passed. That is not to say we don’t have our problems, but we share them with humor too - it is just so good to be together!

I just flew back a week ago from my college reunion. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world! I had such a wonderful time and came back reborn, full of new energy and all my stress gone. On the plane I couldn’t stop thinking of how important it is to keep the old friendships alive.

New friends are terrific, but old friends are unique. My best friends are still my oldest friends; I’m not sure we ever connect as deeply again as we do in our college days. Remembering where we come from is a great way to move forward, and so I do - knowing my friends will always be there to cheer me on!

Finding someone to watch your child is the hardest thing in the world! You want to feel comfortable about the person you leave your children with, but how much can you really learn about them in a half hour interview?

Asking the right questions is very important. Ask your friends if there are any questions they think you should include, or what specific problems they might have had with their babysitters so you can watch out for potential problems. Draft a list of points to touch on before your prospective nannies arrive for the interview. Check with your children too - they should have some input on what type of person cares for them in your absence.

When interview time comes, make sure you are all comfortable. You might want to introduce the children and see how they interact while you get everyone a drink. Then try to have a quite moment to discuss their qualifications to watch your children.

Good questions to lead off with include how long they have been a nanny, and what ages they have cared for before. Ask how they would handle different situations that could occur, and what they consider the top priority would be in case of an emergency.

Find out why their last job ended, and how they felt about the children they watched before. Ask how their relationship was with their own family. See if they will tell you their worst ever experience watching children, and how they resolved it.

Question them as to what activities they would be doing with your children, and ask if they would be able to supervise play dates or outings with other children. Make sure transportation will not be an issue, and ask for contact information for past employers and personal references.

After you have narrowed the field, pay to have background and criminal checks run on your top three choices. This costs a little, but is well worth your peace of mind. Make sure to get the full background check, as some only cover your state, and do not take into account incidents that occurred out of state.

After you have gone over the reports and called the references, it is time to decide upon your first pick and have them come back for a second interview. Salary expectations can be agreed on, and specific hours of work set. Find out how soon they can start, and arrange for access to the house and the car if applicable.

Hopefully you will find the perfect nanny or babysitter right away. Your kids are the most important part of your world, and choosing the right caretaker can help ensure that they are happy and safe when you are away, and keep you from carrying a constant load of worry!