Once school starts it can be tricky finding time for everything. There will always be days that don’t follow a plan, but I try to have some sort of schedule laid out to make sure everything gets done.

In the morning, I get the kids up and they get dressed in clothes we laid out the night before while I get their breakfast ready. Then they eat while I pack lunches!  The school is close by, so I run them to school and swing around to pay any local bills while I am out.

When I get home, I can concentrate on the baby - feeding him his long, drawn-out breakfast (he has graduated to his own little table and chair, and likes to run around between bites) and catching up on laundry and housework. Then I can check on emails and touch base with clients and friends while he plays.

While he naps I get a big slice of my daily work done at my desk. About the time he wakes up, we have lunch and run to do any shopping or extra errands before time to pick the kids up from school! If it is Wednesday we stop at the library on the trip home from school; if it is Friday we will rent a few DVDs and a treat if they have had a good week.

When we get home, it is a healthy snack and homework. I try to get them outside for a little playtime too after homework if the weather is good! They have to feed and water the pets (one dog, one cat, one pygmy hedgehog) and do any other chores I have for them (unload dishwasher, pick up toys, etc).

After a bath, it is time for dinner, and then an hour or two of TV or video games. On Friday nights they get to stay up late and watch their DVDs and eat popcorn. Other nights it is bed by eight, and I get back to my computer to finish whatever work is left.

I think the reason we have such a good schedule is that I try to plan one main thing per day - Sunday is extra laundry day, to catch up on sheets and towels if I have fallen behind; Monday and Thursday I shop, and I try to plan ahead for Saturday when my husband usually does dinner on the grill.

What do you do to get everything done?

I love to make t-shirt dresses! They are so easy, and are cool and comfy for my daughter. She can wear them to school with a pair of stretch Capri’s or shorts underneath, and they are so cheap to make!

First I haunt the thrift store looking for t-shirts that still look brand new. I even buy a few with logos, because I can cover them up! You would be surprised at how you can get a whole pile for just a few dollars.

Next I hit the discount table at the fabric store and buy up a stack of remnants. If they have any big, crazy buttons, I grab them, too, and I pick up some iron on appliqué fabric as well.  A stop at the hobby store for t-shirt paint and ribbon, and we are all set!

I usually try for tees that are a little big for her frame and come down just past her hips. We decorate first - that way if we hopelessly mess one up, we can trash it and start over! We use the iron-on to create cut-outs to cover up logos, and t-shirt paint, buttons or ribbon to decorate the collar, sleeves and front of the shirt.

Next we can use our remnants to make skirts for the dresses. I can simply gather one length, attach it to the bottom of the t-shirt and hem the edge, or I can get fancy and make a gored skirt with panels of contrasting fabrics. You can even use bandanas for the skirt and angle them so that you get flirty points hanging down around the knees. We make hair bows and headbands to match each dress. In the winter, we use turtlenecks or long-sleeved tees to make dresses, and she can wear them over leggings!

Hope this inspires you to make some with your own little girl!

Having a garage sale is a great way to clean out after summer break!  You can get rid of clothes your kids have outgrown, clear out some of the excess toys, and make a little money for a party or a special night out!

1. Make sure you advertise!  Lots of local papers will let you run a free or very cheap ad. You can also post some signs with arrows on main streets near your home (be sure to go back and take these down later). Make sure the sign has the address in the biggest letters. Signs that say GARAGE SALE in huge letters don’t do any good if you can’t see where it is going to be!

2. Have a back up plan in case it rains. Here’s an idea - have the garage sale IN THE GARAGE!  It will be shady if it’s hot, and covered if it rains. You can set up tables and sit in comfort with a fan blowing. Set a few large items out in the yard if the weather is good, and a sign saying MORE INSIDE!

3.  Don’t overprice your stuff!  The main goal is to get rid of stuff, not make a bunch of money. You will be better off if you manage to sell all your items for a quarter or a dollar than just a few for five bucks each.

4. Call a charity and schedule a truck to come pick up the leftovers. This is a double winner - they get stuff to use for charity, and you get it taken away for free plus a tax break for the value of the items! Make a list and ask for a tax receipt for your records.

5.  Have fun!  You can run a little lemonade or bake stand or sell hot dogs, chips and soda for a little extra profit. My family kept honeybees, and we would sell fresh comb honey! Later you can use your profits to go out to eat or catch a movie.

Even if you don’t rake in the big bucks, a garage sale is the perfect way to end your summer fun. At least your clutter will be gone!!

September 2000 – I am pregnant! This is soooo great! It is my second child. We (my ex and I ) planned it and now we are going to have a baby! I am so excited!

I remember having lunch with one friend of mine who has three children. Over the meal she was telling me that after a second child her breasts grew from size B to size C. She also told me that a friend of hers had her breasts grow two sizes as well! Ooh-la-la! This is good news. I love it!

It’s not that I don’t like my body. No! I am very fit. I go to the gym 3-4 times a week. I am lean, healthy and can be easily be a swimsuit model for the “Woman Health” spring issue. However, it can never hurt to have your breast one or two sizes bigger, right? Why not! Of course I forgot about this fun, pleasant conversation by the end of the day.

July 2008 – My oldest daughter and my husband went on a shopping trip. My wedding anniversary is in a few days! They are came home so excited. They both smiled at me - “ Guess what we got for you?”

I had no idea. I opened a very fancy box with “Louis Vuitton” logo  on it. OH, MY GOD!!! AMAZING RED PUMPS! SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!

…size 7 …

I smile as I am thanking my loved ones and asking them to give me a gift receipt. I tell them that I’m not in the mood to put shoes on now and promise them I will wear them for my anniversary dinner. In fact I have to make a trip to the store to exchange it. Yes, I use to wear a size 7 but now after the second baby it is a size 7.5…

I hate myself! I am such a liar! Guess what? After the second baby my boobs didn’t grow but my feet is size has grown from 7 to 9! Kill me, I will never admit it! So, between you and me, I exchanged my shoes to the right size.

My husband is smart. He knows what is happening. He sees me at the anniversary dinner in a fabulous black dress and amazing red Louise Vuitton pumps. He just kisses me gently and tells me, “ I LOVE YOU FOREVER, MY “CINDERELLA” ”

I am happy. Who cares about boobs or feet size? The most important thing is to love and be loved. Sometimes we get the less expected things from life but it is a beauty of an adventure!

Ever feel like you have stuck your foot so far down your throat you can’t get it out? I know that’s the way I felt at the first big Christmas get-together with my husband’s family, which consisted of his sister Beth, his two brothers Joe and Danny, his father who everyone called ‘Major’ because of his time in the service, and ‘Mother’ as she said I should call her.

Of course, there is no no-one who can hate you as fervently as an in law. ‘Mother’ didn’t like me, I already knew it - based on all the complaints she made about the way Ben’s shirt was ironed, or the fact that he had lost weight. I obviously wasn’t taking care of him properly! I was trying to be nice, though, so I offered to help wash up the dishes with my newly acquired sister in law.

‘Mother’ had the entire set of Corning Ware. You know, the heavy white pans with the little gold dots and designs all over, that once food dried on it was almost impossible to get off?

“I hate this stuff,” I confided to my in law as we stood scrubbing determinedly at the specks of food baked on to the stubborn pans. “I will never buy Corning Ware, that is for sure!”

Some one cleared her throat, and I looked up to see ‘Mother’ standing in the doorway. She set another dish on the counter, and turned and stalked out. Beth clapped a hand over her mouth to keep in the laughter. I hung my head and groaned. “Now I’ve done it! She’ll think I was criticizing her taste!”

It was so much worse than that. When gift opening time came, Ben and I tore the wrapping off of a huge box addressed to us, to find a (you guessed it) complete set of the gaudy, recalcitrant Corning Ware. I couldn’t even look at my mother in law. I knew I was officially going down in history as the worst daughter in law EVER.

Well, we never got to be best friends, but we did come to an understanding after not too many years had passed. I still have the Corning Ware, though I only bring it out on special occasions, like when it is our turn to host Christmas - and everyone knows the cook doesn’t have to wash the dishes. ☺

Sarah P.

Babies who have regular sleep hours are more likely to have good sleeping habits as they get older. At first, of course, they sleep almost all the time, but between three and six months you should be settling into some sort of routine.

Of course, your baby might not agree, in which case, welcome to the club. We are the mommies of infants with sleeping problems. We stay up all night walking blearily in circles, learn how to sleep sitting upright with our arm sticking into the crib to pat their back and turn into a positive witch if we think anyone is going to wake the baby up by breathing too loudly.

Unfortunately, many sleep problems toddlers face stem from bad sleeping habits learned as a baby. You do have to exercise some self control and let your baby learn to self comfort. Our daughter was almost six months when she decided she hated bedtime. My husband watched with exasperation as I went in and out of the nursery, checking to be sure she was all right, picking her up and putting her back down…

“That’s enough!” he said, finally. “She’s fine, she’s been bathed, diapered fed and burped, her room is the perfect temperature, and she is FINE. Leave her alone and she will go to sleep!”

He grabbed me and made me sit on the couch, then cracked the door to the nursery and peeked in. “She’s FINE,” he said again, and sat down next to me. He had to hold me down, actually - she screamed off and on for an hour before crying herself to sleep, and I was crying too. He made me stay on the couch, and tiptoed to peek in the door periodically to assure me she was still OK.

It paid off, though - the next night, she cried for ten minutes, and the third night she yawned, turned her head to the wall and fell asleep without a whimper.

By the time my next baby came along, my little girl was a toddler (2 year old), so I was managing a toddler, breastfeeding my newborn and I was worn out! Fortunately, since I had no problems at all at bedtime from my toddler, infant care was easy.

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!”

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!