There’s a new game for parents inspired by that time-honored question: What do you want more of, sex or sleep?” If you have young kids at home, then you are likely lacking both. Carolyn Evans can attest to that fact. That’s why the wife and mother, turned author, penned a new book titled, “Forty Beads.” In it she details the rules of a new game she devised to help parents get more action between the sheets. As for gaining more shut-eye, well, that’s covered too, but in a more indirect way. According to Evans, the nights that don’t include nookie … Continue reading →

I dread tax time, and goodness knows I am not the one. Fortunately, there is a shred of good news this year, especially for procrastinating parents, since the deadline for tax submission is extended by three days. Traditionally, Tax Day falls on April 15 unless that day happens to be on a Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday. In 2011, the folks in Washington, D.C. will celebrate Emancipation Day on April 15, a day earlier than normal, since April 16 falls on a Saturday. As such, Tax Day is being moved to April 18, giving moms and dads more time to … Continue reading →

The more I sleep, the more tired I feel. What does that say about me? I suppose I should clarify: “more” sleep for me is tacking on an extra hour or so to the roughly four to five hours of slumber I typically score on a nightly basis. On nights that I don’t have to get up to work, I can easily saw logs for 11 to 12 hours straight. However, I feel best when I get a solid eight hours of sleep at night. Unfortunately, this does not happen very often… and it shows. Just ask my daughter… and … Continue reading →

Food Network star Ina Garten, a.k.a. the “Barefoot Contessa,” is feeling the burn, but it’s not from logging extra miles on a treadmill. Obviously. Rather, the celebrity chef got scorched earlier this week when she was forced to down a huge helping of humble pie during the latest chapter of her Make-a-Wish Foundation debacle. As you remember from my previous post, Garten got herself into quite a pickle last month when she TWICE turned down a 6-year-old cancer patient’s request to meet her. The highfalutin Food Network star was then virtually flogged by millions of fans, who took to the … Continue reading →

There’s nothing quite like parents and children bonding over a bunch of tiny, shirtless blue creatures that fear the fangs of a mangy feline. Just when you thought you and your son would never share another thing in common–BAM!–the Smurfs are suddenly cool again, and all is right with the world. The Smurfs hit the pop culture scene in 1981, and more than 250 episodes later they grew into animated icons. This year Macy’s named the blue elf-like creatures as the store’s “Holiday Ambassadors” and a full-length Smurf movie will be released in 2011. All the hype surrounding Smurfette, Papa … Continue reading →

Moms are stressed. Stress is bad. Stressed out moms die young. That pretty much sums up a new study, which links heart problems and women who live and work in high-stress environments. According to researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, moms, who continually expose themselves to stressful situations, are more likely to have heart problems than ladies who chill in laid back environments. Or who have laid back personalities. The study featured more than 17,000 women, who were followed since 1999, and sorted into four different categories depending on their levels of stress. Cardiologists evaluated the women based on how … Continue reading →

According to a new report, women who were breastfed as babies tend to get pregnant later in life compared to those who were bottle-fed as infants. If that’s true then my daughter shouldn’t expect to get pregnant until she’s in her forties. That kid nursed 24/7 for the first 18 months of her life. Give or take a few months. By my calculations that means she won’t be procreating until she’s well past her teenage years. Then again, perhaps, I am reading too much into this new study. The published report in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B shows … Continue reading →

If you have a Sesame Street fan in your home, or even if you don’t, you’ve probably heard the hoopla surrounding the latest Muppet hit: “I Love My Hair.” The superdooperschmooper cute music video went viral after it debuted on Sesame Street earlier this month. Now all I hear All.Day.Long. is my 6-year-old begging to watch and re-watch, and re-watch the skit that features an adorable brown puppet singing her heart out about the versatility of her tresses. The video was inspired by Sesame Street’s head writer and puppeteer Joey Mazzarino, who is a dad to a 5-year-old daughter with … Continue reading →

When they don’t force you to. Alone. Do you secretly swipe your son’s Game Boy or your daughter’s Easy-Bake Oven and go to town while taking a trip down memory lane? My 6-year-old has a container of Lincoln Logs that I play with more than she does. I don’t play with them by myself; however, she often insists that I create shops and restaurants with the notched miniature logs, so she has a place to take her doll house pals to shop and dine. Of course, if I did swipe the play logs and constructed architectural masterpieces on my own, … Continue reading →

The 2010 Census, which determines population numbers, will be made public in just a few weeks. However, a number of groups are already making claims about how the information will be used, and much of it involves children. The survey questioned Americans about the number of people in each household, where they lived, and the types of living conditions they endure. The answers will be sliced and diced, and in the end, they will offer insight into how Americans are living and where aid is needed the most. Painting a clear picture on the disparities faced by American families is … Continue reading →