A few weeks ago I shared some tips for keeping your kids hydrated during the summer. In our family, the boys are more than willing to down a juice box or sugar-y drink wherever, whenever. But getting regular ole' water in them can sometimes be a challenge.

One idea that we've used fairly successfully with our boys is the use of "fancy-ing up" their water. A slice of lemon, lime, orange or even cucumber can sometimes make water a little more novel, but we don't always have fresh slices at our fingertips. [more]

Perhaps I should deem this week Unusual Produce week, since I’ve touched on casaba, beets and now, kohlrabi.

Late last week in my weekly “what’s in the share” email from our CSA it was made known that this week’s share would include kohlrabi. This not very well known vegetable was one of my initial hesitations in joining a CSA. My CSA fear was that I would end up with a bunch of vegetables I did not know how to cook, or gobs of something that wasn’t my favorite…like kohlrabi. [more]

Looking for a simple way to interest your child in healthy eating? Trying letting them pick out something from the produce section next time you go grocery shopping. Fruit is a good choice, since most fruit is sweet and ready to eat, instead of needing elaborate cooking or baking first.

My cousin Chelsea grew up taking turns with her brothers to pick out the fruit of the week. During a recent grocery shopping trip, I let R do the same. He chose, drumroll please:

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It's been "one of those days," and it is not yet 11 a.m. I am trying to keep my head up and keep on keeping on...

With all the activity of this week (birthdays, weddings, etc), it has been busy with a capital B-U-S-Y. Add a few typical mommy moments and roadblocks, and I am just happy to be smiling.

When things get challenging, we all have our own personal tricks and tips to help keep things moving along.

So maybe this is a strange segue, but I have a trick that has been helping us in our home during mealtime, and I'd like to share it with you. [more]

This past weekend was a little out of the ordinary for us in two ways: 1) we did a lot socially and 2) we slept in. The sleeping-in part is a little unusual, although one of the perks of having older children is that they do sleep more as they get older – even difficult, hands-on sleepers like ours. So don't despair, if you do have early-risers like we once had; even a year ago, I never thought I'd see the day when I'd wake, peer at the clock, and find it reading "8:15" and, better yet, discover that although L. [more]