Want a truly meaningful gift for Father’s Day? How about showing Dad just how important he is.

Dr. Meg Meeker, a pediatrician specializing in adolescent health, recently wrote Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Fathers Should Know. She explains in detail how a father is essential to the well being of children, particularly daughters. Meeker claims that girls with fathers who are involved in their lives have higher self-esteem; quantitative and verbal skills; and are more likely to go to college. She warns that feminist rhetoric causes many dads today to feel their role is of little importance. The book offers a truly unique perspective on fatherhood that is both eye opening and encouraging.

I can’t think of a better way to make Dad’s day.

I attended a funeral today for the woman (a mother of three) who lived next door to me for virtually my entire life. It was truly beautiful, and it broke my heart to see the deep pain of her family, particularly her husband.

So naturally today I have been thinking a lot about death. During the funeral, this woman’s only daughter spoke for several minutes about her mother’s life. If I wasn’t one myself, I don’t think I would have paid quite as close attention to the adjectives she used to describe her mom. I began wondering what my daughters would say about me. I am sure they would find good things to say, because that is what you are supposed to do at funerals, but would I be worthy of their praise?

I know that nobody is perfect, but this experience today reminded that I want to try a little harder to be a little better.

Three reasons to go to the movies this summer:

(1) It’s hot outside, but the theater is nice and cool.
(2) Two hours of relative silence.
(3) The kid’s movie may be a snoozer, but who wouldn’t like a nice nap?

If you aren’t planning to keep your eyes open, though, it might be a good idea to come prepared. No, I don’t mean bringing a fluffy pillow, although that isn’t an entirely bad idea, I was referring to checking into the movie’s content ahead of time so you can avoid any rude awakenings.

Most movie reviewers look at a movie from a vastly different perspective than you or your kids will. I’ve used Parent Previews for years because I like their objective take. The reviews are incredibly thorough, although before I had kids I didn’t quite understand the necessity of knowing the exact number of swear words in a film. Now as a parent, I appreciate their seemingly nit-picky insights that provide all the information you need to choose which movies to see and which ones to avoid. Now on with the show.

It was one of those rare afternoons when both my girls were down for a nap, the toys were picked up, our condo was in some sort of organized and clean order, and I had taken care of the essentials for myself (I was showered and had eaten). I decided I would get started on dinner for the evening.

I looked at my list of dinners I planned for that week, and tonight’s meal was red beans and rice. Running my finger down the list of ingredients on the recipe card, I decided I had the time to chop everything before the girls woke up.

Soon onion, celery, and green pepper were all in neat piles on my cutting board ready to be sautéed and not a peep had come from the girls’ room. I glanced at the rest of the ingredients and read the steps for the recipe. If I worked quickly, I guessed that I could prepare everything now and just let it simmer until dinner. Then all that needed to be done would be to cook the rice. Easy.

I decided to make a go of it. I was excited. I was racing against a clock that had an unknown time limit. And even though I knew the potential for things to get crazy when the girls woke up was great, the excitement of getting something done was too much for me to stop. I grabbed the andouille sausage from the freezer and dropped it in the pot just when my 5 month old Harper woke up. Like most babies who are on a 2 1/2 to 3-hour feeding schedule, I knew Harper would be hungry and not willing to wait until the sausage was a “nice, golden brown” like the recipe called for. But I didn’t want to stop cooking, so I gambled I could do two things at once. I put the lid on the pot, turned the stove to medium-high, and quickly made a bottle for Harper. read more

We’ve been meaning to take a family trip to the movie theater. My youngest has just reached the point where we were wondering if she’d make it through a whole movie. We weighed our options: Monsters vs. Aliens or Hannah Montana. Neither was that appealing to my husband and me, so we let our daughters choose. Of course Hannah was the clear winner.

I wasn’t expecting much, so maybe that is why I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Sure, you had to look past the cheesy, predictable dialogue, and also try not to think about how silly it was that by slapping on a long, blond wig everyone could be fooled, but all that aside the message was worthwhile. And I don’t just mean for kids.

The chorus of the movie’s theme song was stuck in my head all weekend. At this point, the lyrics probably mean more to me than they do to my daughters:

There’s always gonna be another mountain.
I’m always gonna wanna make it move.
Always gonna be an up-hill battle
Sometimes I’m gonna have to lose.
Ain’t about how fast I get there.
Ain’t about what’s waitin’ on the other side.
It’s the climb.

I grew up with six siblings so naturally we shared rooms. My husband (also from a big family) and I have often wondered whether our children should share. We’re lucky that our house could accommodate them each having their own room, but we both felt like room sharing as a child was a valuable learning experience.

When my second daughter arrived, I was set on having my toddler in her own room. The idea of midnight feedings and different nap schedules made room sharing seem like a very bad idea. Now that baby is two, and my husband and I have been considering the idea of combining their rooms to create a separate toy room.

Ultimately it was my two year old that made the decision. read more

If you had a quarter for every time you’ve heard the word “crisis” lately, well, you could probably single-handedly stimulate the economy. These days it seems like bad news is everywhere — on television, the Internet, at playgroups, and at the checkout stand in the supermarket. All the talk of a recession, a struggling stock market, and layoffs probably has your anxiety level sky high.

It is not hard to imagine that all this bad news may be getting to your kids too. Chances are you have probably already fielded some tough questions like, “What does ‘recession’ mean?” For most of us, these questions are tough to answer — it is hard to know how to tell kids what is happening without frightening them. read more