Super Foods!

Ever wonder what to feed your toddler to make him or her a brighter, healthier child? Here are 15 super foods that, according to Parenting.com, you need to put in your shopping cart this week!

Certain foods can boost your child's energy level, improve their concentration, help build brain tissue and keep their immune systems healthy. Sounds good to me!

How Often Do You Talk to your Child's Teacher?!?!

When I came across this article on the Lil Sugar website, I must admit, it made me chuckle. I am what you call a "need to know" kind of mom. I crave information on what my child does at school. And since I get so little info out of my five year-old, sometimes I may linger at the door at pick-up, just to try to get some scoop.

One way my daughter's teacher communicates with the parents is a communication log. It is stapled to the inside cover of my daughter's folder that comes home with her each day. I can write the teacher a note or ask her a question, and she responds right under my note. The teacher can also use the log to communicate with me, too. The communication log has really cut down the hallway chatter that comes with drop-off and pick-up and I feel more informed than in years past.

The article from Lil Sugar talks about how some teachers' quest to communicate more with parents via classroom email accounts has backfired because they are inundated with emails they don't have time to answer.

Tell me...what ways do you communicate with your child's teacher? What works and what doesn't? Do you wish your child's teacher communicated more or less than he or she does? Sound off in the comments section below.

Holiday Shopping= Holiday Cold and Flu?!?!

Even though online shopping is more popular now than ever, a trip to the mall is usually a necessary evil during the holiday season when shopping for your loved ones. And according to Health.com, a shopping mall or center is the perfect place to pick up a virus, cold or flu. Can you say, "Yuck?!?!"

So before you head to your local shopping center, arm yourself with some hand sanitizer and read this very interesting article on the eight "germiest" places at the mall.

Stay healthy this holiday season!

Is your child talking back to you?

One of the things we are working on at our house for our five year-old is to curb the talking back. "No fair," "why" and "you can't make me" can become pretty mainstream from preschoolers all the way up to teenagers, so this is a topic many parents can identify with and would like to eliminate from their households.

Breezy Mama website had a great article entitled, "5 Steps to Put the Brakes on Back Talk." Check it out here!

The third step is my favorite...pay attention to your kids! The step encourages parents to give their child undivided attention daily and you will see an improvement in their behavior. Such an easy thing to do, and very positive for both parent and child.

Stay-at-Home Moms- This is a Must Read!

Stay-at-home moms...this is a great read from the website Yahoo! Shine. It has some great tips on how to keep staying at home with your kiddos fresh and stimulating for you and baby.

My favorite tip? Become a joiner...the article encourages new moms to find mom groups and connect with other moms in their communities. Such a good tip, and so true!

Enjoy!

Mommy Marathon...Literally!

Did you hear about the pregnant woman who ran (and finished) the Chicago marathon when she was only eight days away from her due date? Incredible! Even more incredible...seven hours after finishing her marathon, she gave birth to her baby girl. Read more about this amazing story on the Today Moms website.

This mom's unbelievable story made me wonder, how much exercise is healthy during a pregnancy? Can you overdo it? According to WebMD, if you were physically active before your pregnancy, you should be able to continue your activity in moderation. It really depends on how physically fit you were before your pregnancy as to what is considered safe to do during your pregnancy. It is best to talk to your doctor about your exercise routine when expecting to ensure you don't exert yourself too much.

For some more great tips on exercise during pregnancy, check out the WebMD article here.

Can your kids "catch" your stress?

I ran across an interesting article today on a subject I have often wondered about...can kids "catch" your stress and anxiety? When you are feeling stressed, does it affect your kids?

The answer is yes. According to the article on Yahoo Shine, "Stress is highly contagious between parent and child, even if the parent is unaware of his or her own anxiety." Ouch.

Parents, it's time to destress, for the sake of our kids! Check out the article here for more info on how to deal with stress and help your kids deal with stress, too!