I'm not the kind of Mom who's content to stay home all day; which could kind of be a problem for someone whose primary job title is stay-at-home-mom. Instead of hanging around the house, my kids and I venture into the outdoors quite a bit. One of our favorite activities is hiking; it's accessible, affordable and just plain awesome. I have 3 kids ranging in ages from 0-5. We rarely make it more than a mile or two down the trail, but then again distance isn’t really my primary objective these days. I'm more interested in being outside. I welcome the distractions my kids stumble upon: a rock to climb, a bug to catch, birds to watch, ant hill to observe, a stick that looks like a chainsaw, monsters that need to be taken care of… The goal is just being outside. In order to make getting three kids out of the house and onto the trail as quick and easy as possible I keep my backpack stocked at all times. Here's a list of items I'd recommend keeping in your pack for a potential outing

See the mom in this photo? She’s been a mom for exactly one year. You see a happy smile, bright eyes, and a one-year old in a baby carrier. She is me. I am the mother in this photo. But… there is so much more you don’t see. Let me show you. Like most mothers, I dreamed only of snuggling my baby close to me when he arrived – that mysterious child who rode underneath my heart for nine months – I wanted him to hear my heartbeat as long as possible. However, struggles with breastfeeding, as well as severe scoliosis (curvature of the spine), made this impossible. Tears, as I tried to hold my baby close, only to recoil in pain caused by months of struggles with breastfeeding. Discouragement, as I tossed aside yet another carrier style because within minutes my back and shoulders were in searing pain. You see, most carriers I tried (I even made one myself), either put the baby’s weight on my shoulders, or asymmetrically across my body. Since my spine is curved badly, one shoulder is slightly higher

“Jet with Kids is an easy to read and highly informative guide to traveling by air with children. Ms. Clowers is an RN who has logged hundreds of thousands of miles on airplanes around the world, has moved through airports large and small, and has asked all the right questions wherever she has gone. Now the mother of a young child, Ms. Clowers has reviewed every aspect of flying with children and consolidated her best advice in this book. She demystifies the numerous rules and regulations surrounding travel in our post 9/11 era; provides practical advice for navigating the terrain of airports and airplanes that essentially are not child friendly territory; covers topics as far afield as how to breast feed on a plane and what documentation you need to take a grandchild with you to a foreign country; a section I have just benefited from. The book reflects Anya's love of and comfort with flying and her desire to help others share this. She brings her wisdom as well as lots of great, practical

What do you say when your child says, "No!"? Practical and immediate ways to dissolve parent/child power struggles are available through Compassionate Communication, AKA Nonviolent Communication, or NVC. There is a way to hear the “yes” underneath the “No!” and let the “No!” lead to a more satisfying connection and relationship. Marshall Rosenberg developed the heart-centered compassionate communication process that has been used successfully between parents and children, couples, gangs, religious parties, and even many war-torn countries. Relationships improve through understanding. His book, Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life shares his compassionate communication methods through his experiences, as told in easy-to-read, clear stories that are sometimes funny, sometimes touching, and mostly amazing in their successful resolutions. “Words are windows or they’re walls, they sentence us or set us free...” These are the words sung by Marshall Rosenberg, Ph.D., in “The Basics of