Like it or not, your kids are getting online. And they are likely to be more versed on making “friends” than we are. At some point, they’ll get a weird message or get unfriended. *gasp* So how are we going to guide them in the world of Club Penguin?

Youthologist, Vanessa Van Petten shares her thoughts. What are yours?

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Practical Mommy is Ria Sharon, co-creator of the Yogi Parenting course. If you are ready for parenting to be easier, more fun and less stressful, sign up for a free Yogi Parenting lesson.

No, I do not have a twin. I just wanted to show you one of my favorite pieces of art which we happen to have hung by a rather large mirror. What I wanted to show you is how this piece of art reminds me of my “boundaries”.

Boundaries (in art and in life) are a beautiful thing. They give structure and form when they are present and can be sorely missed when they are not. Listen to this short video for more on the topic of parenting and boundaries.

What are some of your biggest challenges in the area of boundaries and parenting? Mine is not to “rescue” my children when I think they “need” me. Today when I noticed my oldest daughter had left her lunch at home, I reminded myself of my goal to be the “guide by the side… not the “sage on the stage”… and instead of driving it up to her school, I put it in the frig for tomorrow. Have you thought much in terms of boundaries and parenting? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.

This Zen Mommy Minute is published in partnership with Due Maternity, a great place for maternity clothes.   xoxo

Suzanne Tucker, aka Zen Mommy

In addition to mommying to two magical girls born in 2000 and 2003 and expecting twins in Jan of 2010, Suzanne co-owns a holistic health center with her husband Shawn in St. Louis, Missouri where she practices as a physical therapist, Certified Educator of  Infant Massage and health education teacher. Certified in a number of healing and life education approaches, Suzanne offers ongoing tips on parenting and is the co-creator of the Yogi Parenting approach to positive parenting.

Expert Mommy and Play Therapist, Pam Dyson shares some constructive tips on how to respond to our kids (or our own) anger! The next time our kids “lose it,” remember that they learn a lot from modeling. *wink* What do you think?

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Practical Mommy is Ria Sharon, co-creator of the Yogi Parenting course. If you are ready for parenting to be easier, more fun and less stressful, sign up for a free Yogi Parenting lesson.

Fans of the the book, Blessings of a Skinned Knee will like this segment with licensed Parent Coach, Mary Jo Corcoran. She points out that our “job” as parents is to establish a pattern of allowing our kids to be responsible. And this means, allowing them to fail! Mary Jo gives us some pointers on how to guide them in the tween years.

Mary Jo is the Director of Parent Education with the Ladue School District in St. Louis, Missouri and organizer of Parent University, a day-long event that brought together parenting experts specializing in parenting from preschool to high school.

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Practical Mommy is Ria Sharon, co-creator of the Yogi Parenting course. If you are ready for parenting to be easier, more fun and less stressful, sign up for a free Yogi Parenting lesson.

Step 3: Just Step

Back in the 90s, when I would visit my family in Manila, we would all go out to dance clubs. For those of you who’ve been there, you’ll know that ballroom dancing was all the rage at one point. Maybe it still is.  You would go with a bunch of friends, hire a few D.I.’s (dance instructors) for the evening, and have them twirl you around the dance floor.

So when people asked me, “But why did you pick tango?” I would say, “Tango is the easiest one.” WTF? Yuh huh… that’s what anyone in the St. Louis tango community said to me, at least with their eyes.

Don’t you love not knowing what you don’t know?!

To be fair, until 2009 my limited exposure to tango had been with D.I.s who instructed me in broken English to, “Just step!” Perfect. I know how to step. I don’t have to learn any fancy change-ball-change crap.

Yup. Tango. No fancy steps here.

Related Articles
Step 2: But Why Tango?
Step 1: The Dance
Practical Mommy’s Impractical Art Project: Intro

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Practical Mommy is Ria Sharon, co-creator of the Yogi Parenting course. If you are ready for parenting to be easier, more fun and less stressful, sign up for a free Yogi Parenting lesson.

Our Yogi Parenting audio tips are presented every Friday by Michaela Turner, BS Ed, CYKT, YKT, Co-creator of the Yogi Parenting course.

Listen to this :15 AUDIO TIP:

If you are ready for parenting to be easier, more fun and less stressful, sign up for a free Yogi Parenting lesson.

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Michaela is a 30-year veteran educator and a Certified YogaKids® Teacher and Trainer. In addition to Yogi Parenting, she teaches yoga baby and yoga kids classes for children throughout St. Louis, Missouri.

Did you know that during pregnancy, an expectant mother needs to consume at least 80-120 grams of protein daily? Outside of pregnancy, a healthy woman needs 30-60 grams of protein daily. During pregnancy, however, the demands on her body are much different.

This extra protein is vital to build her baby’s tissues and organs during each trimester, support the growth of her placenta and uterus, and sustain her liver and kidneys, which are working overtime to meet the growing needs of her pregnancy. Women who are protein-deficient during pregnancy are at higher risk for a number of complications, such as pre-term labor and pre-eclampsia. A nutritious, protein-rich diet should be considered as important as every other preventative measure expectant mothers take during pregnancy.

While 80-120 grams of protein may sound like an overwhelming amount of food, consider that 7 grams equals one ounce. When broken down into ounces, a pregnant woman needs at least 11-17 one-ounce servings of protein daily. (A good example of a one ounce serving is 8 cheese cubes.) Consuming the necessary amount of protein and nutrients need not be complicated, and here are a few tips to help simplify when you’re “eating for two:”

• Cheese cubes, hard-boiled eggs, high-protein cereal (such as Kashi), trail mix and yogurt are all great snacks that add protein to your diet.

• Try to eat a little something with protein in it during each waking hour of the day, such as a handful of nuts or a glass of milk. This is especially important during the second and third trimesters.

• Portion out protein-rich snacks into small, zip top baggies, which are easy to grab when you’re on the go.

• If you work outside of your home, or are going to be gone for more than an hour, plan accordingly and bring a wide variety of protein-rich foods with you.

• Aim to have at least 2-3 ounces of protein during each meal. (For example: 2 eggs at breakfast, turkey sandwich with lunch, grilled chicken at dinner.)

• There are many individually-portioned snacks available today. But beware of empty calories! Items such as individual packages of string cheese and trail mix are high in both protein and nutrients. (Stick with trail mixes made with almonds and walnuts, which are higher in nutrients than those with peanuts.)

• Protein bars, such as the Luna Bar, can be a good choice for an “on-the-go” snack. One bar contains about 10 grams of protein. Steer clear of protein bars that are loaded with sugar and artificial ingredients.

• Let your hunger be your eating guide, NOT the scale! As women, we don’t like to see the numbers on the scale increasing. However, it is dangerous to skimp on calories during pregnancy. Instead, focus on eating high-quality, nutritious foods,  and know that your body AND your baby will reap the benefits!

More information on nutrition during pregnancy, including a daily eating checklist, can be found here.

By Expert Mommy, Sarah Baker

This is an easy and fun way to make a homemade alligator hand puppet.  The things you will need to make this simple project are: 2 empty macaroni and cheese boxes, tape, glue, scissors, and construction paper (2 green, 1 red, and 1 white).

Wrap the empty boxes with green construction paper, but you can leave one large side uncovered.  Then trace the large side of the box onto red construction paper.  Cut the red piece out and glue or tape to the uncovered side of the box.  Preschoolers will be able to cut along the line and help glue or tape.  It is great practice for them and helps with their fine motor skills.  This step can be completely done with paint if you choose, but using construction paper allows for instant playing.

Place the two boxes together with red sides facing each other.  Cut off all flaps of the open end of the boxes except one large one (on the red side of one of the boxes).  Wrap that flap over the edge of the other box as pictured.  Tape it in place.

Now draw nostrils onto the box, or you can draw them separately and paste on (as pictured) below.  Draw eyes on white paper and cut out.  Be sure to remember a little extra tab to be able to attach them to the box.

Cut two long strips of white paper the length of the long side of the box and one strip the length of the short side.  Cut a jagged edge to the strip to look like teeth (younger children will need Mommy’s help with this one).  Glue or tape the teeth strips to the box.  Now attach the eyes and nostrils (if you decided to cut out nostrils) to the boxes.

Now you have a bona fide alligator hand puppet made out of ordinary household items!

What isn’t ordinary is the amusement of a child to build their own puppet.  Nothing says fun like a BIG chomp!

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by Expert Mommy, Kim Young

Hi all. I’m excited to say that Ria and I have planned a USTREAM.TV party with some of our online mommy friends and you’re invited. We’ll be streaming live from my home at 11am on TUESDAY, MARCH 16th and I’d LOVE to introduce you to Hadley and Colin.

The real event of the day is to launch the Yogi Parenting Course, and as I am still on maternity leave, Ria agreed to bring the party to Hadley, Colin and I!!!

Sooooo, not only will we be launching Yogi Parenting… talking with some groovy mom friends about all things parenting AND giving away prizes, but I will finally be able to introduce Hadley and Colin to you as well. One day they will look back on this and laugh saying, “Mom used to UStream. HA. That’s so old school!”. Here is the link you’ll need to join the party.

Speaking of Hadley and Colin growing up, we had our one month check up yesterday. NOW I know why I’ve been eating like a member of the Olympic Cross Country Skiing Team. Together Colin and Hadley gained two and a half pounds in two weeks. That is 20 ounces a week or 3+ ounces a DAY. Man, there is nothing like weight gain to make a breastfeeding mama (of twins) feel good about the many hours spent (on the couch through the day and in the glider through the night) nursing. Don’t get me wrong. Nursing is rewarding in it’s own right, but knowing my babies are indeed packing on the pounds is hugely reassuring and gives me sort of a nursing “second wind” (if there is such a thing).

Now four weeks old, I am also starting to catch more and more glimpses of what my sweet baby boy and girl will look like with smiles on their faces. Definitely a divine plan, those little smiles emerging right about now when we new parents are wondering if we’ll ever sleep through the night again. Here are some shots of my cuties. I don’t know if any of you reading this also have a large year spread between your kids, but I have to tell you, my 7 and 9 year olds are sooo into their baby brother and sister and have been a big time help. Not the sort of spacing I’d “planned” for but definitely comes with some HUGE perks.

I hope you can be there to meet the twins Tuesday, March 16th! They’ll be dressed in their Irish best to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day which is on the 17th! It’ll be a blast.

If you would like to parent with more joy and less stress be sure to check out Yogi Parenting. There will be some great offers at the launch party for anyone wanting to transform their relationships with their children.

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Zen Mommy is Suzanne Tucker, co-creator of the Yogi Parenting course. If you are ready for parenting to be easier, more fun and less stressful, sign up for a free Yogi Parenting lesson.

Picture with me now the typical closet in a home. A hanging bar with a shelf above or the wire shelving with the section for hanging items that is segmented so the hanging clothes only slide so far. I don’t know exactly who these types of closets were designed for, neither adults nor kids. What do you do with a closet that is not useful for what you need but it needs to be practical and grow with your kids.  Oh yeah and we need something affordable too don’t we? Here are a couple things for you to think about and some places to look.

Things to think about for arranging a child’s closet

1. Plan so the closet can grow with your kids. This means a closet on a rail system works so shelves and hanging rods can be adjusted as your child grows.
2. You don’t really need a lot of long hanging space. Think shelves; pull out wire drawers and high shelves for longer-term storage. The wire drawers can hold diapers now, stuffed animals or books a little later and purses or socks much later.
3. Shelving down the middle is great for young kids to store books, toys, special treasures that are theirs alone. The shelves later are great for jeans, sweatshirts, t-shirts as the toys become replaced with clothes.

Types of shelving to consider.

1. The rail system that is available at your local big box hardware store. This is good if you have a vision of what you want in a closet and if you have someone to install it for you. A rail system is a row of rails hung vertically along the back of the closet wall. The shelves, hanging bars, baskets etc are hung from the rails. They are adjustable and can be removed or added to. Very handy for a growing child.
2. Stores like Ikea and Container store have their own shelving systems. You can either go to the store or design it yourself on line. They have different types of material to fit many budgets.
3. Closet companies such as California Closets, ORG, and many others will send a “closet designer” to your home, measure and create a design that fits your needs. This is a great way to go for a bigger budget. Again they have many different materials available for a variety of price ranges.

If you reading this and thinking, this is all to confusing just click on the links and look through some storage magazines to get ideas. A picture will spark your creativity and a friend’s opinion is always helpful. A closet is a place to not over look. It provides you with so much extra storage you will be amazed. Closet storage works for any size of closet and at any age of the occupant. Your imagination is the limit!

A few closet sites to check out

Ikea

Container Store

ORG

Rubbermaid

Lowes