Ah, it’s February, and love is in the air. All over Phoenix, Moms aren’t wondering what kind of flowers they’d better be receiving from their dear husbands this year. No, instead a great number of Mommies are wondering, “Where in the heck is my kid going to school next year?” Long gone are the [...]

                I’m not normally a big risk-taker, but lately I’ve become sort of an adrenaline junkie. I’ve stopped listening to the nagging, no fun voice (That’s Ms. Killjoy to you!) in my head that automatically yells “NO!” when I dare step a toe out of my comfort zone. Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t completely [...]

Obento, American-Style

I recently saw a news clip featuring a local school where parents are required to provide their own lunches for their children. And that the school had spelled out what kinds of foods (mostly high-sugar and over-processed ones) were not deemed acceptable and would be removed from lunch boxes. What surprised me was the newscaster’s [...]

Being child-like. Pining for your youth. Or just plain being a dork. Life is too short to take things seriously. All the Rowdy Mamas agree that some days you need a silly stress reliever to keep you going. Because if you don’t stop and laugh, you may end up in an overwhelmed, weeping puddle instead. [...]

                Is it just me or does your life sometimes seem to have a “Theme of the Week” going? Sometimes it is intentional. Most of the time, however, it seems like I’m getting a message from the Universe. This week’s unintentional theme—boys and books. Here’s what moms are buzzing about this week (and time for [...]

I’m not against vaccines. My kids have gotten every shot recommended by their pediatrician, plus a few extra before we traveled to Beijing two summers ago. To better our odds each flu season, we usually get the flu shot or flu mist. But at my daughter’s annual visit recently, even this pro-immunization parent had to [...]

You’ve probably seen the news reports. Boy Scouts being sent home from Scout camp because of H1N1. Scientists gambling that they’ll have the right flu vaccination for the fall. And though H1N1 is a serious threat to our children, the CDC just released a report about another epidemic threatening the health of American children—Obesity. “American society [...]

Sara’s obento-style kid’s lunch I can’t believe that my son starts back to school at the end of next week! I take the summers off from writing to spend time with my kids and to travel. I have to admit though, I’m missing my work. However, I’m NOT missing Andy’s incredible amount of homework (which will [...]

“Mom, I’m bored. I’ve got nothing to do!” Are you hearing this at your house too? I can’t believe that we still have another month (month and a half for my daughter) before school kicks in. I certainly don’t miss the homework and the sometimes crazy-busy schedule we have. But now we have a little too [...]

You nearly branded your toddler with her car seat’s safety belt. A cooler lives in your car from April to October. You keep vampire-like hours, only going outside after the sun goes down. You’ve ever bought dry ice at the grocery store just so your ice cream could make it home without turning into milk. And you only [...]

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom’s Zone Members! My jet-lagged body is back in the US, but I feel like I left my brain in Japan. Every year, we go to Japan to visit my in-laws, but this year was a little different. After MUCH negotiation with Andy’s school (but surprisingly little with Katie’s), we came to [...]

When the lovely ladies at Mom’s Zone asked if I would be interested in heading downtown to the U.S. Airways Center to cover the new ice show, Disney on Ice—A Disneyland Adventure for Mom’s Zone readers, I jumped at the chance. Katie (10) and Andy (8) had already seen the advertisements on TV about the new [...]

During Spring Break my son had his pack of friends over for a cookout and sleepover. Andy asked if they could go down to the playground in our subdivision and goof around before dinner. Being the slightly paranoid mom that I am, I agreed but insisted on going with the boys. I settled in on [...]

If you want an honest opinion, ask a child. So I did. All eleven of them. Recently, a representative of Nature’s Own contacted Mom’s Zone about trying out some of their new wheat breads and possibly blogging about it. As I’m known as someone with an opinion on everything, the lovely ladies at Mom’s Zone asked [...]

Like most moms, I wear a lot of different hats. Today, I am a writer, Girl Scout leader, and choreographer. My head is spinning a bit trying to keep all these balls in the air, but I am thankful to have such wonderful opportunities in life. Putting on my businesswoman’s hat for a few minutes, I’d [...]

“I need Starbuck’s. I don’t care if it is a 30-minute drive,” my friend who lives in rural California (yes, those places still do exist) recently said.  And though Kim has been a coffee drinker since high school, I knew that her Starbuck’s craving was more than just a lusting over her favorite venti, double-blended, [...]