I am not one to make New Year’s resolutions, but the first day of year is as good as any to make a decision to change your work arrangement. If you find yourself stressed on a daily basis, or you feel guilty because you have missed important events for your kids or too many family dinners; the New Year may give you the inspiration to re-think your career priorities and start working on negotiating or finding a work arrangement that works for you and your family.

Not everyone needs the same thing when it comes to work and family balance. The key is to figure out your priorities in both your career and your home life, and then think creatively of how you can create a work arrangement that allows you to meet those priorities. Some strategies you can pursue: Read the rest »

Two years ago my sister and I wrote down our resolutions and sealed them in an envelope. We decided to open them at the end of 2006 and bask in the glory of resolutions achieved. That 2006 celebration never did take place. The problem is, I wrote down the same resolutions as I have every year…without truly examining why I always failed to achieve most resolutions in the past. The larger problem is not the topic of each resolution, but what success in each resolution actually meant. A common resolution for me was exercise more. “Exercise more” is not a clear enough definition to truly be a goal for me. And then other years when I broke the goal into “exercise 5 times a week” I would find myself doing well at first and then some event would take place, I would get off track and would realize that success in “exercising 5 times a week” was already not an option anymore…and quit. Read the rest »

Taking your family down the organic highway can be time consuming – and expensive. Wouldn’t it be nice to apply the 80/20 rule here? It turns out you can. If you buy organic options of just the five items below, you will have gotten the most benefit with the least effort.

1. Milk
2. Potatoes
3. Peanut butter
4. Ketchup
5. Apples

Why? These are the most common kid foods in which the organic version is significantly less toxic than the non-organic option. Many foods, including broccoli, onions, and foods with peels like avocados, bananas and oranges, come to market with much less pesticide residue even when they are not grown organically.

The Blue Lake take on it:
We love this type of thinking. You don’t have time to keep up on every bulletin or develop a 10-page plan for strategic grocery shopping. Thank you, Dr. Alan Greene, the author of Raising Baby Green, for this simple guideline. If you want to read more on this topic, and see some interesting parent responses, visit Tara Parker-Pope’s blog in the New York Times Health section.

What: MiGi Baby Bedding and Nursery Décor

Why: Designer baby bedding without the hefty price tag? Now you can have a drool-worthy nursery without breaking the bank. The new MiGi baby line offers stylish, modern and affordable baby bedding and nursery décor. Read the rest »

Looking for a fun Santa experience for your children? Avoid the sitting on laps of strangers dressed in red and opt for a phone call from Santa Speaking.

Created by mother of three Anne Gaskell, Santa Speaking offers personalized live phone calls with Santa Claus. Spurred on by the observation that the happy experience parents hope for with a ’sit on the knee Santa experience’ doesn’t always happen, Anne wanted to offer more of a Miracle on 34th Street option. Read the rest »

Celebrity Moms Share Their Holiday Plans Christa Miller, Brooke Burke, Lisa Rinna and more share their holiday plans. Plus, the inside scoop on Jamie Lynn Spears’ pregnancy (from ModernMom).

The Perfect Holiday Maternity Top If you are still looking for the perfect maternity top for the holidays then you need to read our review of To The Nines Maternity (from Healthy Bump).

Laundry Tips from the Experts With our busy agendas, many of us do not pay close attention to our laundry labels or give the proper care to our clothers. Here are some laundry tips from www.TheLaundress.com, experts on laundry home products and more, that will help us in taking better care of clothes, delicate or not (from Moms Buzz).

Strategies for Clothing Battles. Are you the parent of a young daughter and are dreading - or already are deeply entrenched in - arguments over questionable clothing choices? Check out these guidelines and additional resources for strategies and talking points on this tough topic (on Boston Mamas).

Win a $50 Gifts.com Gift Card Done with all your holiday shopping? Treat yourself to a $50 gift card and use it for dining out, a pampering spa treatment or stylish new shoes (from MomFinds).

The BusyBody Book Enter to win a package of two BusyBodyBook personal organizers along with a Fridge Pad to keep you and your family organized in 2008. Deadline is midnight tonight (from One Chic Mama)!

The end of the year is a classic opportunity to look back over how things have been going and look forward to see how they could improve. January brings that fresh start that we all long for – let’s make the most of it!

Think of all the things that drive you crazy – the biggest obstacles to your personal and professional productivity. For sanity’s sake, you might have chosen to pick your battles and resigned yourself to some pretty ridiculous productivity drains over the years.

Maybe you decided that a staff meeting at work will always be a waste of time and have given up the good fight on making it better. Or it might be as simple as giving up on making it out the door with a decent breakfast in your belly. Read the rest »