Potato salad.  This can be made in advance and served right before kickoff.  Toss boiled potatoes in with mayonnaise, a red onion, diced celery, and pickles.  Season with salt and pepper, and you’re good to go.

Chili.  Just like potato salad, this can be prepared ahead of time and served when it’s time to party.  Chili actually tastes better after a day or so when the flavors have developed.

Chicken wings.  This is the ultimate finger food, in my book.  If you can’t grill ‘em, bake ‘em.   They’ll taste just as good.  You can choose to baste them in either honey garlic or hot sauce.

Quesadillas.  You can use the traditional veggies and cheese or add in some ground beef.

Putting together an indoor tailgate party is easy.  So, chill the beer, put on your jerseys and get that party started.

Prepare a list of questions well in advance. Once you’re in the pediatrician’s office, you wouldn’t want your occasional bouts of memory gap to take the better of you. Beforehand, make a note of what issues you may want to discuss with the doctor. This way, you wouldn’t have to bother him with a call back or a repeat appointment.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. It’s your right to clarify things with the pediatrician, so don’t hesitate to engage him in a bit of a discussion over your kid’s health. If you keep things to yourself, you will never be reassured about your child’s condition. Ask him to explain things in layman’s terms.

If you can, ask someone to look after your other kids, so you don’t have the whole brady bunch making a circus out of the clinic.

Most importantly, be nice to the office staff. Whether you like it or not, they are the middlemen to your doctor. They will give you better service if you’re kind to them.

Such is the dilemma for most working parents.  You toil away in the office to provide for your family, but your time with the kids gets compromised.  It’s a nasty trade-off, and sometimes you feel you’re left with no choice but to fall prey to the corporate world. 

They say that time- once passed- is gone forever.  Since we can no longer bring back lost time, we do what we can to make up for it by buying our kids fancy stuff, or taking them places on weekends. 

The good news is, you don’t need to wait for Saturday to make your kids feel loved.  On weeknights, for instance, if you manage to get home just in time for your kid’s bedtime, you can stop and read him a story, or have a quick chat about how his day went.

If you get home early enough for dinner, make it special.   Talk, ask questions about your kid’s day in school.  After dinner, make him a smoothie or some hot chocolate as you plop in front of the TV to catch his favorite cartoon show.

If you can, drive your kid to school.  Even if it’s just a short trip to his school, you can still strike up a conversation with him. 

Try as much as you can to be involved in your child’s personal and emotional affairs.  Even in your absence, he will feel the warmth of your love.  That will give him the confidence he needs to make it through life.

Talk. Find someone to talk to, whether it’s your partner or other parents. It helps ease the burden, knowing that you aren’t alone in your parenting woes, and that there are possible solutions to whatever it is you’re going through.

Ask. Don’t be afraid to get professional advice from your pediatrician, for instance, if you’re left in limbo about certain health or behavioral issues about your kid.

Take care of yourself. Don’t let yourself be overcome by parenting worries. Remember to eat well, get enough sleep, and exercise. Keep doing the things you enjoy.

If you feel that you can no longer function normally, seek professional help.

Here are the signs of readiness to start kindergarten according to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics:

• He can communicate about things he needs and wants.

• He knows how to share and take turns.

• He is curious and enthusiastic about trying new activities.

• He has the ability to pay attention and sit still.

• He can use a pencil and paint brushes.

• He can count up to 20.

• He can recognize the letters of the alphabet.

Other common signs that a kid is ready for kindergarten are that he can follow one to three step instructions, behave well in the classroom, and can get along well with other kids.

Do know though, that four- and five-year-olds often develop at different speeds, so it can sometimes be difficult to know which kids are ready for school and which ones aren’t. You may find that while some five-year-olds are already reading, others can’t even count to 10 yet.

Before you make your kid take the kindergarten plunge, be sure that he is ready.

We moms, of course, know that water is beneficial to our kids’ bodies, as water helps keep the body hydrated and moves nutrients around the body.  But when kids are busy fiddling with their e books, you can hardly do anything to make them go for a water break.  So, how can we get them to drink more water?

Try putting some lemon slices in a pitcher of water to give it a bit of a taste.  Keep it in the fridge, as kids may prefer drinking it cold. 

Use glasses or drinking bottles in their favorite cartoon character, so they will find the idea of drinking water more appealing.

You can try encouraging them to eat watermelons, or other fruits with high water content.

More importantly, you should set a good example and drink water yourself.  Stay away from soda.

For us busy moms, the work doesn’t stop with the days or nights after Christmas.  In fact, this is when the real work begins.  Post-holiday cleanup can just be as stressful as preparing for the yuletide season.  Just thinking about the tall tower of dirty dishes waiting at the kitchen sink puts a damper on your goals at applying that eyelash growth product on your lashes.

Once again, we moms put ourselves at the bottom of the list.  Everything else comes first: household chores, picking up your hubby’s socks, mending that hole on your son’s favorite jersey.

At the end of the day, all that matters is that everyone in the family is happy and healthy.  It’s occasions like Christmas when we realize how much we should be thankful for.

Hope your Christmas was merry.  I’m sure mine was!

Image source: aboutpixel.de / kaufrausch #2 © maçka

The early bird catches the worm.  The late bird gets the retail rejects.  Well, not necessarily.  While it’s true that those who do their Christmas shopping early experience less of the stress which comes with the holidays, sometimes, if you wait until the last minute to do your shopping, you stand the chance to reap some benefits.

A few days, or even after Christmas day, stores usually sell their merchandise at rock bottom prices.  Everything must go, so they do all they can to get rid of old stocks.  Sure, there’s a high probability that you’ll lose your temper with the crowd and hold it against the guy behind the mall’s POS system, but you can certainly control that.  At least, you’ll get more for your hard-earned money.

Whether shopping early or late, always carry with you your shopping list, so you’ll be in and out of the shops in no time.

Have a merry Christmas, and an even merrier last minute shopping!

If the idea of cleaning up after a party makes your Christmas a little “un-merry”, take heart and realize that it’s not really that bad. 

Think disposable.  To save on energy doing the dishes, use utensils which you can dispose of.    Paper plates and cups will be a better choice, as these are more environment-friendly.

Clean as you go.  Have those garbage bags ready and toss paper cups in them right after use. 

You can even ask your friends- yes, they are your friends after all- to help out in the post-party cleanup.  If they need a little prodding, you can jokingly ask them to throw out their used paper cups after downing huge amounts of alcohol.

The stress of cleaning up after your Christmas party shouldn’t ruin your holiday mood.  With a little organization, your post-party cleanup will be a breeze.

Get the right bra. Just because a bra looks fabulous on a lingerie catalog model, doesn’t mean it’ll look as good on you. It should, of course, fit naturally without pinching your breasts. They should give you adequate support, especially if you run. Get a sports bra if you plan to engage in physical activity.

Maintain a healthy weight. If your weight constantly fluctuates, this may cause your breasts to sag.

If you’re at least 35 and have a family history of breast cancer, consider getting a mammogram as soon as possible. Early detection is still the best cure.