Ashley Stone is the wife of one, mother of two and the voice of Our Family Stone. She’s tried writing her bio 10 times and has discovered 2 things, 1. she talks/writes to much & 2. She should really just stop at “Hi”. So, “Hi”

A friend of mine posted a picture of a quote awhile back that sums it up wonderfully: “A perfect parent is a person with excellent child rearing theories, and no actual children.” True story, right? Whether you have 1, 2 or 25 kids, you know that the perfect parent doesn’t exist. She is the myth that keeps mothers up at night, leaves fathers feeling inadequate and is the thing that sells millions and millions of parenting books each year.

At least, the universal “Perfect Parent” for every kid doesn’t exist. There is however there is a “Perfect Parent” for your kids, and I think you’re going to find (if you don’t already know it), that it’s you!

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By Jennifer Howard from Chasing the Firefly

My two youngest children began going to school long enough this year to require a lunch. These two are the picky eaters of the family. One lives on air and Pixy Stix, the other would be happy drinking milk all day long. I knew I would have to be a little more creative when making their lunches. I decided that making Bento Box lunches would work perfectly.

There are many reasons why I chose to make Bento lunches but the biggest reasons would be:

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Marilyn Belsham writes about her life with two young kids at A Lot of Loves. She still believes in the magic of Christmas, even if it does arrive accompanied by flashing lights and singing ornaments.

I triple heart Christmas. It really is my favorite time of the year. Because I love it so, I never miss the chance to count down to the Big Day. I’ve had advent calendars for every Christmas that I can remember, and you can bet that I’ve continued the advent calendar tradition for my kids as well. Of course, it’s possible to purchase cheap advent calendars filled with waxy chocolate, or the über expensive name brand toy calendars (I found one that was selling for $40!), but if you prefer to have a bit of a personal touch with your calendars, it’s pretty simple to make your own.

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Crystal is a 30-something freelance writer and stay-home mom to 3. When not chasing after her kids, she can be found blogging about them at Kid Things.

November is Diabetes Awareness Month, a cause close to my heart. In August of 2010, my then 6 year old son was rushed to the hospital with a blood sugar reading over 800. He was admitted into the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, where the first few days were the scariest I have ever experienced. His diagnosis was clear: Type 1 diabetes.

Unlike Type 2, Type 1 is an auto-immune disease. He did not acquire diabetes because he ate too many sweets, his immune system simply turned on itself. It is a chronic, incurable, but manageable, disease. He will need to administer a balancing act of insulin for the rest of his life.

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By Loukia from Loulou’s views

I could write a book called “Before I Became A Mom” because life was so much different then. I’ve learned so much since becoming a mom, I sort of feel like an expert in certain areas. Of course, being a mom also means learning from mistakes I’ve made - and trust me, there have been plenty. It’s a learning experience, motherhood. A life-long learning experience. Sometimes, you get it right, sometimes, you get it wrong, but you’ll always have a story to tell.

Today I’m going to share you some tips on traveling with children. Because trust me, gone are the days when vacations meant relaxing.

Back in the day, before I had children, going on vacation to me meant sleeping in, putting on a bikini, finding a perfect spot on the beach or by the pool, and working on my tan, while sipping a Pina Colada. The most work I’d get in a day would be flipping sides so my tan would be completely even, followed by an afternoon of shopping, possibly a nap, and dinner at my own pace.

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Kristen is the mom of four kids in four years through birth and adoption, and started blogging at Rage Against the Minivan as a coping skill in 2006. She is also the managing editor at ShePosts. Kristen lost her long battle against the minivan last year . . . it now sits in her driveway covered in crushed cheerios and remnants of her self-esteem.

I used to subscribe to the idea that children are colorblind in regards to racial differences. I love the vision of American being this great melting pot where kids of every race play together in perfect harmony, and I made the assumption that prejudice only happened based on adult racial baggage. But as my kids are getting older, I’ve begun to realize that children do, in fact, notice race  We are a transracial family and my children, even as young as two, frequently describe family and friends in terms of skin color. I’ve even had the sinking feeling as I’ve observed playground interactions that my African American children are sometimes excluded because they look different.  And then, we had a couple incidents where my kids were blatantly excluded for their skin color.  My colorblind theory was beginning to crack.

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By Shawn Burns of Backpacking Dad

One Halloween, when I was six years old, I went across the road to the twins’ house. The twins were English, living in Carp, Ontario with their older sister, father, and their father’s new, young, wife. Whenever I would visit the twins’ house, their father seemed to be home. This could have been a function of his actually being a homebody, or it could have merely been that I rarely went over to the twins’ house.Whatever the truth, it always seemed like he was home, and he always seemed to have some stake in what the twins were doing. He was home, of course, on Halloween.

I went across the road to the twins’ house, and begged some candy from their father as he sat on his front step.

“Do you want to see me wiggle my ears?” he asked, pointing to the rubber ears he was wearing as a costume that night.

“Sure!” I said, and he shook his head vigorously.

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Sarah Braesch (a.k.a. Goon Squad Sarah) lives outside of Washington D.C. with her husband and seven year old twins. You can find her writing on Sarah and the Goon Squad and Draft Day Suit.

I have friends that have very strict family traditions: You must eat cabbage on New Years Day, the mandatory reading of “The Night Before Christmas” on Christmas Eve, cake is what you eat for breakfast on your birthday, Fridays are pizza night, etc. That is cool, but it isn’t how we roll at Rancho Von Goon Squad.

For one, I am not that organized. Sometimes I have chicken that has to be eaten and it is Friday morning. Sometimes I want to sleep in on my birthday. For a few years in a row we went to Union Station on Christmas Eve to see the big train set, but this year we just didn’t feel like it.

I propose trying some new, fun, family traditions. You can try whatever you want, but I’d like to offer up these ideas.

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By Amber from Strocel.com, and Crafting my Life

My daughter just turned six years old. This birthday was an especially big deal because I threw my first children’s birthday party. We pulled out all the stops and hosted a bunch of little girls dressed in fairy wings. It was actually very sweet, and I enjoyed the chance to decorate, get festive and celebrate my not-so-little girl.

Like a lot of moms, in my daily life I try to make greener choices. I carry reusable bags to the store, recycle, compost and all that stuff. So when it came time to plan my daughter’s party, I wanted to keep it as green as possible. Here are some of my tips for greening your own child’s birthday party.

1. Think reusable.

Reducing waste is the name of the game, here. Instead of disposable tablecloths, use the real thing, or re-purpose an old sheet. Instead of plastic cutlery, use your own. And instead of balloons and streamers, invest in some decorations that can be used again. I chose a beautiful cloth name banner that we can hang every birthday.

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By Zoeyjane from Raising Zoeyjane, EverythingMom & MamaPop

I’m lucky (I realized once I got past the initial concern) in the sense that I have one of those toddlers that just doesn’t grow. I mean, yeah, she grows, and if you’ve ever met her or followed my twitter feed, there’s no concern about whether she’s happy, energetic or otherwise healthy. In other words, the kid is thriving. But she doesn’t grown much, and it’s completely predictable when she does.

I admit that I’ve saved a butt-load of money when compared to other parents for two main reasons: I never have to run out to buy something because she magically shot up an inch, and pretty much every friend she’s ever had has lapped her in size - even one of her besties, almost two years younger, is presently sharing the same sizes as her. Know what that means? Hand-me-downs. More than I can store.

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