Big Kids

We’ve all been there. Driving in our air-conditioned cars, coming from or going to our air-conditioned homes, and we see someone on a street corner, holding a sign asking for help. One part of me is cautious, being a female...

   We at SMB are excited about a new little feature we’ve added to the blog!  In addition to our regular lineup of awesome Scottsdale Mom contributors, we're including a monthly post by a LOCAL expert! We're covering topics from discipline to reading readiness...

1)     Your grocery runs are exciting! You have a shopping list with the following items: a) black fish-net hose b) red lipstick c) false eyelashes Hot date with your husband? Not quite! These are necessary 8-year old accessories...

We have a pool. If you don’t have a pool, then I know what you’re thinking: I’m lucky. I have a fun activity that’s perfect in the intense AZ heat … and it’s right in my backyard! If you also have a...

Never trust a mommy with clean SUV or minivan. It means one of 2 things. Either she doesn’t let her kids eat in the car OR she vacuums her car daily. Both are scary propositions. Your mommy friends usually are...

I am so, so, so tired. Hi guys, it's Kirsten, Managing Editor here at SMB--- and I. Am. Tired. I know I'm not the only one. I've had too many conversations with moms just like me-- bags under their eyes,  Starbucks...

It’s that time of year with another class party underhand To give praise to the room moms all over Scottsdale land   They have navigated 20 + families, wrangled contacts and emails from the beginning-of -school fair Sign up geniuses are sent with...

I recently read an article about how mothers in France “live and let live”.  They don’t pack huge diaper bags or thrust all kinds of emergency paraphernalia into their strollers for all of life’s      "what-ifs".  They just...

   Target  I’m dangerous alone in this store. Add two pint-sized beings that seem to gain control of the cart and steer to either sparkly tank tops or lego aisles and it spells even more trouble. Make no mistake,  this...

  We at SMB are excited to announce a new little feature we're adding to the blog!  In addition to our regular lineup of awesome Scottsdale mom contributors, we will be adding a monthly post by a LOCAL expert! We'll...

Local mom, Jenny Castle, shares an unfortunate experience at her children's tennis clinic- and the lesson she learned from it! Jenny is the mother of three beautiful children and keeps herself busy with PTSA, catching up with friends in...

      Cut their own food:  Your child should be able to use a knife that can actually cut a chicken breast into bite size pieces and learn and use proper table manner. Who knows when your son might be invited for...

 My eldest daughter came down with a stomach bug-- YES- that awful thing! One minute she was bubbling with energy, running after a ball at her soccer game.  Just a few hours later she was back in bed, looking pale. Then it...

Meet our newest contributor: Monika Patel!  As the mother of two elementary age daughters, Monika is busy with school, parties, soccer, running the business side of SMB, and of course, birthdays.... which sometimes are a little hard on mom...

  Like every other craft-loving-DIYing-Pinterest-obsessed-mother, I deal with my post-Christmas withdrawal symptoms by throwing myself fully into the next holiday on my radar: Valentines Day! And, as result, I usually spend the majority of January trolling through Pinterest trying to find uber...

You've read all about powerless words.  You've eliminated the word "try" from your vocabulary.  What are the other top five powerless words to stop using now? DON'T Don't go into the street vs stop right now. Don't run on the pool deck...

About one year ago, my seven year old twins started asking to host a sleepover. It was the new thing all the kids at school were doing. And eventually I relented. Truly, all of the kids were perfectly behaved...

I can't tell you how much pressure I feel to get my child into some sort of sport, activity, preschool or whatever. My four year old is social beyond anyone else in the family, full of life, and very...

I must warn you, after reading this blog post, you will feel itchy and uncomfortable. Read ahead at your own risk!  The school nurse called and said those two words you never want to hear, “head lice.” “Ugh,” I thought,...

A few months ago, I wrote a post sharing our ideas on how to start your own book club. You can read it here, if you missed it. Recently, we had found ourselves in a reading rut. I think this...

My children are getting older, and I find myself trying to deal with issues that our parents didn't have to be concerned about when we were our kids’ ages. Even just ten years ago, parents did not have to...

We here at SMB are excited to introduce to you the newest addition to our team: Sara Frederick! You can learn more about our amazingly talented new contributor on our "Meet the Contributors"  page or at her personal blog,  Mind Body...

Editor's Note: Happy Friday! All week long we're talking about screens - from TV shows to tablets for kids and grownups of all ages. Love 'em or hate 'em, screens and screen time are a hot topic in parenting...

Editor's Note: Happy Thursday! All week long we're talking about screens - from TV shows to tablets for kids and grownups of all ages. Love 'em or hate 'em, screens and screen time are a hot topic in parenting...

"We could fit 13 kids in this house!" my sweet hubby exclaimed upon deciding to buy our current house. It is by no means a large house. We have 4 bedrooms. If we are in one, he was thinking about...

With it being 105+ here in Scottsdale for who knows how long, I figured we should talk sunscreen. Allowing your kids and yourself to get some Vitamin D is great, allowing them to get a sunburn..not so much. I'll give...

I had a rough transition into motherhood.  Actually, I had a really rough transition into motherhood.  You see, my first born is allergic to milk and I was determined to breastfeed.  But I didn't know she was allergic to...

If I were the sign-carrying, protesting type, I would totally protest summer. I'd stand sit in my lawn chair under an umbrella out on Scottsdale Road with a long sign that read, "Shame on you summer!" I would hang outside the library...

There's a strange paradox of time when you have children. On one hand, it feels like they were born yesterday, but on the other hand, you feel like you've been taking care of them FOREVER. I know that most of...

I don't feel like I have a big family. I find myself answering the question, 'how many children do you have?' with "just 5." I suppose I am surrounded by lots of much larger families so I feel average....