By Diana Saufley I have had so many friends tell me that they have a hard time going to sleep or staying asleep. I think it is in part due to the pace of life that we now feel the need to keep in step. There are many other causes, some medical, some environmental and some the choice of our décor and surroundings. Our bedrooms are where we spend a large portion of our lives both asleep read more

By Sara Parker As June begins to melt into July, I have come to three realizations: It is about to get EVEN hotter. I find that difficult to comprehend. So does my six-year-old, who just the other day asked how many more degrees it would have to get in order for us to “burn up.” Summer is almost half over.   My math is off, I know. But really, read more

Courtesy of Cy-Fair Hospital The new food plate recently unveiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is designed to help Americans eat a healthier, balanced diet with an emphasis on vegetables and fruits. This new visual nutrition guide uses colorful, easy-to-read graphics with proportionate sections for fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and a separate segment for dairy. The read more

By Chrissy Bernal I’ve gone back in forth on my thoughts on snooping on kids. I was a very well behaved teen compared to most and rarely got into trouble. My parents were very strict and snooped on a regular basis—including reading my journal. However, I didn’t realize they were snooping until well into my college years when they were still snooping. My thoughts were always that read more

By Stacey Gliniewicz Several months ago, I wrote an article about how to container garden. I would like to mention a couple of benefits to container gardening, like that fact that you know where your fruits and vegetables are coming from, pesticides or chemicals are highly controlled, and it eases the grocery bill. Let’s take a closer look at the controlled pesticides and chemicals on our read more

By Sara Parker Silence. With these four… I don’t get a whole lot of this… And I’m not talking about sleep (although, I certainly do not get enough of that either)… I’m talking about SILENCE. Blessed, beautiful, read-a-book-without-interruption, take-a-shower-without-someone-banging-on-the-door, listen-to-the-radio-and-sing-along-to-an-entire-song kind of read more

Courtesy of Cy-Fair Hospital There are many unknowns when having a baby. How much will the baby weigh? Will it be a boy or a girl? Will the baby look more like the mother or father? If the expectant mother has been diagnosed with gestational diabetes, she may have even more questions. How will the condition affect my baby? Will the diabetes go away after the delivery? Will I develop read more

By Shara Lawrence-Weiss When I was growing up, most fathers were around. This is not the case today. When volunteering with young mothers one of the recurring themes I hear is, “My father wasn’t around.” In fact, I would say that 90% of the moms and dads I volunteer with grew up without a father and 10% without a mother. As Martina McBride sang, “No one there to show him the read more

By Stacey Gliniewicz I was recently asked a question inquiring if my husband’s ex-wife could attend his military retirement that is just over a month away, and one of the most important days aside from our wedding day in my husband’s life. He has served for 22 years and is looking forward to seeing many of his former coworkers from his journeys as an Airman. Our families will be present as read more

By Sara Parker A few days before returning from a recent family trip, I got a call from the friend who was caring for our animals while we were away. She broke the news that our dog had apparently done her business all over the game room upstairs. I told my friend not to worry about it—we’d take care of the mess when we came home. I assumed she was blowing things out of proportion. Our read more

Courtesy of Cy-Fair Hospital Creating a nursery for your baby involves more than just picking out paint colors, hanging pictures, and decorating with dinosaurs or butterflies. Parents can easily incorporate safety features that will help keep their little bundle of joy out of harm’s way. So from cradles and cribs, to gates and playpens, Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center Hospital offers a read more

By Victoria Armijo Summer break is a great time to encourage and help your struggling reader. Practicing reading skills are very important for beginning readers because it begins building confidence and literacy skills. There are many ways in which you can help your child be a great reader by the end of summer, just be patient and encouraging! Here are just a few tips that I have given read more

By Chrissy Bernal If your kids are like mine, they LOVE the Angry Birds game app. (Okay, so I love it, too.) This game is so popular that they now even have stuffed animals of the Angry Birds. If you’re unfamiliar with Angry Birds, it’s a simplistic, cartoon game where you aim your bird and launch it from a sling shot towards the pigs that are sheltered and hiding amongst various read more

By Stacey Gliniewicz We all have minor chores to do around the house to maintain the daily and weekly upkeep; sometimes I dread those chores and am thankful I have a crew of five to help out! In the midst of the daily upkeep, have you thought about those checklist items that will keep you from having major costly repairs done to your home? Just a couple extra minutes in your day to check read more

By Sara Parker In 2005, my husband and I were living in Maryland, which ranks among the top ten states for high cost of living. I had quit my job to become a stay-at-home-mom to our two newly adopted sons, who were then 1 and 2 years old. The boys filled our home with laughter. And also lots of dirty diapers. But mostly laughter, because they were just so darned cute. But I read more