Since my kids were born, it has been tradition that I make a fancy, homemade cake for their birthday. Yes, EVERY birthday. No store bought cake here! I let them decide what type of cake they would like each year. Some years I have nailed it with fabulous, over-the-top cakes. Last year’s Batman cake rocked! …

I’m always on the look out for ways to put a healthy twist on regular recipes. Since both my daughter and I have a sweet tooth, a healthy version of brownies is definitely in order around here. I’d heard rumors that you could make any ol’ package of brownies a tiny bit healthier by substituting …

Thinking of visiting Long Beach, CA? Here are our five favorite family-friendly things to do there! Aquarium of the Pacific: This aquarium, open 9 am to 6 pm daily (except Christmas Day and during the weekend of the Grand Prix of Long Beach, April 11-13, 2014) is Southern California’s largest aquarium. It displays more than 11,000 …

When my family and I moved to Southern California last summer so that my husband could complete a yearlong fellowship, we knew we had to get bicycles to ride along the gorgeous beachfront bike paths. The question was, how could we take our 2-year-old twins along for the ride? Options abound for toting toddlers on …

Today we’re talking all about fun travel games for kids! My family and I went on countless road trips when I was younger and I remember my mom always packing a bag full of games and treats for my sister and I to entertain us while we were cooped up in the backseat. Long car rides, …

I come from a family of teachers so it’s ingrained in me to turn “normal” activities into learning activities. Now that my eldest is preschool age, the opportunities for learning are around every corner. Even when I don’t kick off a “lesson”, it seems my daughter is searching for one. I mean, at three years …

Sometimes renting your home means that you are very limited on what you can paint, hang, and remodel. Lots of owners don’t allow you do make any changes and you aren’t going to want to pour a lot of money into changing a space that you’re only in temporarily. We have rented plenty of spaces …

Does your child like to draw the same character over and over again? Consider turning that character into a special toy for him or her! Vancouver mom and artist Wendy Tsao creates soft toys based on children’s drawings via her business, Child’s Own Studio (childsown.com). She created the business in 2007 after making a soft …

Happy National Hot And Spicy Food Day! There is pretty much a National Food Day for every food: some are very silly, and some, like hot and spicy foods, should definitely be celebrated. I guess you could say I’m a wimp because my spicy food tolerance is very, very low. My husband, on the other …

My family and I moved to Pasadena 5 months ago and we love our new city so much. I was born and raised in Los Angeles so I was always familiar with this city and visited it many times, but had never lived here until now. What I love most about Pasadena is that we …

I’ve always been a reader. Not a fast one, but definitely a reader who thoroughly enjoys a good story and always has a new book on the radar. When I was young I would alphabetize my book collection like the library and, with pretend library cards, check out my book friends to my sisters 🙂 …

Cooking is a passion of mine that I hope to be able to pass onto my children, but it won’t happen on its own. It will take me asking my kids to get involved with cooking our meals and helping out to see if they can discover a love for cooking like I did. So …