Bras are a social nicety that many of us happily shed when alone with our family.

I love spending the holidays with family, but a funny thing has started happening recently. While it never bothered me to stay with relatives when we were younger and the kids were little, as the years march on and my husband and I settle into our own habits and routines at home and our talkative, outgoing children have gotten older… well, it just seems like we are begging for embarrassing moments that I’d just as soon not endure in front of my in-laws.

So, naturally, when I saw a post about partners’ “weird habits” I started thinking about how many things we do around the house that we wouldn’t ever in a million years want to get caught doing anywhere else. So we asked our readers on Babble’s facebook page: What’s one thing you or your partner does at home shame-free, but would be mortifying anywhere else?

You can read all the answers on our facebook wall (you’ll have to “Like” our page first to see the answers), but here are five of the most honest and hilarious… before I reveal them, though, will you PLEASE go put some clothes on?!? (That’s a hint about the #1 embarrassing thing.) Continue reading »

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Finding the perfect tree is simple if you know what to look for.

If you are one of the 27 million households that opts to buy a live tree for Christmas, you probably already know that unless you cut it down yourself, it is hard to know if you’ve got a winner or loser on your hands until the needles start raining down after you get it home and decorated.

Since I hate those smug artificial tree-owners that are always going on about how easy their tree is and how they’d happily trade the smell of pine for never having to sweep up needles again, I am determined to not make my mistakes of the past. Fortunately, there are some tricks to picking out the freshest tree at the lot and Andrea Woroch, the consumer-savings expert, is sharing them with us. Continue reading »

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The show must go on. O presents the new "Favorite Things" 2011 List.

Every year I fantasize that I am in the audience of Oprah’s big Favorite Things episode and it’s me who is screaming and over-indulging in rapturous applause. Me and pretty much every other mom in America, I suspect. All of us enjoying this little fantasy moment while preparing dinner, doing the dishes, or performing some other housework drudgery.  Sigh….

Ahem, give me a moment to just get out of this imaginary all-cashmere outfit and return to reality, will you? (Doesn’t everyone associate raptuously scrummy cashmere with Oprah’s Favorite Things?) Continue reading »

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When did you stop changing or showering in front of your kids? Why?

Tori Spelling, who writes posts occasionally for LilSugar, is pondering whether now is the time to stop changing clothes in front of her 4-year-old son, Liam, after a recent incident.

She writes that she was changing, and Liam said, “Oh no! I do not need to see that! Get that out of my face. That huge thing sitting on top of your legs. Your butt is ginormous.”

It reminds me of how, whenever I change in front of my 3-year-old daughter, she grabs my butt and says, “WIGGLE, WIGGLE, WIGGLE!” Nice, I know. But that, and the fact that she stares at my saggy chest in wonder, has me pondering the same thing. Continue reading »

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An indoor waterpark can cure any single parent's Thanksgiving Blues. Photo Credit: DiscoverDuPage

Let me start by saying I love Thanksgiving. I love the ritual of re-creating family recipes every year, I love getting family and friends together, I love the women gathered in the kitchen, drinking wine and sharing family stories, and I especially love that moment when we all finally sit down together around the table, thankful to be there together, in that moment, and for all the many things that we have to be grateful for in our lives.

But, this Thanksgiving, though I find myself ready to get into the holiday spirit, I also find myself with a family divided. Without nearby family to descend on with my two sons, Thanksgiving has suddenly become a daunting prospect. That is, it was daunting—until I decided to take the path of least resistance. Continue reading »

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The California coastline in San Simeon, home of Hearst Castle.

As the economy continues to drag, families will most likely be looking at more modest family vacations in 2012. Not every year can can be a Disney World year, after all, and North America offers a vast array of places that are easy to drive to and offer such a vast array of scenery and climates that there is something for everyone.

Best Western‘s family travel expert, Amy Graff, of On The Go With Amy, has put together a list of 12 destinations that will help you stay on a budget in 2012.

“Families are eager to trade in the interstate for one of North America’s iconic routes to create lasting family travel memories starting next year,” Graff said.  “Whether traveling along Route 66 or across the Trans-Canada Highway, expect families to become creative in the way they approach travel and visit cities and attractions that entice a sense of nostalgia for grownups and deliver new adventures for kids.”

Continue reading »

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Press the buttons!

Watching this group of five-year-olds try to explain what computers are in this Sesame Street clip from 1984 is an adorable reminder of just how much our lives have changed with computers. But is also funny to see that kids are still, pretty much, exactly the same.

Their explanations of the computers as “something that you write on” and that “you can press some buttons and make a design” and “it can help you to read” pretty much sums up what a kindergartener might say today.

The OMG! moment comes from seeing a computer of 1984 in action … Continue reading »

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