I am in the midst of an expensive experiment (two actually) but this post is just about one of them. Elle cried about her shoes on a daily basis last year. Either her shoes were too big, too wide, slipped off, gave her blisters, or hurt her feet. She had plenty of cute shoes that she never wore. At first I thought she was picky, then I thought she was a whiner, and now I think she just might have special feet that need special shoes.

One of the joys of motherhood: H.O.M.E.W.O.R.K. I used the letters of the dreaded word and came up with a few (okay, eight) tips to help you get through the daily grind:

My song right now is “The Edge of Glory” by Lady GaGa. I loop it on my iPod and belt it at the top of my lungs. And it’s my song because I feel like I am on the edge of something and I’m hoping it’s glory.

Pasta is my kids’ favorite food– from Fettuccine Alfredo to Spaghetti to Homemade Macaroni to Baked Ziti– they love it all. But pasta can be a tricky food for kids ( and adults) to eat. (I never ordered noodles on a date because it wasn’t always pretty.) Here is How to Eat Pasta:

In the fall of 2005, I received a job offer to teach at an elementary school. After thinking it over long and hard (because we really needed the money), I decided I wasn’t going to go to work. I was going to try to do the mom thing full time and really embrace it. Since we weren’t putting Elle in preschool due to lack of funds, I knew I would need to do something to keep us both entertained. Thus the idea for “Letter of the Week” was born.

Sunday marks the 10 year anniversary of 9/11. As I was walking around the track the other day, the significance of this anniversary slowly sank in. I realized I needed to teach my kids about this day. They weren’t even born when this happened. They need to know their country’s history. I started planning a Family Night for Sunday right then and there.