Wire Moms

Dreams come in all shapes and sizes. I'm here to tell you firsthand that all dreams can be realized if taken one step, and in this case, one sip at a time.

This week, I'd like to examine one of the common English expressions uttered by young Homo sapiens, but then usually abandoned as they reach maturity.

Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott are proud parents of "four amazing miracles" - sons Liam, 6, and Finn, 6 months, and daughters Stella, 4, and Hattie, 1. With two in diapers, things are "definitely chaotic" in the Spelling-McDermott household, but Tori says things have "gotten easier" in recent weeks.

As a five-year veteran of the single mom gig, I've been on a constant emotional rollercoaster - feeling like queen of the universe for potty-training my son in a month, panicking at 3 a.m., as I nurse his 104-degree fever, and even doing a happy dance after dropping him off at day care. I'm free, I think ... even though I'm headed straight to work. Then there's the sinking guilt of raising my son without his father and the exhaustion of having to do it all. Being a single mom is pretty much as tough as it's cracked up to be, but that doesn't mean I don't love it.

When Bruce Feiler, intrepid journalist and father of twins, set out to discover what makes happy families tick, he deliberately avoided parenting "experts," psychologists and the whole self-help industry.

It's not a secret that the national economic crisis has affected nearly every American family, but economists and researchers are now finding ways to quantify how it has affected children specifically.

We can thank four Cassville High School teenagers in Missouri for another contender of things you never imagine you would have to explain to your child: Never pee in another's person drink.

While not an official holiday, April Fools' Day on April 1 is celebrated with practical jokes and hoaxes. In several European countries, children and adults observe the occasion by trying to tack paper fish on each other's backs and shouting "April fish!"

Secret nature names are an intriguing category: baby names that reference animals or weather or some other aspect of nature in their meaning without being explicit about it the way names such as Lily and Fox are.

It's a cliche, but cliches are cliches for a reason: Single moms are poorer than married moms. I know this for a fact. I know because I've been a single mom for three years. I also know because I blog about personal finance and single parents at Wealthy Single Mommy ( http://www.wealthysinglemommy.com ). The fact is, according to a 2010 census - the most recent data available, 41 percent of households headed by single women with children live in poverty - nearly triple the national poverty rate.

Oh, Monday. There aren't a whole lot of folk who love Mondays. Kids dread going back to school. The nine-to-fivers dread going back to work. It's a day of having to pay bills or answer emails you avoided on Friday or sign forms or go to the dentist. When was the last time you heard someone say "Yippee, it's Monday! Can't wait for today!" Never, right? Maybe it's time we did something about it. Instead of a ho-hum day, followed by a blah dinner and ending with a boring night of nothingness, let's spice it up a bit.

When I was in elementary school, I couldn't wait to get home and get into the kitchen. If I wasn't assisting my mom as a junior sous-chef (licking the cake batter bowl was my specialty), I was making chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes, fudge and bittersweet chocolate brownies on my own.

A psychologist once asked me if our family sits down for dinner together every night.

Wherever Erick Jansen and Nathan Jones go, people stop and stare.

Just as the billows of white smoke emanating from the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City signal the election of a new pope, so does the name he chooses for himself signal his aspirations for his papacy. Pope Francis broke precedent by picking one that had never been used before, but which has deep meaning for him and projects a strong symbolic resonance to the outside world.

There was a time when, if you asked a young person what they wanted to be when they grew up, the answers were almost always the same. "I want to be a..." firefighter, police officer, doctor, lawyer, baseball player, actor; rarely was it an entrepreneur or business owner.

Has your definition of romance changed now that you have kids? You're not the only one.

There's nothing that can improve quality of life in a family as much as the right pair of socks. Just ask my 4-year-old, who typically doesn't make it through the day without complaining about hers and taking them off.

Are you my forever mom?

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have 19 kids and two - soon to be three - grandkids. On their TLC reality show "19 Kids and Counting," we get to see how Jim Bob and Michelle manage their big family. Even if you don't have a double-digit number of kids in your house, there's still a lot to learn from one of America's most famous families.

Whether spring break has come and gone for you or just starting, it's always good to have a few resources to keep the kiddos busy when they're home from school.

When I was about 10 years old, I decided it would be really cool to make my parents cocktails. As the child of a different era, my dad was all for the idea of training me to be his tiny bartender. My mom was skeptical, but as with many things that involved my father and me, mom threw up her hands and let it happen.

Our family's Easter celebrations have ranged from the traditional to the creative, but as long as the family is together we always have fun. Here are my suggestions to make your Easter extra special.

Celebrate the first full week of spring! Leftover ham from Easter celebrations pairs especially well with springtime favorites like peas and carrots. Enjoy the change of seasons this week with healthy, balanced recipes that capture these flavor combinations.

Seven-time Olympic medalist Amanda Beard is set to welcome her second child this summer with husband Sacha Brown. The swimming champion, who is currently sponsored by Aqua Sphere, is already mom to 3-year-old son Blaise.

The Easter holidays often brings visitors and guests into the home environment which can cause children to react in odd ways. Parents often find ourselves dealing with regressive or extreme behavior and may be unsure of how to calm their children down. By thinking of your child's dominant sense you will be able to preempt bad behavior so that everyone can have a more peaceful experience this Easter.