There’s a hospital in Chicago where they have speed-dating for doctors. No, not for doctors who are looking for dates; for patients who are looking for a doctor. Like at a regular speed-dating event, patients move from doctor to doctor, asking questions, in the quest for their perfect match in an OB/GYN or General Practitioner. It’s supposed to be a new way for patients to find doctors that they’re comfortable with, and for doctors to ensure meaningful versus transactional relationships with their patients.
As Mother’s Day approaches, this event made me wonder: if you could speed-date to find your perfect doctor, what if you could speed-date to find your perfect kid? The thought got my husband and I laughing. And then, fantasizing…

Working at Clorox, I always have cold and flu season at the top of my mind. After all, I am a self-proclaimed germaphobe and happily sit in my office surrounded by canisters of Clorox Disinfecting Wipes. I pride myself on doing everything I can to help keep my family from getting the flu and spreading germs to others. Yet despite my best efforts to be a courteous mom, my 4-year old daughter Elle unwittingly foils my intentions.

Each season brings new and fun activities to our household. This month’s guest blogger, Ashley Stock of “Little Miss Momma” shares a craft inspired by getting outside and enjoying Spring: a Chalkboard Flower Pot. These are not only adorable to look at but kid-friendly to make. Check it out!

When I was preparing to be a mom, I expected the joys and the challenges, but I didn’t count on all the embarrassment. Being a parent demands patience, resilience, and a large capacity for mortification. Then, in the following years came more moments that led to embarrassment... See why I quickly learned that parenting requires a sense of humor or else acknowledgement that motherhood sometimes involves suffering minor indignities at the hands of our children.

It's been about a month since the horrific earthquake, tsunami and subsequent devastation in Japan. Rather than sharing the devastating news with my children, I tried to use the events in Japan to have some positive impact for my family. A mom’s instinct is to protect her family, and so while I can’t shield them from the “big” things like a tsunami, I am trying my best to protect them by doing some smaller things.

I am convinced that having kids can be bad for your ego: Before I had kids, I like to think that I was somewhat poised. I had a decent job where I was able to manage things with some semblance of professionalism and "having it together." Any decorum I possessed, however, went down the tubes the day Elle was born…

Most parents know the critical role that teachers play in the life of their children. Here’s a great post by guest blogger, Bonnie Embry, an elementary school teacher and member of Clorox Classrooms’ Faculty Panel of Experts, with ways parents and teachers can partner in and outside the classroom.

I’ve been at this “Mommy” thing for almost 5 years now, there are so many days when I still feel like that newbie on the job. In any other role, 5 years would be enough time to build some real expertise and experience, and yet here I am, feeling like I’m constantly in a state of “new mommy-hood”. Fortunately, the best parts of mommyhood – dispensing love and affection, joy in seeing my kids grow—won’t ever change. But until I find a way to “hit the pause button” on my kids’ lives, I guess I will always feel like a “new mom”.

Spring is approaching and I’m starting to think more about spring cleaning and getting the house in order. When I first started working at Clorox, it was strange to think that I would be dedicating years of my life to marketing cleaning products. I mean, cleaning products aren’t exactly glamorous and cleaning isn’t exactly dinner party conversation. Or so I thought…

A dear friend recently told me that she was expecting her first baby. The excitement of her news had me thinking about my life before I had kids– those days before I knew what mommyhood had in store for me. And while I happily reminisced about those days of being un-tethered, I also reflected upon the folly of my attitude and behavior in my “pre-baby” days. I’m not proud of some of these moments, so in recognition of any transgressions I committed before I was a Mom myself, I wish to say I’m sorry. And here it is, an open letter of apology for some of the foolishness of my “pre-mommyhood” days: the days before I knew how to change a diaper, before I understood what a breast pump was (“You put that WHERE and do WHAT?!?”), before I knew what it meant to be a Mother…