The other day my three year old looked at me and said: “Are you happy Mama?” I responded with “of course I’m happy love!”, and she went back to playing. But I know the phrase wasn’t an innocent one, as my eldest is very observant and in tune with the emotions flying around her. So I started to ask myself if she possibly thought I was unhappy... I’m not unhappy, not at all, but I do have a lot of anxiety that I repress as much as possible, and there has been a lot going on over the past few months: new baby, new home, some financial struggles, my partner working two jobs, and then starting the therapy process for my eldest’s own anxiety issues. Her simple question really got me thinking about how we communicate with our children and how this may or may not affect them adversely.

The holidays are a fun time for everyone. Families come together, memories are made, and of course the food! But while the kiddos tend to make a list of presents they want for the holidays what about dad? If you have a father like mine, then you know he’ll play his cards close to his chest and never tell you what he wants. But I’ll let you in on a secret, get him the right gift and he’ll probably jump for joy higher than anyone! So here are 5 gifts that are sure to make any dad on your list one happy camper come the holidays.

Which of my traits do I hope my kids will pick up?
I don't have kids yet, and honestly I probably won't for a few years. But I think about my future kids fairly regularly.

It’s all over the news: Weinstein, Spacey, the president, the #metoo campaign, and people speaking up and speaking out about sexual harassment, assault, and violence. Now is the time to not only talk about what continues to be normalized behavior in our society but also to talk about how we can make REAL change. As parents we talk about looking for signs of abuse, and preventing abuse, but how can we actually help our children see and know the signs of danger? How can we also help our children to NOT become perpetrators of assault and harassment?

Bad Moms 2 is hitting theaters Wednesday, November 1st and we can’t wait to see what our three favorite bad moms have pulled off as they take on the holiday season. We also can’t help but think why the characters Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and Kathryn Hahn play are every mom’s dream BFFs! Here are 5 reasons why you will not disagree:

Helicopter mama, Priya Nembhard, CEO of Moms Pump Here, and her oldest son, Jadon, are competing on the NEW reality TV series, “Stove Tots,” airing Monday, November 6^th at 9pm ET on FYI. Her son will be one of many young chefs to showcase their cooking skills in the kitchen, head to head with other young chefs.

MEET OUR BLOGGERS & VlOGGERS

 Suzanne Belcher (AKA Super Sue)    

Suzanne Belcher is a work at home, supermom to two boys and wife with a passion for fitness and health. Suzanne is an avid runner, an All-State Track and Field Champion and an Olympic flame escort in the 1996 Olympic Torch Relay. She is an alumna of Fairliegh Dickinson University with a degree in Psychology and lives in Long Island, NY with her family.

MEET OUR BLOGGERS

 Suzanne "Super Sue" Belcher

 Tara Rae Bradford

 Jada 

1. What is your mission?

1. What is your mission?

The mission of the Mother’s Milk Bank of Iowa is to provide pasteurized donor human milk to hospitals nationwide so premature and term infants can be fed an uninterrupted human milk diet during maternal milk insufficiency. When our inventory allows, it is dispensed to infants at home by prescription.