Do You Have A Summer Bucket List?

How to create a plan to have the most fun this summer with your family, so you don't miss a thing.

  Summer has just started, but I'm already worried about it being over. The time goes by way too fast. I know I think I have all the time in the world to hit some of our family fun ideas or invite friends over but suddenly you look at the calendar and it's booked up. I don't know if this has happened to you but I've been bummed in the past when I didn’t get the kids to the Zoo, or get tickets to a popular kids concert, or get the bikes out enough to justify the space they take up in the garage. Summer was over and we missed out on some opportunities to enjoy it.  Well, never again! Last summer our family started a Family Summer Fun Plan or a Summer Bucket List and it has made planning and scheduling our family fun a whole lot easier. We …

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The Mom Next Door

Life Before Kids: Make the Most of Your Time Now

Before the 2 a.m. feedings, diaper changes, teething, potty training, skinned knees, birthday parties, first days of school and everything in between, spend time to find yourself and do what you have always wanted to do.

As I sit to write this column, I'm listening to Change by the Lightning Seeds and I'm instantly reminded of the trips I took to the south of France during the mid-1990s. "…You're never going to be like all those fools You're coming out tonight There's nothing to lose You're going to give it all a try Don't ever change…" This song was always on my playlist during the plane ride to Paris and the train trip through the countryside, and the lyrics were my mantra at the time. I was in my early 30s and carefree. I became nearly fluent in French. I toured the small villages and towns of Provence and soaked in the ethereal light that has long attracted so many painters and photographers to the region. I stayed with friends, shopped specialty …

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