Picnics have become our family’s new go-to, and our latest mission is to invite others along.

“I wish you would thank me.”Confused, I asked, “For what? “For doing things for you. Like going to this family gathering. I know part of being in a relationship is doing things you don’t want to do for the person you love. I just wish you would say thank you.”

Some of us are struggling to maintain long-standing friendships. Some of us are longing for close friendships and struggling to find them. Whether you live near your friends or not, text messages can become a regular way to communicate our quick thoughts, especially our parenting successes and failures.

Octavia would meet someone new and want to draw them a picture or “make them a card.” When kindergarten started, the bus driver was the first recipient to whom my bubbly 5-year-old presented her with a piece of paper with crunchy, brown leaves taped to it.

So what can we do to help kids learn kindness?  What can we do to make sure they are being kind even when others aren’t looking?  I tried to put together some resources to help you.

We expect our children to have good manners, and we also try to emphasize gratitude. It can be absolutely exhausting. But I believe it takes a village, so I asked for advice from the masses on Facebook.

Friendship in the motherhood years can be challenging. Busy schedules, needy kids, and “Mom Brain” can all contribute to our ability to connect or stay in touch with others.

Let’s face it, Moms, we all need a night out! Being a mom is an exhausting, self-sacrificing, and, most of the time, thankless job (even though it is worth the work). So sometimes we need to get out of all of the serving and just have a little fun. So gather up some friends and try these ideas and places for your next Mom's Night Out!

I’ve always heard that major life events tend to separate true friends from the rest of them. I was fully prepared that being the first of my friends to get married and start a family would mean that I would inevitably be leaving some people in my past.