Whew! Christmas is over. What takes such a big toll on your budget, you sanity and your time is blown away in a matter of minutes while the kids rip open their presents, scurry around searching madly for batteries and try to figure out their new toys without bothering to look at the damn book. All this with barely a "Thanks, Santa." But you know what? It's worth it. We had a very nice, small Christmas at home. The kids got what they wanted (Thank you, Grandma!), and I loved watching their faces light up and spending the morning just watching their excitement as they played with their new stuff.

That being said, I must confess that for the last couple months that I've been trying to work from home without the help of part-time daycare, I've nearly pulled my hair out on a daily basis. I gave up my two day a week sitter in an attempt to save money, and I'm beginning to wonder if I gave up my sanity with that decision. If you have kids, you know how expensive daycare can be. If you don't, you might be interested in this information on the costs or raising children. Playing blocks, watching endless pre-school TV and BEGGING Brady to, "Please, go potty." have just about sent me over the edge. Add that that the chaos that comes when the 10 and 13-year olds come home, and I'm usually ready for a drink by the time they're in bed. Except I'm too tired to get up and open the bottle. You see, Bil's started a new job. The pay is actually a bit less, but the benefits are better. The hours keep him away from afternoon until late. So this change in routine has taken a bit of a toll on mama.

But just the other day, I saw a post on Facebook that led me to a blog I had never visited before, Girl on Saturday. The post was about how poor Karen is now known as "Penis Mom" by the parents and teachers at her kids' school, but that it's okay because she took a stand against ridiculous gender stereotypes and was a role model for her kids. Karen is pretty cool. So cool, in fact, that I took a look at her other posts. Each one spoke to me and conveyed a lesson that I needed to learn or to be reminded of. I was especially moved by this post that gave life-changing advice on surviving the first few years of raising kids. Karen reminded me that, though parenting can certainly be mind-numbing, it can also be some of the best moments of your life. She emphasized what's important, and I intend to keep those things in mind when I'm thisclose to having my next breakdown. If you feel like you just can't take one more second of the mind-numbing routine that has become your life, please head over to read Karen's advice. I guarantee it will help you out.

Remember I told you about a workshop I was cohosting on tween hygiene? Well, it was an amazingly informative discussion. A large group of mothers spoke with expert Rosalind Wiseman about the issues surrounding our kids' hygiene. It was so much fun to share stories and to learn how other parents are handling the sometimes tricky issues with their kids. Here's a quick recap.

Rosalind Wiseman is the author of the book Queen Bees and Wannabes, and she started things off by joking, "We love our children, but we don't have to love their stink. Personally, my younger son's soccer cleats could be used as a weapon of mass destruction!" It was reassuring to know that even the experts have to handle these "stinky" situations. We learned that our kids are growing and that increased hormones at this age can cause lots of changes.

Discussions surrounding sweat, body odor, puberty and menstruation were had. No topic was off limits. What we learned was most important was that we handle the topics with our kids sensitively. These kinds of things can cause our kids to feel insecure. We also shared that it's our job to bring up the subjects even if it's not something our kids want to hear.

When discussing personal hygiene, the most important thing to remember is to keep it private. Be sure to talk about these issues when other kids aren't around. Tell them the facts, but let them know that you experienced the same kinds of things. You might even want to share a funny memory from your own childhood.

We also shared that it helps to give kids a say in things. Invite them along to shop for personal hygiene products and ask them which ones they prefer. Also, start teaching them about good hygiene habits and enforcing regular showers, teeth brushing and deodorant wearing. These steps are important to keeping things in check. But again, don't forget to be sensitive.

You can visit The Motherhood for the entire chat summary. And we'd love it if you'd join in the discussion at the Don't Fret the Sweat Facebook page. There's some good stuff going on over there!

Now for the giveaway, and it's an awesome one. Up for grabs is a Very Bradley bag filled with informational goodies and hygiene items. You'll definitely want a chance at this. The beautiful Vera Bradley bag contains:

One sample each of Degree, Degree Girl and Degree Men deodorant by Unilever

A copy of the books Queen Bees and Wannabes and Boys, Girls & Other Hazardous Materials by Rosalind Wiseman.

Here's a picture of what the winner will get!

Leave a comment below telling me what your most difficult topic is regarding hygiene and your kids. Even if you have little kids or ones that are grown or don't have kids at all. Tell me what you think might be the most difficult topic to discuss with kids when it comes to hygiene. I want to hear your ideas! This giveaway will close at noon EST Thursday, October 13th. Good luck!

* I will receive compensation for participating in this campaign.

Elf Island is an online game for kids that parents can really feel good about. I don't know about you, but I worry about the things my kids are doing online. They often seem harmless until they surprise me with something So and So from school told them about some YouTube video. That's why I'm pretty strict about monitoring what they do online. With Elf Island, I don't have to worry, because it's set up to teach kids about giving back and doing good. Gotta like that!

Here's some information about the folks behind Elf Island:

As the parents of twin boys, the dynamic husband and wife team of Liz and Craig
Kronenberger noticed a glaring lack of positive gaming and empowerment within virtual
worlds for kids. From their professional experiences in the kids’ entertainment space, Liz
and Craig decided to blend their entrepreneurial spirit with their philanthropic passions.
Knowing that kids were flocking online to play, Liz and Craig saw a great opportunity to build
something that would entertain, while at the same time fulfill and foster strong social values.
Prompted to act, the Kronenbergers launched Elf Island in 2007, the first virtual world to use
games, storytelling and social interaction to empower kids to make a positive difference in
the real world.
Liz and Craig Kronenberger are committed to creating a fun place for kids that enables them
to give back, influence communities and environments, all through the entertaining world of
Elf Island. It’s empowerment through online fun.

Elf Island uses the phrase, "Play Games, Do Good" to descirbe their Gaming for Good philosophy. The Elf Island game allows kids to use the concept of Mirrored Gaming to practice doing good online while reflecting that same good offline. The game allows them to explore real world issues and to see the improvements that can come from positive action. I love that!

Our Review

And my kids loved it, too. They sat down to play, and I practically had to drag them away. They learned about pollution's effect on our waters and were able to tell me lots of interesting facts they discovered about all kinds of other things as well. Did you know that apples are better for your eyes than carrots? Yeah, me either.And Elf Island is safe for your kids. There are moderators watching what goes on at all times.

They had so much fun that they didn't even realize that they were learning. Elf Island will definitely be in this mom's arsenal for keeping the kids' minds engaged throughout the summer. I look forward to exploring the game with them even more in order to faciliate meaningful conversations about important issues in our world.

Win a One Month Membership

I've got three one month trial memberships to give away to your and your kids! All you have to do for a chance to win is join the Elf Island Fan Club on Facebook and leave me your Facebook user name. If you aren't on Facebook, you can simply tell me what you're doing to keep your child's mind active this summer. All entries must be received by July 12th at noon EST.

Receive extra entries by:

1. Grabbing our cute Summer Soiree button and posting it prominently on your blog.

2. Subscribing to my blog, either by RSS or email.

3. Add yourself to my followers in the sidebar.

4. Enter a giveaway at A Simple Kinda Life or Moody Mama Says.

5. Stumble this post.

6. Tweet this giveaway, including @marybabysteps in your tweet.

7. Favorite Everyday Baby Steps at Technorati

8. Blog about the Summer Soiree

For every one you choose, you'll receive an additional entry. There are lots of chances, so good luck!

I was tagged by Alyssa from Life From My Laptop for one of the best memes I've seen yet . The point of the meme is to share a lesson you've learned about motherhood with other moms. The lessons can be from your own mother, from someone you know, or from past experience; there are no right or wrong answers. This meme was started by Christina over at Mom's Resource Blog. I love this idea because there's so much we can learn from each other as moms. Being a parent really is the hardest job I've ever known. I'm happy to share things I've learned along the way and welcome any advice from my friends, but also it's just what we do as women - we share, we look to others for support. Women are very relational.

The lesson I have to share should be nothing new, but it's something that just really hit home for me today. I've been very stressed out lately about the amount of time, or lack thereof, that I have to spend online to meet my new career objectives as a writer and blogger. As many of you know, it takes a lot of work to establish an online presence, and it's quite time consuming to market yourself and to find avenues for your writing. And, as so very many of you also know, it's even more of a challenge to do all of this while raising a family, particularly if you don't have daycare.

So I've taken stock and revised my approach to my career, at least while Brady is so young. But I've been finding that my mind is still on all the work I SHOULD be doing while I'm tending to my household and family duties. It finally hit me this morning that all of this stressing and obsessing is ridiculous and is only causing me to be anxious and irritable with my loved ones. We had a terrible time today during the morning routine, and I got very frustrated with my kids because mommy was trying to get some work done and they were interrupting. As I felt my frustration build, I finally had my "ah ha moment".

A person can't allow herself to be pulled in a thousand directions and expect to be happy and content. Yes, I have career and monetary aspirations that I'd like to meet, but not at the expense of my children's happiness. Pursuing a writing career was supposed to allow me more flexibility and time to be with my children more. But I need to really be with them. In the moment, and not worrying about what's not getting done.

I immediately approached the day with this new philosophy. I didn't work on my computer at all today while Brady was awake, only while he was napping. When the kids came home, I spent time with each of them. We talked about their day, they helped with dinner, I helped with homework. I felt truly in the moment. Not rushed or hurried. It's nearly 10:00 pm now when I'm finishing up this blog post and still have about two more to write, but I don't feel nearly as tired as I thought I would. I suppose it's more tiring to allow yourself to be pulled in so many directions than to just live in the moment and really enjoy the time.

This is the most significant lesson I've learned about motherhood recently, and I hope I can continue to remember its impact. Please let me know if you've experienced a similar struggle and if you have any advice that will help me to live in the moment. Take a look at Alyssa's Motherhood Lessons as well.

I'm supposed to tag 3 - 5 other moms for this meme, but I'm going to cheat. I'm not cheating for the sole purpose of getting out of choosing people, but because I really do think this is such a valuable meme, and I'd like to tag all the moms who read this post. If you don't have a blog, you can just leave a comment. If you choose to share your motherhood lessons at your blog, leave the link to your post in the comment section.